100 Word Stories
Submitted by: Sara Coutanche
I picked this idea up from somewhere several years ago. Unfortunately I can't remember where...
This is an activity that the kids BEG for!
1. Give each student several pieces of paper and ask them to write a word (you can limit the types of words by specifying the parts of speech you want) on each. Ask them to think of different subjects as they write. Collect all the words and put them into a box.
2. Write three words on the board that you have already thought of. One example could be: dolphin, sandwich and CD Rom.
3. Tell the students that their challenge is to write a story that contains all three of those words. They may not change the words in any way (i.e. they cannot make the words plural, past tense etc...) and their story must make sense.
4. The catch to this challenge is that the story must be EXACTLY 100 words long. No longer, no shorter.
5. The resulting stories are really interesting and the students LOVE to read each other's creations. I usually end up with a series of booklets in the reading corner, and they are always in demand!
6. After the students get the hang of it, draw three words out of the box and use those. You can also ask students to put up their hands and offer a word (they love to try and think of groups of words that seem impossible to work into a story!)