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Stories have many elements; that is why they can be difficult to create. Writing a story that stays on topic and flows can be extremely difficult for adults, let alone children. It is essential to build on top of prior knowledge and provide opportunities for students to make meaning and apply their understanding so that they develop into confident writers. The Once upon a time… method continues to build on the elements of storytelling by introducing further concepts around imaginary writing and storytelling techniques. This activity begins to look at the setting, which was previously explored in the Recount Story, as well as looking at the back story of characters and the point of change (call to action) in a story that leads to an adventure. It is the first introduction to plot development and sophisticated story-telling. The Once upon a time… story telling technique is used widely and is one of Disney Pixar’s plot frameworks.
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Once Upon a Time... |
Once upon a time:
This is the start of the story. It explores who the story is about and where the story will take place.
Every day:
This is where we get to learn about the characters and their usual life. As students’ progress with writing, this information can be used to backfill the story with further details.
One day:
This is the moment of change; the problem in the story. This is where something unusual happens that disrupts the character’s usual day. As students become more adept at using this strategy, beginning with the moment of change helps students write with more action and excitement to begin their story.
Because of that:
This is what happened because of the change. This could be the solution to the problem or merely lead the reader to the next event or problem.
Until Finally:
This is what happened because of the change. This could be the solution to the problem or merely lead the reader to the next event or problem.
This is the start of the story. It explores who the story is about and where the story will take place.
Every day:
This is where we get to learn about the characters and their usual life. As students’ progress with writing, this information can be used to backfill the story with further details.
One day:
This is the moment of change; the problem in the story. This is where something unusual happens that disrupts the character’s usual day. As students become more adept at using this strategy, beginning with the moment of change helps students write with more action and excitement to begin their story.
Because of that:
This is what happened because of the change. This could be the solution to the problem or merely lead the reader to the next event or problem.
Until Finally:
This is what happened because of the change. This could be the solution to the problem or merely lead the reader to the next event or problem.
Aim
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This strategy offers a range of entry points for the various types of writers in the primary classroom.
The ideas generated in the planning framework can be used to create a short text which means all students can contribute. The more familiar students become with the planning and writing, the easier it will become for them to build upon their current knowledge. For confident writers, this strategy opens the door to create 3-dimensional characters and settings and begin to learn that stories explore a point in time and that the world they create has a timeline before and after the event told. |
Personal note: I always make sure that students understand that this is the method used by Disney Pixar in a lot of their films. Seeing this structure unpack with real-life movies and then applying the same structure can be motivating for children. |
This strategy is about developing control and cohesion: it's not about creativity. Give students the confidence to get their ideas down and develop them with extra detail. The crafting can come later.
Deconstruction
The Once Upon a Time… strategy can lend itself to a much more detailed story. The ‘because of that’ frame can set up the whole journey. Have a look at how Disney Pixar use this technique to begin the journey that becomes their story; take for example the plot of Toy Story:
Once Upon a Time in use:
1. Once upon a time … there was a boy named Andy who loved toys – especially his cowboy Woody.
2. Every day … Andy would play with Woody and his other toys – Woody was always the hero.
3. One day … Andy had a birthday and his mum gave him a Space Ranger called Buzz Lightyear.
4. Because of that … Woody was forgotten and he became jealous of Buzz who he pushed out the window.
5. Because of that … The other toys were annoyed, so Woody set off after Buzz. (This leads to multiple ‘because of that’ events.)
6. Until finally … Woody and Buzz return to the rest of Andy’s toys as friends and equals.
This is a simple overview of a story that could be retold; however, most movies and stories will repeatedly follow this similar pattern in their story-telling.
Once Upon a Time in use:
1. Once upon a time … there was a boy named Andy who loved toys – especially his cowboy Woody.
2. Every day … Andy would play with Woody and his other toys – Woody was always the hero.
3. One day … Andy had a birthday and his mum gave him a Space Ranger called Buzz Lightyear.
4. Because of that … Woody was forgotten and he became jealous of Buzz who he pushed out the window.
5. Because of that … The other toys were annoyed, so Woody set off after Buzz. (This leads to multiple ‘because of that’ events.)
6. Until finally … Woody and Buzz return to the rest of Andy’s toys as friends and equals.
This is a simple overview of a story that could be retold; however, most movies and stories will repeatedly follow this similar pattern in their story-telling.
Pre-Writing
Students select a theme or use the theme provided to plan a short story. Initially, the four elements of Once upon a time… can create an entire story. Learning how to plan with this tool helps students drastically improve their fluency rate. The children are provided with four main planning boxes to map out their story. The story should be drawn and labelled with captions written to explain the story outline.
Once Upon a Time... |
Everyday |
One Day |
Because of that... |
Finally |
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For children to be able to further develop the plot of their story, they can plan for events that may occur on the way to resolving the problem. Using the familiar framework first explored when learning about The Recount Story helps children easily list their ideas. There is no set number of events needed, but children can jot down their ideas so that they have a clear picture of where their story is headed.
Because of that (first) |
Because of that (next) |
Because of that (then) |
Because of that (after) |
Until finally |
Value |
By using drawings and labelling pictures, children can explore descriptive features of environments and characters. Furthermore, students can think about feelings and emotions experienced at different events and add these details in their writing. These elements can be added to their writing from their planning page.
Depending on the needs of the students. The planning can be done as a whole class, with peers or individually.
Writing
The purpose of this technique is to encourage storytelling. At the basic level, it is about creating a short one paragraph story. It covers the basic elements of a narrative to create a short story.
The text can be constructed at the most basic level which allows access for all writers:
The text can be constructed at the most basic level which allows access for all writers:
Once upon a time there was a crew of evil pirates. Every day they would sail their ship on the ocean. One day they discovered an Island. It was the Island of Doom. They went and explored the island. The pirates didn’t know that when you went on the island you couldn’t escape. They were trapped.
At the basic level, this strategy creates a setting, characters, a moment that changes the usual lives that leads to a new experience and then trials and tribulations associated with the journey. This is a more sophisticated plot preparation than the previous strategies as it gives insight to the past of the characters. This means all students can readily participate and there is scope for complex story telling off the back of this planning strategy.
The sun reflected on the water as the waves splashed against the large wooden ship. Captain Pete and his crew were headed for land. Nothing would stop them from discovering The Cursed Treasure of The Island of Doom.
They dropped the anchor and rowed to shore. Captain Pete's feet sank into the soft golden sand. Crabs scuttled and waves crashed over the beautiful sea shells. Captain Pete took a deep breath and smelt the sea air. A grin appeared on his face as he scanned the beach. At the top of the beach there were trees, but he was looking for a special tree. Two special trees. Over by the rocks, where the seagulls perched, there were two tilted palm trees. Captain Pete looked at his map.
"That way men!" he ordered as the gang of unruly pirates set of towards the spot that had been marked 'X' on the map.
His crew dug and dug until they heard a 'clunk'. It was the chest.
As he began to open the lid, the goblins attacked. Pete and his crew were forced away from the treasure and into a dark cave. They were trapped.
Suddenly, Captain Pete had an idea. He remembered an old tale his grandfather had told him. He took out a match & scraped it against the wall. The goblins let out a shriek. They were scared of fire.
Captain Pete & his crew ran from the cave and past the goblins. They picked up the chest and scurried back on deck. As the boat left the bay, Captain Pete smiled. He opened the chest but inside was empty. The real treasure was a great adventure.
They dropped the anchor and rowed to shore. Captain Pete's feet sank into the soft golden sand. Crabs scuttled and waves crashed over the beautiful sea shells. Captain Pete took a deep breath and smelt the sea air. A grin appeared on his face as he scanned the beach. At the top of the beach there were trees, but he was looking for a special tree. Two special trees. Over by the rocks, where the seagulls perched, there were two tilted palm trees. Captain Pete looked at his map.
"That way men!" he ordered as the gang of unruly pirates set of towards the spot that had been marked 'X' on the map.
His crew dug and dug until they heard a 'clunk'. It was the chest.
As he began to open the lid, the goblins attacked. Pete and his crew were forced away from the treasure and into a dark cave. They were trapped.
Suddenly, Captain Pete had an idea. He remembered an old tale his grandfather had told him. He took out a match & scraped it against the wall. The goblins let out a shriek. They were scared of fire.
Captain Pete & his crew ran from the cave and past the goblins. They picked up the chest and scurried back on deck. As the boat left the bay, Captain Pete smiled. He opened the chest but inside was empty. The real treasure was a great adventure.
This strategy is about developing an understanding of the planning and structures that help when writing. The improved use of language techniques comes from spending time exploring the use of language and building vocabulary in the context of writing. This strategy provides a place where the skills learnt can be put into place. This only occurs through explicit teaching and demonstration.
Examples:
A long time ago there was a beautiful village which was located in a valley full of green grass. People lived happily and peacefully with each other. Suddenly a big scary dragon came to destroy the village. Then a brave hero appeared. He fought bravely and defeated the dragon. The people thanked the hero and he left.
7-year-old boy
Once upon a time, there was a pretty princess called Rose and she lived with her mum and dad. They lived in a palace made of diamonds. Rose’s bedroom was the prettiest. Every day they go for a walk. They always saw the same things. They always saw a fountain, butterflies and blue birds. One day when they were walking back they saw a prince. The princess went to talk to the prince. She asked would you like to marry me? The prince said yes so, they walked back to the castle to have a wedding.
6-year-old girl
A long time ago there was a beautiful village which was located in a valley full of green grass. People lived happily and peacefully with each other. Suddenly a big scary dragon came to destroy the village. Then a brave hero appeared. He fought bravely and defeated the dragon. The people thanked the hero and he left.
7-year-old boy
Once upon a time, there was a pretty princess called Rose and she lived with her mum and dad. They lived in a palace made of diamonds. Rose’s bedroom was the prettiest. Every day they go for a walk. They always saw the same things. They always saw a fountain, butterflies and blue birds. One day when they were walking back they saw a prince. The princess went to talk to the prince. She asked would you like to marry me? The prince said yes so, they walked back to the castle to have a wedding.
6-year-old girl
Self-Monitoring
Self-monitoring focuses on the secretarial writing skills we want the students to have ownership over.
Is there punctuation?
Does it make sense?
Have I underlined words I'm unsure of or think are spelt incorrectly?
Can others read my work?
By introducing these goals and following it up with reviewing strategies, children, from the beginning, become responsible for the editing of their own work. This is an important step in building successful writers. Depending on the age group, it could be beneficial to select just one goal on which to focus; however, all goals are critical to the foundation of continued writing success and it is recommended that both are set for each task. Different goals should be the focus for different students.
With this in mind, we can develop the self-monitoring skills of children at the same time as their deeper understanding of language.
Is there punctuation?
Does it make sense?
Have I underlined words I'm unsure of or think are spelt incorrectly?
Can others read my work?
By introducing these goals and following it up with reviewing strategies, children, from the beginning, become responsible for the editing of their own work. This is an important step in building successful writers. Depending on the age group, it could be beneficial to select just one goal on which to focus; however, all goals are critical to the foundation of continued writing success and it is recommended that both are set for each task. Different goals should be the focus for different students.
With this in mind, we can develop the self-monitoring skills of children at the same time as their deeper understanding of language.
Feedback
Effective feedback is challenging in a class setting. Sitting down and having personal conferences is time consuming - that doesn't mean it shouldn't happen, but as a teacher we need to find a balance. At this basic level, I find I'm still focusing on the secretarial skills: developing the self-monitoring around punctuation. Therefore, I find a lot of my one-to-one conversations are about guiding students to take ownership of sentence boundaries and spelling - this is an expectation for all students.
However, verbal feedback and praise is given to acknowledge achievement, progress or attainment of learning intention through the implementation of success criteria. Reluctant writers will get this praise to build confidence - be explicit about what they did and what you like about it, whereas for more capable writers, a suggestion may be given to help develop them further.
However, verbal feedback and praise is given to acknowledge achievement, progress or attainment of learning intention through the implementation of success criteria. Reluctant writers will get this praise to build confidence - be explicit about what they did and what you like about it, whereas for more capable writers, a suggestion may be given to help develop them further.
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Tension: Highlight a complication scene from the text. Has the text been successfully slowed down to connect the audience? Discuss the scene and attempt to rewrite using various tension building techniques. Beginnings The purpose of 'once upon a time' is to generate ideas and for planning. When it comes to writing, most students should be past this story beginning. If leads have been taught, encourage children to rewrite their beginnings using a lead, a different lead or trying to write from a different perspective or point of view. |
In terms of where to next feedback, I generally find through reading, talking and observing that a whole class direction can be taken and that new goal is demonstrated in the next lesson. Remember, the type of feedback you give will depend on the level of the class.
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Knowledge of how to portray a character gives children the ability to develop greater understanding of the texts they read. Adjectives are the biggest problem children face. As writers, we don't want to just tell our reader all the information about a character. We want the character to speak to them from the page. We want the audience predicting and connecting with our characters and we do this through how the character acts and responds throughout out the text. The key is littering the text with clues throughout to let the reader know information about the characters. Remember, it's a balance, the whole text shouldn't be a guessing game. Tell when it is necessary and embed your characters traits throughout the text.
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Personal note: Balancing skill development with the ability to compose can be challenging. I always find it best to teach new ideas with old texts or fairy tales so that the children don't have to balance the attempt at a new strategy with the weight of generating ideas which may impact their thinking space. |
Where to Next?The beginning is everything. As a teacher, let alone a reader, a strong beginning has me more excited about the text I'm about to read. Once children are familiar with the concept of this strategy, showing them how to choose an effective starting point is key.
Is it more interesting to start with a captain and crew loading supplies on to a ship and then sailing from port to port or is it better to start when the lightning hits the ship or with a shout of 'Land Ahoy'? How can we decide where we enter the story? |
The Once Upon a Time... strategy offers the balance for reluctant and confident writers. It builds on the knowledge learnt in the previous stage and also acts as a culmination of the skills learnt. However, at the same time, it still provides opportunities to advance further into story-telling. Developing Writing is about developing the skills to plan ideas and turn them into a written text. Explicitly demonstrating and then teaching children how to bring their other skills to theirs texts is imperative.
Connecting to Exploring And Further Techniques
Our strategies need to be connected. Here are some places to focus to add begin to help children craft their writing.
show, Don't TellAre there parts of the text where the show, don't tell strategy can be used?
Rather than say: Captain Pete was a mean looking pirate. Use: A long, jagged scar ran from beneath the patch, down his cheek before disappearing into his thick black beard. A grim smirk appeared, revealing scattered gold fillings among the remaining, decaying teeth. He raised his cutlass and pointed. "Ye shall walk the plank!" |
LeadsBegin in the moment. If the text is about the beach, then start at the beach. Unless it is essentail, the reader doesn't need to know about the morning routine.
The pirates lumbered on to the deck carrying supplies for their adventure. It was going to take 6 months so they needed lots of things. They packed sugar, wheat, and most importantly, gun powder. Becomes: "Land Ahoy!" They stood on deck and glared out across the ocean. Their weathered bodies barely standing after the treacherous journey across the sea. Mist rose off the ocean, but there was no doubting it. A mysterous isle lie ahead. |
EndingsTry to end in the moment. A reflection or lesson learnt can be a powerful ending. An ending should be satisfying for the reader and not an abrupt end.
Inside was treasure and so they became rich and lived a happy life. Becomes: The chest was filled with gold. Sam looked at Tom who was grinning from ear to ear. They couldn't believe the tales were true. Sam hugged Tom: a tight embrace. This journey had brought them more than riches. It had brought the two brothers back together. |
These are further techniques for a reason. When being used with younger kids, balance expectations. It's great to expose children but it shouldn't become the only expecataion. Remember if their energy is being used by these techniques, other aspects of their writing may suffer due to the 'ripple' effect of writing.
BE PATIENT
BE PATIENT