## Project A: a short story

Writing a short story
You are going to write a short story. Here are three possible titles to choose from.
The content of the story should be about a relationship – friendship or family.
There are lots of steps – so read all the steps before you start so that you know what you have to do!

Here are three titles. Choose one. Pieces of Time Love broken Walking hatred
Brainstorm your ideas. There’s a lot to think about! Think about an introduction. Here are some introduction ideas: a character says something; a description of the place; a description of the time; your own ideas. Think about the characters: how many are there? Write down some of their qualities and a physical description. Think about your characters as your friends: what is their favourite food? What do they do to relax? This way you will be able to write about them more confidently and believably. When does the story take place? In the present/past/ future? Where does the story take place? In a town/city/ a house/ a school/ a classroom/ two or more places?
For this story use a five-parts to structure the action. Look at the example below that was for a story about a stolen necklace. Start of the action: The necklace is mentioned for the first time – a girl is wearing it. Then more events that lead to the action: The thief decides to steal the necklace. The climax – the point at which decisions are made: The thief steals the necklace but the girl’s sister sees the thief, and the thief sees the sister. The story will begin to conclude: The sister quickly runs away and calls the police. Then she identifies the thief – a famous jewel thief. Finally the story ends: The girl thanks her sister for getting her favourite necklace back.
Start writing! It can be hard to start with but if you spend time preparing, it will certainly be easier. Your final story should be no more than 500 words (about 1 and ½ pages of A4).
When you have written your story, leave it for a while. Come back and read it again with fresh eyes.

Ask a classmate to read it for you. They might be able to make some suggestions. Ask one person to read it for grammar and spelling, and ask a different person to read it for ideas. Ask them to tell you if it makes sense! Read their suggestions but remember, you don’t have to include all of them – it’s YOUR story!
​When you’re happy with your story, let your teacher publish on your class blog.
Read everyone else’s and see which one you like best, and why.

Assessment rubric for final project: LOVE

| Good | Sufficient | Unsufficient | Points*
Character | The characters are clearly described. We know what they are feeling and thinking. | The characters are described and we mostly know what they are feeling/thinking. | We know very little about the characters. There is no/not enough description of their feelings/thoughts. | 2 points
Setting | Clearly describes where the story takes place. | Names the place where the story takes place but there is no detail. | It’s unclear where the story takes place. | 2 points
Action | The story is clear and contains the five parts. | It is a good story and contains five parts. | It is a story with unclear and doesn’t have five parts. | 2 points
Language | The vocabulary use is very good and the sentence structure is good. | The vocabulary use is fairly good and the sentence structure is good. | The vocabulary use is not very good, neither is the sentence structure. | 2 points

* 1 point for each correct answer.