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Immerse your students in imaginative storytelling with this 1-week narrative writing unit inspired by the short film “Space Monkey” from The Literacy Shed. Through vivid character development, figurative language, and purposeful story structure, young writers will blast off into outer space to craft their own stellar sci-fi tales.

Overview

Day 1: Describe the main character using expanded noun phrases and rich details.
Day 2: Use figurative language like similes and metaphors to portray the character.
Day 3: Plan the story structure - opening, build-up, problem, resolution, ending.
Day 4: Write a draft, focusing on past tense, description, and literary techniques.
Day 5: Revise and polish the story. Share with peers for feedback.

Toolkit for Budding Authors

Your students will learn to:

Select precise nouns, classifiers, and describers in expanded noun phrases
Enliven their writing with powerful verbs, adverbs, similes, metaphors
Write in the past tense with consistency
Use literary techniques like personification and fronted adverbials
Convey not just actions but feelings, observations, and inner dialogue
Organize ideas into a compelling narrative arc

Let their imaginations blast off! This unit will develop key writing skills while unleashing your students’ creativity. Their space monkey stories are sure to be out of this world.