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My students, being ten and eleven year olds, tend to skip over prewriting and jump into the rough draft without a firm grasp on story structure. To help them understand what prewriting is all about (and why it’s so important), we went through the prewriting process together. I must say, their excitement and imagination during this activity was highly contagious.

First, we listed a bunch of topics. Everything from snowstorms to puppies to food fights. What did my class pick? Invasion. Go figure.

Second, we listed a bunch of genres. My students voted for fiction. They voted again on a sub-genre. I was thinking science-fiction would win, but much to my delight, they voted for romance. My interest was definitely piqued.

So we had narrowed down our focus to a romance about an invasion. If that doesn’t make you giggle, I don’t know what will.

Third, we filled out one of my most favorite graphic organizers of all time. It’s called the Somebody Wanted But So graphic organizer, and it’s divided into four columns.

First column is Somebody (the characters). My students, keeping romance in mind, chose two characters: Jared, a big, handsome, smart athlete, and Sarah, a pretty, freckly, flirty farm girl. They chose the adjectives, not me.

Second column is Wanted (the character’s goal): Jared’s goal is to take Sarah on a date so he can propose.

Third column is But (the conflict): This is where the story gets interesting. Keep in mind, this wasn’t just a romance, but a romance about an invasion. So, alien’s invade Earth, kidnap Sarah, and take her to space where they will force her to marry the alien-prince. (My students were getting very silly at this point, but still on task!)

Fourth column is So (how is the problem solved?): Naturally, my students decided Jared would buy a spaceship, fly to this alien-planet, fight the aliens, and win back his woman. 24 5th grade HEA’s in the making.

The pitch? A handsome athlete sets his sights on a flirty farm girl, determined to win her hand in marriage. But alien’s invade earth and steal her away. Can the handsome athlete fight the aliens and win back his woman before they force her to wed the alien-prince?

Question to Ponder: What do you think? Future Best-seller in the making?removetweetmeme

Cares:
Remember my friend from last Friday? The one journeying down an uncertain path toward motherhood? Your offered prayers and comfort deeply touched her. Here is her personal thank you. From my friend, to you.

Last Saturday morning I was getting ready to go to church for a baby dedication, in which 30 kids were to be dedicated (3 of them were children of some close friends of ours). Just before I left, I checked Facebook and was reminded by Katie’s status that I had forgotten to read her 3C’s Friday blog the day before. To say I was touched and humbled after reading what Katie had written and then seeing how so many of you selflessly and enthusiastically volunteered to pray for a woman you’ve never met, would be an understatement. I was brought to tears! There aren’t words to express my gratitude for your prayers and encouraging words. Over the last couple weeks, I have felt a sense of peace and hope that I have not felt for many months. And the fact that over the last two weeks more people have been praying about our infertility than ever before, is certainly no coincidence. The timing of when I read 3C’s Friday was perfect. I was not excited to be in a room full of young families that morning! If any of you have experienced infertility, you know what I mean. The humbling reminder that I’m covered in prayer and that we belong to a BIG and loving God, was enough to help me out the door and provide a much-needed attitude adjustment. In fact, I even enjoyed the service and allowed myself to hope and dream (something I tend to limit when I’m trying to protect myself) of the day that it will be my husband and me on that stage, dedicating our baby to praying friends and family.

Thank you all for selflessly jumping into our story by committing to pray for us. We will surely keep you updated. May you all be blessed!

It’s Follow Friday, so hop on over to my good friend, Erica Vetch’s blog, On the Write Path. One of her novels, The Bartered Bride, just hit bookshelves (and there’s five more where that came from). I can’t wait to get my copy in the mail!

Concerns:
Today is Grandparent’s Day at school. Yikes! Don’t get me wrong. I love grandparents. It’s just that my room is already packed full of fifth graders, so cramming twenty-six more bodies inside might have us all feeling like a can of sardines.

Celebrations:
I wasn’t sure if I should post this under celebrations or concerns. Brogan is turning one in exactly one week. When I try to wrap my mind around this, my stomach winds into a thousand tiny knots. My baby is turning one? How is that possible? How can time go so fast? Despite my panic, having a happy, healthy almost one-year old son is definitely something to celebrate. In tribute to my little guy, I thought I’d share a picture. The face he’s making…let’s just say, it’s classic Brogan.

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Today’s Question:
If you could make one fairytale or fable come true with yourself in it, which would you pick?removetweetmeme