Hey everyone! Not sure if this is the right place to put this thread, but I guess so. As some of you may know, I'm studying to be a teacher, and that means that once in a while I need to get inside a classroom and do some teaching. I'll be having to do that a couple of times next month, and I had an idea for a certain subject that I want to teach that'd require me to write a short story. My idea was to have a short story that I could read to the kids, and then have them create their own illustrations with it. Then afterwards I'd scan the illustrations and fit them with the text of the story so it'd be like a 'real' book that they helped creating. Now my question to you all is whether you have some really cool ideas that I could use in this story. I probably could come up with something myself, but I'd just like a little input from some other people. I was thinking to make it a fantasy story, using some characters/things that are kind of used a lot (poor boy, pretty girl, dragon, evil lord, stuff like that) because it has to appeal to little kids, both boys and girls (8-9 years old). However, I don't want to make it absolute cliché story because I would hate it if it was. I'm just scared that if I start adding more original things to it, the story will get too long. I need to be able to read it to them in max. 30 minutes so they'll have time to make illustrations. Anyway, if any of you have some interesting (but not too complex) ideas about something I could use in this story, feel free to share. Thanks!
I'm thinking you should make some sort of fable or Aesop. Teach the kids a moral or lesson. To help with the illustrations, you should use powerful imagery. Really describe the characters and setting so these young children can picture it. If you're too vague or use complex themes they won't be able to relate, much less draw it.
Yeah, I was going to put some sort of moral story in it, that's always a good thing. Thanks for taking the time to reply!
I love the classic roots of fantasy, the fairy tales we've told our children for hundreds or even thousands of years. Dragons and princesses and whatnot make me feel like a child just by reading about them. I find I can enjoy the cliches if they're proportioned with a fair amount of cleverness. Perhaps, instead of adding new elements, you could alter the relationship between the old ones? For instance, the dragon could be the main character, who befriends the poor boy, and helps him win the heart of the pretty girl, in exchange for the boy's help to free him from the evil lord. Inverting an old trope can give it fresh life.
Make the story fun and interesting. I would steer away from putting a moral in the story unless it is very cleverly disguised. A group of 8 -9 year olds want to be entertained not given lessons in morals. How about taking a fairy tale and rewriting it? Something like Hansel and Gretel, instead of them being lost in the woods, make them lost in the city. How would they get home then? Or the Gingerbread Boy? What would have happened if the fox didn't eat him?
I saw this below average movie years back called 'Reign of Fire' which was about Dragons coming back in modern day after a kid finds an egg. Now the movie is too edgy for kids, as I think the dragons end up taking over the world. But maybe use a similar concept and have a story like a modern day fantasy, where someone finds a dragon's egg in modern times, the dragon hatches, and somehow add a boy as the protagonist and his girlfriend as a supporting character. I just think the strict 'fantasy' stuff may be too tame for the current generation. Imagine a world with a dragon, together with Ipods and Iphones. I don't know, just an idea. Good luck with the class. epi-mac
Prince Ezekiel takes the throne and inherits the kingdoms dragon. The dragon becomes disobedient and stops listening to him. The knights and members of the council wonder if this means they should find a new King. Prince Ezekiel has a private conversation with the dragon (which cannot speak, it can only growl), gets angry and throws a rock at it. The dragon flies away. Part I haven't figured out yet. And in the end good prevails and Ezekiel loses the throne. I'm not to shabby at writing short stories, and 3,000 words is my niche word count. I could write that idea in one maybe two days just for fun.
I don’t have so much input about the story itself but I really relish the idea of not dipping into cliché, especially about gender stereotypes in our society. Many children’s books are still riddled with daring boys who are good at maths and pretty girls that like dressing up much more than anything technical (well, at least in the truly bad books). So for your story I would consider a fantasy with a villain who symbolizes something equally threatening to boys and girls alike the most promising; the villain being a personification of greed and self-interest that can only be overcome by working together, friendship, respect and compassion—no matter who you are. I know, this might reek of cliché after all, but personally I deem a story with a morale and an outlook beyond self interest to be the most vital in education.
