Beginning, Middle and End

As part of a unit teaching beginning, middle and end (a challenge to many young writers) our class of second and third graders created winter tales. The children were given various winter scenes to choose from as a starting point for their stories. After selecting a scene, choosing character names, and deciding on a setting, they began writing. The students were required to write a strong lead and set the scene in the beginning (to be written in the head of the snowman). The body of the story fit in the body of the snowman. Finally, the ending was written at the bottom. This was a wonderfully visual way for the students to see how these three parts of a story fit together to create a whole.

For students with learning disabilities, three scenes were chosen to put into a sequence. These pictures were pasted in each part of the snowman to assist with writing a beginning, middle and ending.