Writing Lab #13: Alternative Story Endings

Class Syllabus – Grades 3-5

May 1, 2023

Objective: Students will understand how a character’s traits determine the outcome of a story. Students will also use character analysis to create an alternate ending to a previously read book.

Essential Questions:

1. What is a character trait?
2. Why is it important to understand character traits?
3. What is fan-fiction and why might writing fan-fiction help us to be better writers and readers?

Enduring Understandings:

1. A character trait refers to how we describe a character, such as how they act, talk, or respond to situations.
2. It is important to understand character traits because they can help a reader better understand the character and why a character acts the way he or she does in the story.
3. Fan-fiction is a literary genre. Everyday fans feature characters, settings, and plots from their favorite, pre-existing TV, novels, manga, movies, and other media. Writing fanfiction allows us to keep the story going, and requires both creativity and a firm understanding of the characters featured.

Standards

Grade 3: L.3.3. – Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening. A. Choose words and phrases for effect. B. Recognize and observe differences between the conventions of spoken and written standard English.

Grade 4: L.4.3. Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening. A. Choose words and phrases to convey ideas precisely. B. Choose punctuation for effect. C. Differentiate between contexts that call for formal English (e.g., presenting ideas) and situations where informal discourse is appropriate (e.g., small-group discussion). Grade 5: L.5.3. Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening. A. Expand, combine, and reduce sentences for meaning, reader/listener interest, and style. B. Compare and contrast the varieties of English (e.g., dialects, registers) used in stories, dramas, or poems

Materials

• Pen or pencil
• Please print:
  • The “Fan Fiction” worksheet
  • The “Fan Fiction Finales” worksheet