Writing a Greek Myth

This week my third grade students produced their first writing piece that was the result of a directed assignment. As in past years, this task generated much enthusiasm. Of course, it took two weeks of priming to attain this. I mentioned in a previous blog post that children need to be exposed to high quality, high interest literature in order to develop their writing skills. We have been reading about the Greek Heroes from Greek Mythology these last couple of weeks. The kids have been completely captivated by the great adventures of Hercules and Perseus and Theseus. So, when I announced on Wednesday morning that they would be writing their own Greek myth they exploded with excitement.

Being a non-traditionalist in my approach to teaching writing, I do not start the year teaching kids how to write a paragraph, with topic sentence and supporting sentences. Yes, this is important and necessary to teach, and I will get to it very soon. But, I am a firm believer in capitalizing on creative writing in the teaching of basic writing skills. When there is a high level of motivation to write, students often seek out on their own the  skills necessary for stronger writing pieces. My writing lessons through the year consist of many creative writing assignments, intersperced with the teaching of paragraph structure and organization.

I began the assignment on Wednesday and on Friday the kids wrote out their final drafts.

My Goals:

1. I wanted my students to use their imagination and let out their creativity. The mechanics of writing – paragraphing, punctuation, etc., - were not important. I didn’t want their creativity hampered.
2. I want to develop in my students a love and enthusiasm for writing.
3. The story had to have a beginning, middle, and end.
4. A description of the central character

Day 1: Qualities of the Greek Heroes.

Think about the three heroes we’ve been reading about. Hercules, Perseus, Theseus. What qualities did they have that enabled them to accomplish what they did?

I then reread relevant paragraphs from a few of the stories. Because my students are third graders they needed to hear the descriptions again!

On chart paper, I listed their responses.

1. Strong and powerful
2. Fearless, brave, courageous.
3. Kind and good
4. Creative
5. They never gave up
6. Respectful
7. Smart, wise
8. Planned ahead
9. Enjoyed challenges
10. Believed in themselves – had self-confidence

Having this vocabulary displayed allows the kids to access vocabulary in their own writing.

Day 2: The kids began writing their story today. To ensure that their stories contained all the essential elements of a story, I needed to have a pattern available to them.

I started the lesson as follows:

Each of the stories about the Greek Heroes followed a pattern. A pattern is something that repeats itself. What was repeated in each of the stories? What did each of the stories have in common?

I listed their responses on a chart:

1. The main character was a hero who was brave and strong.
2. The problem always involved a monster
3. The hero went on a journey to find the monster
4. Along the journey the hero met other characters who helped him solve the problem.
5. Gods and goddesses appeared in most of the stories

Now, it’s time for you to start your story. First you will write a first draft. Have fun and don’t worry about spelling. I’ll help you fix your spelling when you are all done. Begin your story by describing your hero. I pointed to the chart we had created the day before with the descriptive vocabulary. Give your hero a name and use this chart to help you. After you have introduced your hero, the main character, write the rest of your story. You may use the pattern if you want, but you don’t have to.

Because I want kids to love writing I try to make the activity as stress free as possible. It was important to spend time discussing the pattern of the story. Many kids at this age haven’t written stories yet. For some kids it will all happen naturally. Others need concrete guidelines. 

Day 3 Some kids were done with their first drafts and others needed more time. Each student took a turn to show me their completed story. I helped them with spelling and punctuation. I made a point of being generous with my compliments. To be honest, it wasn’t hard. Their stories were really good.

What impressed me most was their use of voice. I hadn’t mentioned it, or taught it to them. They got it – just by being exposed to excellent stories. Most kids rose to the challenge of showing decent character descriptions and an imaginative plot.

About 7 or 8 students showed writing capability but pretty much copied the basic plot ideas from the stories we had read. I don’t have a problem with this. Not everyone is cut out to be a writer! As long as they can write coherent sentences and produce a beginning, middle, and end, there’s hope! Three students had quite a bit of difficulty creating coherent sentences. This isn’t unusual at all. At this age – 8 – some kids are developmentally behind their peers. Also, if a child’s first language isn’t English, writing can be a challenge. In my next blog I’ll let you know how I help the struggling writers. I’ll also discuss time management because that is a big issue too. 

Here are two stories from my students: