Teacher Instructions & Lesson Resources :
Pre-step (talking about the word episode with your students) Kim--the creator of this on-line writing prompt--became intrigued by the concept of episodic writing when she took the Northern Nevada Writing Project's Summer Institute in 2003. An informational and inspirational article about episodic writing (complete with several examples from adults you might share with your students) can be found at the National Writing Project's website by clicking here. This spring, Kim will be adding student samples from her own students. Her students are working on a year-long episodic-writing assignment.
Explaining her interest in episodic writing, Kim says, "So many times students want to write simple lists of events. If you ask them to write about their scariest moment, many of them are inclined to write a series of the scariest things that have ever happened to them in their entire lives, instead of focusing interesting details on just one event. This writing tends to lack both organization and idea development. There is little to grabs the reader in a string of an underdeveloped incidents."
But might there be? Could a list of different episodes prove to be interesting and captivating? Could they tell a larger story?
Talk about the word episode with your students before sharing the book. Explain that the book will be sharing multiple episodes from a character's life--out of order episodes--and all the episodes come together to explain the importance of family. The book is a complete story, but it's told through episodes, which can be a very unique way to write about a topic.
Step one (sharing the published model): Pictures of Hollis Woods is a brilliantly written book that uses an organizational writing style called episodic writing. In this story, Hollis Woods recounts her experiences in a current foster home along side the memories she shared with the Regans, the foster family from her past who has loved her the most. The writer, Patricia Reilly Giff, has done an amazing job of developing the chapters into well-thought-out episodes of Hollis’ life. She includes the most intricate details, while grabbing the reader by continuing with the theme of children in foster care.
Kim suggests teachers share this example from Hollis Woods to read to their students: The Eighth Picture: End of Summer, which begins on page 77 of Kim's edition of the book. Kim explains, "In this 'picture,' Hollis recounts the most important details of the day that the Regans asked her to be a permanent part of her family. She makes the pages come alive so that you feel as if you are sitting with the family, partaking in their conversation."
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