THEME: STORIES
SUBJECT: LANGUAGE ARTS
ARTIST: BILL WOODROW / GREER LANKTON
GRADE: recommended 3rd-12th grade

OBJECTIVES
Students look closely at artwork and their surroundings.
Students understand the elements of a story.
Students create a story and narrative based on visual cues and inspiration.
 
KEY QUESTIONS
1. What are your favorite stories? What do you like about them?
2. What makes a good story?
3. What are the important elements of a story?
 
VISUAL REFERENCES
1. Ship of Fools: Discovery of Time (1986) by Bill Woodrow
2. It’s all about ME, Not You (1996) by Greer Lankton
 
ACTIVITY
Walk around your house, school or neighborhood. Find a place where there are no people. Now imagine what was happening there an hour before, a day before, a year before, ten years before, fifty years before. Even if it is a very familiar place, use your imagination to write a story with an unusual twist. Use the visual elements to create something unexpected and surprising. 

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PENNSYLVANIA CORE STANDARDS
LANGUAGE ARTS

Narratives:
 (CC.1.4.3.M-CC.1.4.12.M)
-write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events
 
Narrative Focus:
 (CC.1.4.3.N-CC.1.4.5.N)
-orient the reader by establishing a situation and introducing a narrator and/or characters.
(CC.1.4.6.N-CC.1.4.8.N)
-engage and orient the reader by establishing a context (problem, situation, or observation) and point of view and introducing a narrator and/or characters
 
Narrative Organization:
(CC.1.4.3.P)
-organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally, using temporal words and/or phrases to signal event order; provide a sense of closure
(CC.1.4.4.P-CC.1.4.5.P)
-organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally, using a variety of transitional words and phrases to manage the sequence of events; provide a conclusion that follows from the narrated experiences and events
(CC.1.4.6.P-CC.1.4.12.P)
-organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically using a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence, signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another and show the relationships among experiences and events; provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on the narrated experiences or events