Six-Word Short Story Lesson

Lesson Plan Ties to the POS:

5.2 Work within a Group

Cooperate with others
contribute collaboratively in group situations, by asking questions and
building on the ideas of others
3.4 Share and Review
Share ideas and information
communicate ideas and information in a variety of oral, print and other
media texts, such as reports, autobiographies, brochures and video
presentations
1.2 Clarify and Extend
Consider the ideas of others
listen and respond constructively to alternative ideas or opinions
Combine ideas
use talk, writing and representing to examine, clarify and assess
understanding of ideas, information and experiences
Extend understanding
talk with others to elaborate ideas, and ask specific questions to seek helpful
feedback

Lesson Intro:

- Will be focused on re-introducing some examples of 6 word short

stories. We will be talking about the process of writing our own.
Start with a big idea and move inward towards the compact six
words. This will take some trial and error.

Writing Steps:

Table groups will be given a visual writing response to create their own six-
word story from.
-this activity is scaffolding students to be able to harness their creative
minds more readily. Think of it as almost a test run, or brainstorming
activity. The group is working together to refine and edit these works
so that they can have more confidence as individuals with the same
assignment.

Groups will have a sheet of large paper to publish their final six-word short
story on. (Only used for the finished product). This story will be written in a
text bubble. Other groups will rotate around their peers tables writing text
responses about others stories. These can be inferences, guesses,
interpretations etc.
 - First think about a big picture idea, what is the message of this
topic? Then start by writing a sentence not thinking about the
number of words. This may take a few tries! When you are happy
your sentence, begin trimming the words down by taking out
unnecessary words. This process will continue until you are happy
with your combination of six words.
- When you have the six-word short story, discuss within your groups
how this story includes the five elements and how.

Students will then begin Paper Chat exercise. (See handout)

After groups have fully rotated and commented on each others works. Each
group will come back together and discuss what was important from
classmates comments etc. They may possibly share some of these points in
class discussion.