Comic Dialogue

We spent a few weeks learning about dialogue in Language Arts.  Quotation marks and characters talking is very hard for my kids! They also like to use SAID a lot! We talked about the rules for quotations and other words we could use instead of said.  Then came the fun part! I let them pick a comic from the Sunday newspaper.  They then had to turn the comic into dialogue, using the rules we talked about.  They could not use the word said! They had fun reading the comics! I have it displayed in the hall and they enjoy reading their friends writings as well!

Skeleton Hiccups

I wanted to do a fun writing activity that would be quick and easy and contain a craft for Halloween.

I found this story and basic idea over at the First Grade parade.  I decided I was going to make my kids write a story about how to cure skeleton hiccups, instead of just writing one sentence.  I found this cute skeleton outline/graphic organizer.  It was perfect for my story.  I started by showing them, Skeleton Hiccups by Margery Cuyler. On the back cover, it says "What is the best way for a skeleton to get rid of his bone-rattling, teeth-chattering, belly-laughing hiccups?"  So I posed this question to my students. I led them to the graphic organizer. They were very excited and ready to name their skeleton. (I have lots of Bobs and Franks).

Main Character Needs:
1. Obvious: To cure hiccups
2. Hidden: Something else he needs, such as a friend, etc

Inciting Incident: Then one day...

3 Complications:
1. First try to get rid of the hiccups
2. Second try to get rid of the hiccups
3. The Bleakest Moment: Or 3rd try, but the strangest one!

Help: Who has the idea to help him?
Lesson or Decision: What does he do to finally cure the hiccups?

Resolution: What will he do next time?

Next, they had to turn it into a story.  We are really working on word choice for this activity. So as I edit their papers I am underlining boring or over used words.  I am also showing them how much a few word changes can really improve a story, by reading examples of their work.
After most of them had come up with their own ideas, and I had a few struggling, I showed them this list 55 Ridiculous Ways to Cure Hiccups

Next, they wrote their final copies on this cute paper I made!

I could not for the life of me figure out how to insert the PDF and keep the font! So you just get to see the picture! If you would like the document, you can email me!

Then we made cute little skeletons out of Q-Tips and I read them the story. I didn't want them to copy the original Skeleton Hiccups story, I wanted them to come up with their own ideas! They loved it and some of them turned out really cute!