We have really been working hard on prewriting our Harris Burdock story using the plot structure and vocabulary: exposition/background, rising actions, climax, falling actions, resolution along with storyboarding the major scenes or events to help us organize our creative thoughts. Taking notes from our Author Study of Chris Van Allsburg, we now are coming up with a creative fiction piece that has a touch of magic, a little mystery, and possible a slight cliffhanger. We also have talked a lot about character development and having our main character grow through our story. It has been a lot of fun to unleash their imagination and see the different journeys it takes them.
These past few weeks we made the fun jump into creative writing. I am super excited to see their imagination unleashed as we take on the mystery surrounding Harris Burdick and his lost illustrations. We each got to select just one of the images to inspire a complete mystery story that works to follow a plot structure.The story of Harris Burdick: The year was 1953. The evening was dark and heavy, as if a winter coat had been thrown upon the Chicago landscape. Rain fell down in torrents so much so that cars drove slowly and carefully, and no one ventured outside unless it was of utmost importance. On the corner of 5th and Vine Street, a small man in a drenched overcoat frantically wiped his round glasses, trying to read the scribbled note in his hands. Searching frantically from building to building, at last the small man discovered the address he was looking for and stepped inside the brightly lit foyer. Trudging up the three flights of steps the man with the spectacles stopped in front of the office door for 303. On the glass window was etched in large manuscript writing, “Wenders Publishing Company- Mr. Peter Wenders and Associates.” ‘This is my chance’ thought the man with the prominent nose and round glasses. ‘This is my chance to finally share my stories with the world.” Once inside the office, the man introduced himself to the receptionist as Harris Burdick and explained that he had an appointment. The receptionist led Mr. Burdick down a long hallway to the large oaken door that read, “Peter Wenders.” Inside an older man with a white beard smiled and introduced himself as Peter Wenders, children’s book publisher. Eager to get to finally show his work, Harris Burdick produced from beneath his raincoat a large brown portfolio. From within it, Harris Burdick produced fifteen beautifully illustrated pictures. Each picture bore a hand‐drawn charcoal image, a title, and the first line of a story. As Mr. Wenders reviewed the pictures his smile grew with every new image. In a manner, which did not hide his enthusiasm, Mr. Wenders firmly shook Mr. Burdick’s hand and begged to see the stories that accompanied these marvelous works of art. Excited to have a publishing deal, Mr. Burdick promised to return the next day with the fifteen stories and would then be able to talk business with Mr. Wenders. Because of the torrential downpour of rain, Harris Burdick asked to keep the images there with Wenders and promised to return the next day first thing in the morning. As morning of the next day approached, Mr. Burdick did not show. By noon there was still no appearance of the man in the oval glasses nor were there stories to accompany the charcoal drawings which sat proudly on Peter Wender’s desk. By 2:00 pm Mr. Wenders approached his secretary to see if perhaps there were any messages from Mr. Burdick. There were none. And as the day faded into night and Mr. Harris Burdick did not show up, so it was with next day and the next and the next. Weeks passed, and then months. As the years went by the mystery of Harris Burdick remained. Whatever happened to that imaginary young man whose pictures were of such delight and intrigue? Why would a man who had fame and fortune at his fingertips vanish into the night? And what of his images, possessing a title and first introductory line? What were the heroic, amusing, creative, and scary stories that were meant to join these pictures? Therein lies the true mystery of Harris Burdick... Read more at The Harris Burdick Website For us, this marks our dive into an extensive prewriting process, first exploring the plot structure using vocabulary such as: exposition, rising actions, climax, and falling actions, along with creating our own maps to accompany our stories, We also have explored using storyboarding to help organize and plan the major events before moving forward. The detail they are adding to their characters and the magical worlds they are creating is exciting! These illustrations have become wonderful sparks to our imagination as we write and create our own mystery story in the style of Chris Van Allsburg, the author we are studying in Reading. (See Reading tab). Also, if you want a fun time lapse video of our Writer's Workshop in action, check it out! As most of us finish up publishing our first person narratives, I am going to compile our hard work into a wonderful 3rd Grade Memoir that captures our experiences that define who we are!
What inspires you? What defines you? What stories do you have to share with the world? These first few weeks we are working on crafting true stories that help answer, who am I? To do so we created our Writer's Heart that holds the memories, people, and places that make us who we are. We then are using such as inspiration for writing LONG and LOTS with the goal of building stamina up to 40 minutes of uninterrupted writing! Our Writing Journals also are becoming an artifact to hold all the fun events and happenings that we may want to write about later on! I am excited to get to know each of my students more through their storyteller's voice!
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AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
June 2015
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