Guaranteed Giggles Flex Class - Let's Write Funny Stories!

Kids are going to learn how to write a funny story with my step-by-step instructions. 

Week One:  I will make a video introducing myself and explaining how the class will work.  Although we don't have any scheduled times to meet and greet, I'm hoping we can find a time that we can get together at least once or twice to read our stories to each other.  

The students are to choose any animal. The more exotic, the better.  They will be asked to research the animal and find at least five interesting facts about it.  They will send these facts to me through Google Drive.  This integrates science with creative writing. :)

I will model a finished piece by reading my own story entitled, "The Day I Woke Up as an Ostrich." 

Week Two:  The students will use the facts they gathered to write a funny beginning of a story entitled, "The Day I Woke Up as a/an...."  I will explain exactly how to start the story and how to make it funny. For example, if I woke up as an ostrich, I would be amazed at my tiny beak and huge feet! I would also be amazed at my sudden desire to eat turtles and lizards!  I will teach the students every aspect of good story writing while they're having fun using their imaginations! 

Week Three: The students will add a middle to the story. They will use more facts  
they gathered last week.  For example, if the student chose to write a story about becoming an ostrich, he would be able to run up to 40 miles per hour! That would be interesting if animal control were trying to catch him! 

Week Four: They will end their stories in a satisfying way.  An ostrich could end up in a zoo, someone's pet, or any number of places! If the student desires, he or she can concoct a way to turn the character back into a human. It's all about having fun writing - while learning about animals in the process! 

I have used this writing strategy with dozens of students of all ages. Even teenagers enjoy imagining themselves as exotic animals! It's fun to weave facts into the stories too! 

Since this will be a flexible schedule class, there will be no scheduled live meetings. I am hoping we can all decide to meet online at the same time at least one night.  I will keep in close contact with the students with detailed messages. They will create the story on Google Drive and share the link with me.
 (If they don't know how to do that yet, that's fine. I can teach how. It's a free storage and writing program that everyone gets when they have a Google account, such as a Gmail address. You simply type https://google.com/drive into your address bar. 

I will read their stories, compliment their hard work, make helpful suggestions, and send it back for them to edit and revise. 

They will return the story to me and I will grade it with a writing rubric that I use in my public school writing classes if parents want them to have a grade. I am fine with not grading the writing if the parents feel that the experience is a valuable one in itself, as I do. 

If the students want to share their writings with each other, we can do that through Google Drive or Outschool Messaging. 

I plan to offer a class soon to teach kids how to get their stories published as ebooks and print books! 

I will be writing to your child often using the Outschool chat room about the scenarios in the videos and articles so we can discuss the top tips that they are learning. Each week, I will ask that your child responds to me about the tips presented, so I can assess his or her understanding and clarify if needed. 


Flexible schedule classes are great for busy people - like you!