Silly Zombie Story Writing Workshop
Download this Silly Zombie Story Writing Workshop to use in your classroom or library.
Writing a Story
A story really starts when something changes. In some stories we see the main character’s life before that change. In other stories, the change happens right away. For this writing workshop, the prompt begins with that change, a big surprise for the narrator: When I saw the zombie on Halloween...
For every action there is a reaction and so the story goes from beginning to end. In this story, the silly zombie shows up so our narrator reacts. This new action causes the zombie to react, so the narrator must act again, and so it goes back and forth as the tension rises until the end. Because this is a silly story, the ending is a surprise, something the reader did not expect. What will their surprise be? That is up to your young writers.
Read - Think - Write
The first step to writing the story is pre-writing, the thinking and planning step. I find it helpful to use a planning chart at this step, so I created one for you to use with your young writers.
Share the Frank E. Stein pre-writing example with your writers so they can see how the chart is used. Facing a blank page stumps many writers, so I always begin with an example. After you share this example, talk about possible variations. What could they write about? This will get their imaginations started.
Step 1: Write an action on the lines inside each story box. (The first one is already done for you.)
Now hand out the blank pages and proceed step-by-step. Ask your young writers to begin with the actions of the story. They will fill in the blanks by writing one action in each story box.The first line is already completed, leaving six boxes for the students to fill in. These story boxes proceed step-by-step from the surprising beginning to an even more surprising (and silly) ending.
Step 2: Write 4 details (sounds, feelings, descriptions, actions) on the lines outside each story box.
Once the students have decided what is going to happen, it’s time to embellish. It is the specific details of a story that make it come alive. Ask your young writers to go back to the top of the chart and add four specific details to each story box. They can add sounds, feelings, descriptions, and more actions. They don’t need to write sentences yet. Just a few keywords are all that is needed.
Step 3: Use these ideas to write your silly zombie story!
After all of this brainstorming, your students are ready to write. You can use the author/illustrator page included in this writing workshop kit. Or you can you use this planning page as a starting point for a short script that students can make into a mini comic or video. Have fun!
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