Yesterday I challenged my students to a twitter story competition. Twitter is a social medium that allows you to post status updates, market, send links to live news feeds, info fetching, etc. However, one only has 140 characters to get their message across or provide a link. A character is any letter, space, or punctuation. It's limiting, but teaches concise and clear language. Anyway, they have to tell a story (using all story elements) in 140 characters or less. The students don't' have to have a twitter account. They can email, blog, or write it on paper. However, they also have the option to tweet me with their submission.
Can you do it? Are any of you up for the challenge? I'm sure the kids would love it! If you would like to give it a go, you can type your story as a comment on the blog and I will share it anonymously or state the author's screen name with the kids.
Here is a student example:
I woke up with a headache so bad, I couldn't brush my teeth. When the worm burst out, the pain stopped. Death was salvation.
9 comments:
New student submission:
With deaf ears I wait to hear the sound that will bring my death. That of running water. I never hear death bring its soft kiss.
Funny how kids always write about death. Perhaps it's a way of trying to understand it.
I participate in a weekly microfiction prompt at www.stonyriver.ie It's more challenging than it sounds, similar to writing poetry because the words have to say exactly what is needed in an interesting way.
I will have to check that out.
It is interesting how they focus on death. I would have to agree with you.
New student submission:
I wake up in a horrible mood, but when I walk into school & see her face, my day is made. She brought me a sweet tea. I love this girl.
What a great idea. I don't Tweet, but here's a stab:
The knocking at the door made the dogs bark wildly. I expected no one. Mail, maybe? I answered to find a taxman assessing me. Greedy City.
Have you tried your hand at Verbotomy yet? I don't do it often, but love it when I do. It's on my blogroll.
Good one! I'll have to check that out! Thanks for the suggestion.
Anonymous Teacher: The horses broke out of their stall and crushed the teacher! The students wept and cheered for the horses! Dichotomies exist everywhere.
D: I wake up in a horrible mood, but when I walk into school and see her face, my day is made. She brought me a sweet tea. I love this girl.
B: The blue bird catches the worm while typing the words to form an equivocal sentence that ultimately becomes the everlasting blog.
E: Everything was as white as snow, as smooth as silk. Innocence. The snow is now blood-stained, the silk torn to shreds. Experience.
M: It was August 6, 2008 when you left me. It’s been one year and two months, but feels like yesterday.
ImTheChez: When he fell, it wasn't only his wing that broke. His heart broke too as God cried. Mistakes are hard lessons. Even harder for the righteous.
D: As I hit the strings on my Bass guitar, I listen to the master piece that I have composed. Then I gaze out to the audience as they head bang.
D: I sit here trying to figure what to do with my life. Should I straighten up or stay on the same path. Whatever I choose I'll be beside you.
Like your 55. I actually write a blog every Sunday and I call it the 160 - the number of characters in a text message. Similar to the Twitter challenge you gave your students. I found it interesting that MS Word counts differently than a text. My 55 is HERE.
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