Writing Process - Story Elements

Setting... describes where a story takes place.  The details help your audience visualize/picture that place as if they where there.  By using more exact words you paint pictures for your readers of exactly where your story is taking place, it becomes more real.

Pre-writing Activities;

  1. Draw a picture with lots details of your city, the setting for your story, or of a special place in your town that you know really well. Close your eyes and picture it in your head.
  2. Start with the major land feature of your picture as you begin to describe where your story takes place.  As you write keep looking at your picture as a reminded of the sentences you need to include to describe the setting of your story.

Revising

  1. Revise your description of the setting; exchange your paper for someone else's description and read it to see if you can picture where the setting is.  Is it missing any information that will help you to see it better in your imagination? Are there enough details to paint a complete picture using words?

Proofreading

check for spelling errors
check sentence structure
check punctuation at end of each sentence
check for capitalization of the first word in each sentence and for proper nouns
check for use on exact and interesting words used in describing the setting
check for order
Is it interesting?

Publishing ... Write a final  "best" descriptive setting paragraph for sharing with classmates

    Use your best penmanship
    Correct any errors left
    Take your time and show your best effort
    Read your paragraph in class

 

Rubric for Story Writing
4

Advanced

 The writer has vividly created a setting using exact details such as buildings, landforms, season of year, weather, plants and animals, or other features important to setting.
3

Proficient

 The writer has successfully described a place including many details.
2

Basic

 The writer wrote about a place but the details help little to paint a clear picture of the setting.
1

Minimal

 The writer may have began to describe a place but is missing many details and seems incomplete.

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