Text Structures

In the Pardo article, one section that stood out to me was the section on text structures. The exposure to narrative genres and expository structures help students understand basic story grammar and literary elements.

This brought me back to my middle school creative writing days. Every Friday, my teacher would provide us with a writing prompt-- sometimes it was creative, sometimes it was analytic. But I remember getting excited for this part of the day. I remember on prompt: Write a story about how the dragon saved the princess from the knight.

I think that creative writing opens up a new way of understanding for students. Instead of reading out of a textbook, they are applying their knowledge to create their own little something.

Another idea for teachers is to have the same prompt every week, but have students add on to it. For example, week one can be about setting, week two can be about theme, week three can be about foreshadowing...etc. This is wonderful practice for story-building and can be used as a connector to other narrative stories.