I recently completed a mystery unit with my 7th and 8th graders, and then assigned them to write their own mysteries. The results were original, entertaining, gruesome, and funny - quite the combination. Here are some excerpts:
The first is a story about people who get trapped on a cruise ship with a murderer. Here is the advertisement for the cruise ship: "You will be amazed at the food, service, pool, movie theatre, game room, and 24/7 hot chocolate access."
The second story had more exclamation points than, um, I can't even think of a simile since nothing else I can think of even comes close. For example: "All I know is the last name is Mr. McCarthy!" "Go on, please!" "Well, my sisters and brothers were invited too!" "Very interesting!" "I am sorry, but I forgot to get your name!"..."Now please go on with the story!" Etc.
At the end of the above story, the detective catches the criminal (who turns out to be the maid) as she is about to kill his client. He confronts her and she confesses. Then the story takes a surprising twist: "'You are under arrest for murder,' said the detective. 'You either will spend your whole life in jail or die now!' 'I will die now," she answered. So the detective shot her and she died! He then told the girls to pack up and go home!"
Yikes! Nothing like taking justice into your own hands! I jotted down a bit about American criminal law in the margin, but hastened to assure her that it was indeed dramatic. And to think she is one of my quietest, sweetest students! You just never know.
The last story was a 14 page masterpiece, which included this gem of a fight scene: "With that he dodged to the side and with one swipe knocked the gun out of Tim's hand. The gun skidded across the floor and fell into a hole and sank to the bottom of a fifty-foot deep pool used to test underwater equipment. There were a lot of punches, kicks, jabs, and martial arts between the two men. Then Bill sprang up and grabbed an emergency axe from the wall." I will spare you the further details. Suffice it to say that Bill, the good guy, won out in the end.
Phew. Now to move on to our historical fiction unit! Much safer. Of course, we are about to start "The Tale of Two Cities" which has its own kind of gruesome-ness. But somehow Dickens can manage it with dignity.
5 comments:
Whoohoo for the quiet kinds! Hahahaha :)
Oooo! Tale of Two Cities! I love that story! Okay. Enough with the exclamation points. In highschool, I was involved in a group of making a movie of Tale of 2 Cities. I was Madame DeFarge. I remember brandishing a cordless drill as I stormed the gates of the Bastille.
Priceless, Drewey! I have always been jealous of teachers, that they get to read all this stuff. (I just changed the last sentence ending to a period, lest I use a plethora of exclamation points).
Hee hee hee. I always use way to many exclamation points in my comments! I try to vary them by using smiley faces sometimes:)
lis, if you are really jealous about reading student papers, i'd be glad to ship some over to you to correct! Though I agree, there are priceless moments. Perhaps more on that in a future post.
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