Picture+Prompt+Stories


 * Sometimes we write from picture prompts. Recently we wrote stories based on a prompt that showed a group of kids sitting around a campfire. Students then had just 90 minutes to produce a single draft story. They were encouraged to use what we had learned about revising and editing to improve their pieces but weren't given any feedback or extra time to produce a polished draft. Read some of the stories students created below. Comment on the discussion page, providing the authors with feedback that will help them improve as writers**.

__What Went Wrong By Lawrence __  It happened on a day when I was just going out for a nice hike. And all of a sudden I noticed something in the distance. I was curious so I headed toward the object unknowing what it was. When I headed toward it I noticed it was not an object, but a living thing. When I looked closer I saw, towering at 8 feet, a grizzly bear! Instinctively, I ran away from it but from the corner of my eye I saw that it was following me. Then I decided the only way I could get away from it was to run down a hill.

Once I had reached the bottom of the hill I saw the bear was not following me anymore and had turned around I had also noticed that I had dropped my backpack. My food, my water, and my hiking equipment were inside. Now I was stranded in the woods desperately searching for a way back. I saw a clearing in the thick brush and headed towards it. I had found a waterhole! Now that I am lost and all that I have is clothes and water I need to go look for food.

On my way I found a little house and I wondered why there was a cabin this deep in the woods. When I went inside I saw that it was not an abandoned cabin. I decided to wait for whoever was here to ask them the way back to civilization. An hour or so had past and I heard the door creaking open, it looked like a small man and his dog. They looked as lost as I was. I asked the person cautiously if they knew the way back to town. The person did not answer. I asked again. Now he spoke and said that the nearest town was miles off and it would take days to get there. I decided to ask because I would rather find my way to town then die in the woods. The man pointed east.

After about a day and a half of walking I saw a sign that said, Town ONE MILE. When I finally reached the town I saw it was not much of a town, but it was my only hope for getting home. I asked a person in the nearby store where I could rent a car or get a taxi. Then when he told me where to get a car I found out where I was and when I got home I found out what went wrong. I had taken the wrong backpack. I had taken the backpack with all my homework in it! This will be hard to explain to the teacher.

 ** The Hat by Keaton ** "Ashley, give me my hat back!" I cried chasing around Ashley the hat thief. Ashley and I ran around for quite awhile and finally ended up deep in the woods. Ashley left me in a pile of dust. "Ashley? Where are you?" I yelled. I waited and got no reply. I started shaking and quivering.

"Caw-caw-caw," screeched a crow. I was frightened.

"Cmon Ashley. No more games," I said looking around for her. "Clyde, Clyde! Where did you go?" said Ashley on the other side of the forest. "Oh, no, I don't want to be out in the forest at night all alone," Ashley said shivering. She grabbed a pile of leaves and layed down on it waiting for someone or something and she slowly drifted off to sleep.

I, on the other hand, sat up against a tree and ate my apple - also waiting for someone or something to find me. When all of the sudden, a crow swooped down and stole my apple.

"Hey, give me my apple back!" I shouted. "That's just great. No food or shelter. Stupid crow," I mumbled.

Knowing that someone probably wasn't going to come, I gathered a bunch of leaves and huddled underneath a tree hoping that a bird wouldn't dive bomb me!

The sun shone on Ashley through the canopy and woke her up. Ashley sprung up and went to try and find me. She found that she kept walking in circles around a bunch of trees. She chose another spot when a hawk decided to make her head the perfect bathroom spot.

"Ew! Disgusting! That's what I get for taking Clyde's hat!" she hollered. "Just great!" she shouted looking up at the hawk. It was almost like the hawk was laughing at her.

Meanwhile I was still sleeping when a woodpecker thought my leg was amazing for a nest. I woke up to a nest with a bunch of eggs sitting on it. I was staring in amazement. I gently picked up the nest and set it down on the forest floor and walked to find Ashley. To my suprise she was doing circles around a small group of trees.

"Ashley, I'm right here," I shouted hoping that she would notice and she did. We walked back to camp and talked about our wild night. I obviously got my hat back. When we reached camp, everyone was gone. "Here we go again," we sighed setting off the find the others.