Tales of the Willow Room
Gabrielle Leigh, Willow Room Head Teacher at 45th Street
The Willow Room has completed a special project, writing their own fairy tales that are going to be published into a book! It took a lot of hard work and planning, but the students were up for the challenge! First, during language arts the students learned all about fairy tale stories. They were taught the story elements that make up a fairy tale and listed a few of their favorites. The class then took what they learned and applied these skills in writing class. They brainstormed and created their very own characters! Each student came up with a name, a physical trait (how the character looks), a personality trait (how they act), and fairy tale trait.
For the second part of the project, students used Braidy, the Story Grammar Marker, to come up with key details of the story. Braidy is a helpful, manipulative tool that helps our students with narrative development. They were each asked to create a clear setting, kick off, and choose something “magical” to turn their story into a fairy tale. Then, they had to come up with four key details in which would tell the reader how their character solved the problem. Finally, like all good fairy tales, they wrote a “happily ever after.”
To make their fairy tales more interesting, students were also encouraged to incorporate at least one element of figurative language. Some of the elements included: onamonapias (MUNCH, MUNCH, MUNCH), similes (he was as fluffy as a bunny), and alliterations (beautiful, black-eyed, Betsy).
Once students completed the planning stages of their fairy tale stories, the fun began! Students used their best handwriting skills to write the final copy of their stories. Then, they each got to draw two pictures for our book, one of their main character and another of an important moment from their story. All of Willow’s hard work has been sent off to the publishers and the class is eagerly awaiting the final product!
