Oct. 6, 2006 - My son's work.
My son narrated his piece to me. I just wrote what he said. 
This piece is written from the Writing Tales program that I have. 
So, I really would like to know what do people think?
His assignment was to rewrite the story first, then add his own creative touches. He had to rewrite and re-edit this piece a lot. Here goes:
Two mice named Rick and Ed went to visit their cousin Don in the country. Don welcomed his cousins. He took them to a peasants hut and got three pieces of cheese and bread.
Rick asked, "Do you have other things to eat?"
"No," said Don.
"Come to the town with Ed and I," said Rick.
When they got to the town, it was nighttime. Rick and Ed took Don to a castle. They went to a feast table. They had lots to eat. They heard a "meow." "What was that?" asked Don. "Just a cat," answered Ed.
"Why is that music so loud?" asked Don.
"No clue," said Rick. Then a cat came in and scared them away.
"Bye!" said Don. "Im going back to where I live."
"Good-bye!" Rick and Ed said.
THE END
Well, this isn't a mouse, but it is close enough.
Soli Deo Gloria
Comments
Oct. 11, 2006 - Story
Posted by Writingtales
Oh, I loved his story! Wonderful! The random music comment was great. Tell your son I thought he did a great job! Did you have him write a couple of sentences on his own, and then finish narrating the rest of the story to you? That's what my children did when they were having trouble with their fine motor skills. I didn't want it to get in the way of their story telling. Then I gradually increased how much they were writing each time. My daughter is in Writing Tales Level Two this year (it's being written as I'm going along) and finally she is writing the whole story herself without complaining, and without limiting her stories just because of her handwriting. Cool! Hey, the Writing Tales website is being built as we speak, and will be available for visitors pretty soon! All the best, Amy
Oct. 12, 2006 - Actually...
Posted by Testimony
I had to have my son do some serious editing to his writing paper and he wanted to write it himself. He wrote a four page paper. It kept going and going. I told him to stick with the skeleton of the story. I hope that I was correct. My son is really enjoying this curriculum.
Oct. 14, 2006 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Writingtales
Actually you did exactly the right thing! It's wonderful that he has such unfettered creativity! But the whole point of the program is learning to write well within prescribed parameters. When I ask them to rewrite the story again with a few extra details of their own, that's when I'm allowing them to inject some of their own creativity into the story..and yes,the basic skeleton of the story has to remain the same. That's the only drawback of allowing them to narrate the whole thing...sometimes they want to go on and on and on! But good storytellers know there has to be a beginning, a middle and an end, and by sticking to the basic bones of a previously well-written story, he's learning exactly that. And when they are so young, sometimes the benefits of narrating most of it greatly outweighs the drawbacks of forcing him to write the whole thing himself. It sounds like you're doing a fantastic job with the curriculum, and really have a handle on how it's supposed to work!
I'm so excited about Writing Tales Level Two and how it's shaping up. It's really pulling together nicely. Outlining, synonym practice, etc. etc. Very cool! Now if I could just find time to actually write it, in between schooling and co-op and music lessons and soccer games and bible quizzing......God bless!
Oct. 14, 2006 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Writingtales
Oops.sorry I missed the fact that he wanted to write it himself. That was a big detail, wasn't it? But good for him! That's terrific. Did he complain much about the editing process? Don't worry, he'll get the hang of it with the next story.
Oct. 14, 2006 - Hi
Posted by mamma1420
So tell what you think! Cute or rude?
