Using Technology to Become Efficient Researches and Writers

Historical Fiction Picture Books

In writing class, students are learning to write in the genre of historical fiction.  They are working to complete a historical fiction picture book that is set in the Civil Rights Movement.  We are using the mentor text, Back of the Bus, to inspire our work.  

Students are working through the writing process in order to complete this work. Much of this work is being done on laptops.  Students are learning how to use this tool efficiently as they learn to write in this genre.

Brainstorm/Fact Find:
Students chose one of four topics from the Civil Rights movement around which to base their story.  They used a teacher-created site to access information and other resources.  They researched and took notes on the historical event they chose.


     













Organize:
Students planned out the physical and emotional settings of their stories.

They learned about the structure of fiction stories as we acted out how stories tend to go (we call it a "story mountain").


    



Then made their own story mountains.

They expanded their story mountains into storyboards.

Draft:
Currently, students are drafting their stories, paying special attention to setting details and precise vocabulary to convey emotion.

The final drafts of the text are due on February 5th.  And then it's on to the illustrations!  Students will be illustrating in the style of a Civil Rights era artist.