My All Things Fun & Fascinating class is learning how to write stories by borrowing the conflict of another story. Before I have students write a new type of story or report on their own, I have them work with me during class to complete a shared writing exercise. In this exercise, the students work with me to outline, compose the text, and edit together. This allows the students to work through the new process once with support and collaboration before branching out own their own.
Here is our borrowed conflict story, based on The Three Little Pigs.
Hiding No More
One hot, sunny day in the Gulf of Mexico, not far from New Orleans, three tiny crab brothers hid under a log just under the water. It was roughly jostling about in the waves, and the back-and-forth motion made it hard for the crabs to stay beneath the log. Many dangerous creatures were in the waters, which shifted wildly around them. They needed a strong, sturdy house to keep them safe while they hid. Plus, they were having a hard time finding hearty food nearby and often had to leave the inadequate shelter to catch something to eat. They decided to venture out and seek shelter somewhere else that would also be close to clusters of shrimp.
They crawled along the gulf floor, and once they were out far enough, the youngest brother built a house out of sand. The other brothers thought it was a horrible idea, but he crawled inside as they walked farther into the sea. In a few feet, the second brother reluctantly stopped and built a house out of some driftwood and seaweed he had collected. The eldest brother was not impressed, so he travelled a few feet more and found some rocks, which looked sturdy enough. He constructed a solid house out of the stones.
Meanwhile, an evil shark was nearby watching them. He swam to the first house and proclaimed, "Little crab, little crab, let me come in!"
The youngest replied, "Not by the antennae on my chinny, chin-chin!"
The shark announced, "Then I'll swipe your house down with my finny, fin-fin!"
The shark took aim and knocked the sand house down flat. The youngest brother took off for the house of driftwood, and the shark followed.
"Little crabs, little crabs, let me come in!"
"Not by the antennae on our chinny, chin-chins!"
"Then I'll knock your house down with my finny, fin-fin!"
In one swoosh of his caudal fin, the shark caused the driftwood house to fall flat, and the brothers ran to their eldest brother's stone house and hid within. The shark followed quickly behind, and once at the door to the stone abode, yelled, "Little crabs, little crabs, let me come in!"
"Not by the antennae on our chinny, chin-chins!"
"Then I'll knock your house down with my finny, fin-fin!"
The shark took aim and slammed his tail into the side of the house, which was thankfully indestructible. The tail hit with a loud thud, but the house stood firm. Suddenly, the shark felt a sharp pain in his tail and glanced back. He was hurt and bleeding. He cried uncontrollably and swam off to his mommy, as he regretted what he had done. He never bothered the crabs again, and they enjoyed life in the stone house for the rest of their days. They never had to hide under rotten logs or be hungry again.
The End
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