Pass the Story – Summer’s End

Opening Discussion

Ask your students what their favorite books or stories are. Make a list on a piece of chart paper or on a chalkboard. What do they like about these stories? Are there any characters that they really like?

The Challenge

Work with your teammates to write a story, then illustrate it before you share it with your class.

Doing the Activity

1. Divide your class into teams of 4 or 5 for this activity. Pass out the materials.
2. Tell your students they will be writing a story—but they’ll be writing it together as a team. One student will write 2 sentences of the story, then they will pass it on to another teammate, who will add 2 new sentences after reading what the first teammate wrote. After writing their 2 sentences, the second teammate will pass it on to the third teammate, who will add their 2 sentences, and so on.
3. When each student has written 3 times, the team should gather together to read the story from start to finish. The team should come up with a name for the story, then make some illustrations to go along with it.
4. Have every team start their story with this sentence: “Thea didn’t want the summer to end.” This does not count as 1 of the 2 sentences for the first writer.

Let’s Talk About It

After 5-10 minutes, bring your students together to talk about what they have done so far. How did they decide what their story would be about? What did they do if a teammate wrote something that made the story different than they had imagined it?

Build On What They Talked About

Have your students finish writing and illustrating their stories. Give each team an opportunity to read their story and show their illustrations to the rest of the class.