SMARTS Choose Your Own Adventure Book Writing
Grade: 3-8
Teacher: Kara Zone
A Note from Your SMARTS Teacher
Hello, SMARTS students!
I hope that your school work is going well and that you are still writing great stuff. I’m sure your creative juices are flowing and that you are looking at many things and seeing that you can find inspiration. I was sad that we weren’t able to finish up our class but understood that the health and safety of everyone was the most important thing we had to do.
Now that some of the dust has settled, I am excited that we get the opportunity to finish our class through virtual methods. Although I will miss chatting you up in class, I look forward to reading your finished work in the Student Gallery!
Take care, stay healthy, and know that we will see each other again!
I hope that your school work is going well and that you are still writing great stuff. I’m sure your creative juices are flowing and that you are looking at many things and seeing that you can find inspiration. I was sad that we weren’t able to finish up our class but understood that the health and safety of everyone was the most important thing we had to do.
Now that some of the dust has settled, I am excited that we get the opportunity to finish our class through virtual methods. Although I will miss chatting you up in class, I look forward to reading your finished work in the Student Gallery!
Take care, stay healthy, and know that we will see each other again!
SMARTS Lesson
Finalize the last draft of your story and draw any illustrations to emphasize the setting or choices your reader will make.
Steps
Step One. What you’ll have to do is to have someone, a parent, or sibling read your story. If you don’t feel comfortable having someone read your story, read it aloud to yourself. It is when you read the story aloud you’ll find holes or plot points that may need to be expanded on. (If you don’t want to do either of those options, type it into an email and shoot it over to me. I’ll read it and send notes back.)
Step Two. Take notes on your draft of things you’d like to add, change, or take out. Ex: sometimes a character’s personality isn’t exactly what you’d like for it to be. Other times, there are holes left in a plot (like how someone got to a certain point in a story) you may not have realized was there when you wrote it the first time.
Step Three. Let your story sit for a few days (three to five days).
Step Four. Incorporate your notes into a new draft. This action means to write the story out one more time. Don’t worry if it sounds like a bummer, writing it out a second or third time will give you a chance to add more or take out other things you didn’t see in the first place. Remember: there is always a reason to why I instruct certain things (although some would call it a method to my madness :D ).
Step Five. Read your story one more time.
Step Six. Draw out the illustrations, maps, front covers, etc. Consider what you want your reader to see as they encounter their choices at the end of each chapter.
Step Seven. Write a description of your story for the “back cover.” Write a description of what happens in your story in about three paragraphs. This description is called “synopsis” and is what readers see on the back cover to get them interested in the book.
Step Eight. Name your story.
Step Nine. Send it to others so that they can read! Share it with your parents, friends, brothers, sisters, and anyone you’d like to share it with. Friends can read it online, through IM, or over a call platform like Zoom, Skype, or Google Hangouts. The important part is to let someone read your amazing work! Also, you might be a friend by considering offering to read another writer's work! Reading other student writing will also help you improve as a writer.
Step Ten. Be super proud of yourself that you accomplished this story. It isn’t easy to do and you’ve done something incredible.
Step Two. Take notes on your draft of things you’d like to add, change, or take out. Ex: sometimes a character’s personality isn’t exactly what you’d like for it to be. Other times, there are holes left in a plot (like how someone got to a certain point in a story) you may not have realized was there when you wrote it the first time.
Step Three. Let your story sit for a few days (three to five days).
Step Four. Incorporate your notes into a new draft. This action means to write the story out one more time. Don’t worry if it sounds like a bummer, writing it out a second or third time will give you a chance to add more or take out other things you didn’t see in the first place. Remember: there is always a reason to why I instruct certain things (although some would call it a method to my madness :D ).
Step Five. Read your story one more time.
Step Six. Draw out the illustrations, maps, front covers, etc. Consider what you want your reader to see as they encounter their choices at the end of each chapter.
Step Seven. Write a description of your story for the “back cover.” Write a description of what happens in your story in about three paragraphs. This description is called “synopsis” and is what readers see on the back cover to get them interested in the book.
Step Eight. Name your story.
Step Nine. Send it to others so that they can read! Share it with your parents, friends, brothers, sisters, and anyone you’d like to share it with. Friends can read it online, through IM, or over a call platform like Zoom, Skype, or Google Hangouts. The important part is to let someone read your amazing work! Also, you might be a friend by considering offering to read another writer's work! Reading other student writing will also help you improve as a writer.
Step Ten. Be super proud of yourself that you accomplished this story. It isn’t easy to do and you’ve done something incredible.
Where Our Story Began...
You’re on a secret island that is hidden away from the world. Your parents sent you there because you had specific abilities that they wanted to see you develop but knew that the outside world wouldn’t understand.
Today, you’re in class and the air is buzzing with excited anxiety. Your special ability will begin to become more direct after today because your grade is getting their elemental spirit animal.
An element spirit animal will be your friend, companion, and life-long guide through the enchanted world of magic you will be in. You and your friends chat about how your animal will come to you. You’ve heard about challenges from some students -- one where you have to go out into the enchanted jungle and defeat inner beasts; one where the teacher just points to you and your animal poofs right onto your desk; or one where you leap off the top of your floating high school and have to trust that your animal will come to rescue you.
In the midst of the discussion, something flashes outside the window and catches your eye. You look out and see what appears to be a dragon’s tail disappearing into the jungle below, but you could be wrong….
Flip to page 3 to find out what your elemental, spirit animal will be.
Flip to the next page to talk to your friends about what you see in the jungle.
You’re on a secret island that is hidden away from the world. Your parents sent you there because you had specific abilities that they wanted to see you develop but knew that the outside world wouldn’t understand.
Today, you’re in class and the air is buzzing with excited anxiety. Your special ability will begin to become more direct after today because your grade is getting their elemental spirit animal.
An element spirit animal will be your friend, companion, and life-long guide through the enchanted world of magic you will be in. You and your friends chat about how your animal will come to you. You’ve heard about challenges from some students -- one where you have to go out into the enchanted jungle and defeat inner beasts; one where the teacher just points to you and your animal poofs right onto your desk; or one where you leap off the top of your floating high school and have to trust that your animal will come to rescue you.
In the midst of the discussion, something flashes outside the window and catches your eye. You look out and see what appears to be a dragon’s tail disappearing into the jungle below, but you could be wrong….
Flip to page 3 to find out what your elemental, spirit animal will be.
Flip to the next page to talk to your friends about what you see in the jungle.
SMARTS Writing Prompt: What happens next?
Want to Keep Going?
Check out these writing prompts!
Check out these writing prompts!
- Go into your kitchen. Close your eyes and spin around one time. Open your eyes, and write down the first thing you see. Repeat one more time — (close eyes, spin once, open eyes, write down the next thing you see). Write a story about the two things you saw. Take fifteen minutes to do it.
- Write about what would you do if your closet went to another land?
- Write about what kind of talking animal you would like to meet.
- Write about going back in time and meeting a parent/guardian/grownup when they were your age.
End Objective
Students should have a completed Choose Your Own Adventure book with a beginning, middle, and end, a title, characters, and a front cover.
Students should have a completed Choose Your Own Adventure book with a beginning, middle, and end, a title, characters, and a front cover.
Share your work in the SMARTS Spring 2020 Student Gallery!
SMARTS families/students, the button below will take you to a site where you can upload your work. Please upload only one picture or video per class (Photography 101 students can share up to 3 photos). Videos must be no longer than 2 minutes in length.
By submitting your work to SMARTS, you are giving your consent for us to share your work in the SMARTS Student Art Gallery and publicly on our social media, website, etc. This submission overrides your media release preferences and gives SMARTS your permission to share what you have uploaded. It is SMARTS discretion which photo and video submissions will be publicly shared. Thank you.
By submitting your work to SMARTS, you are giving your consent for us to share your work in the SMARTS Student Art Gallery and publicly on our social media, website, etc. This submission overrides your media release preferences and gives SMARTS your permission to share what you have uploaded. It is SMARTS discretion which photo and video submissions will be publicly shared. Thank you.