Snatching a Series provides an opportunity for readers and writers to invest in their prior knowledge of a familiar story character for the purpose of creating a new storyline. Students’ creative energy can be focused on the development of setting and plot.
Strategies/Skills Used
Reading Strategy 1: Access background knowledge.
Reading Strategy 2: Predict what will be learned or what will happen
Reading Strategy 6: Connect what you read with what you already know.
(1) From a new story featuring a familiar story character, pre-select three or four images that students will examine and manipulate in order to predict what sort of adventure might befall the character in a brand new story. Successful characters for this activity include Linda Bailley’s Stanley, Mo Willems’ Pigeon or Elephant and Piggie, Melanie Watt’s Scaredy Squirrel, and Eric Litwin’s Pete the Cat.
(2) Introduce one of the images and have students recall, with partners, the personal traits of that character.
(3) Record words, descriptions, and expressions that bring the character back to life for the class.
(4) Invite students to work in partners to discuss what is happening in each illustration and how the illustrations might fit together sequentially to create a story.
(5) In a follow-up lesson, read the actual sequel, and have students compare their story predictions to the author’s new story.
Primary
Intermediate
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Secondary
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