Creating A Fantasy Picture Story Book
After we have studied the elements of fantasy and read some fantasy stories, the students will write their own fantasy story. This will be done in partners or groups. The final product will be an illustrated fantasy story that contains one or more of the elements we learned at the beginning of this unit.
Students will decide what type of fantasy they would be interested in writing. Will it be one with mythical creatures, one where humans have magical powers or one where animals are like humans? They must decide if the imaginary world is the only world in the story or if the characters move from the human world into the imaginary world. They need to choose a main character, whether it be male, female or animal. What do they want this character to do? What challenges will this character be faced with? What, if any, powers does this character have and what is the fantastic object that they will use? What kind of villain will the book have and what will its powers be?
The students should have about a week to write and illustrate this story. Details like the length, type of binding, etc. can be left to the teacher. We all have students of different ages and abilities, so this unit can be adapted to your classroom needs. A good way to keep the students focused is to provide them a checklist of things that need to be covered in the story. For example, each of the elements of fantasy needs to be checked as being used or not used. Also, a list of the literary elements needs to be addressed and noted where it occurs in the story. So let's say the rough draft of the story is turned in and the paragraphs or pages are numbered. On the checklist the students would note where in the story, page or paragraph, it provides the setting or the universal theme is revealed. Also they would note where the use of point of view is revealed and where the conflict is noted. It would be a way for the teacher to check that the students are understanding the assignment in incorporating the elements learned properly. Also this is a good way to keep the students focused on using and applying the knowledge they gained from the lesson. These books will definitely be something to display and something the students will be proud of. Be sure to expose the students to many fantasy picture books in addition to those used for the literature circle. It would be good if they could refer to some of the books as they are working to get ideas. This is especially helpful for the struggling readers who may not know where to begin when writing an original story.
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