First Grade Stories: "If I Were an Explorer..."

We're published! After learning all about the who, what, where, when, why and hows of real world explorers, each Navigator came up with their own imaginative explorer and expedition. The creative juices were flowing as they told their own story, often incorporating the people, reasons and ideas from our recent studies. 

Illustration stage

Before we began, we looked at recent books we have read (Pedro's Journal, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and even Are You My Mother?) to get an idea how to write an engaging story. We saw how each story had an introduction, a set of problems (which we call the "oh, ohs") and a resolution. 

Here are some pages from our finished and published books!

(At the end of this blog you'll find a list of reasons why having a public place to share our work is so important.)

Part 1: Introduction

Either before we write or after we write, we give our story a title:

Introduction: Who are you?

Introduction: Where are you going/the setting?

Introduction: Why do you want to explore?

Introduction: Who are your crew mates?

Introduction: What are you bringing with you?

Introduction: How are you going to get there? 

(Stay tuned for later blog featuring our life-sized Exploration Contraptions!)

Part 2 The Problem/the "oh, ohs"

This is where the students' "voices" really stood out.

Part 3: The Resolution and Ending

The problem has not been resolved yet in this one. Stay tuned for book 2! 

All revised and illustrated and ready to share with others:

Reading to our friends 

Reading to the fifth grade Alchemists

 

Reading to Ms Wollum:

As you can tell by their faces, the students are pleased with their books. They worked hard through all the stages of Writer's Workshop--pre-writing, drafting, editing, typing and revising and finally publishing.

The Importance of Publishing

Having the opportunity to have others read our finished work:

• gives students an authentic purpose for writing
• gives them the message that they are real writers and have important things to say
• builds self-confidence
• dramatically impacts student literacy achievement
• motivates and excites students
• creates life-long readers and writers
• and more! 

Thanks for reading these excerpts from our books!

The Navigators