Publishing Panda Prose

Earlier this semester, third graders worked hard on researching about the giant panda.  We gained a lot of knowledge and we also read different fiction stories with panda characters.  When we came back from Spring Break,  we came full circle and started to create and write our own panda stories!  Before we started writing, we talked about story structure and what happens in the beginning, middle, and end of a story.  We outlined our stories so that each step fit with the story arc.  This would become our guide for how our story would develop.  We also talked about how story elements are revealed slowly in stories by skillful writers.

 In circle, we practiced using dialogue and experimented with different ways that a character could talk to show their feelings and emotions.   Each student developed one or more characters and thought about how their character would handle the problem in their story.  Finally, we practiced using specific detail to help readers visualize what was happening in our story.   This week, after many days of drafting and writing, we are ready to revise and type up the first pages of our book!