Spring Ballpark Comedy Set Off by One Foul Ball

Match the sheet to the season or holiday on the calendar. Share strong openings aloud before students finish their drafts.

Chain four mishaps from one foul ball and add a narrator's dry comments in a ballpark comedy. The directions on the page read: Read the topic. Plan in Step 1. Then write your funny story on the lines in Step 2.

Yes, both. We made it for 8th grade narrative writing, and it works the same at home or at school. At home, a student can work through it alone and then go over it with you, which shows quickly what is solid and what needs another look. In class it works as independent practice, homework or a warm-up, and you can print one copy or a full set.

These sheets cover a planner that predicts the first week of school, a corn maze whose paths change, a costume with its own will, a message in a bottle written 50 years ago and many more. Each topic comes with a planning chart and lines for the story.

Plan real clues, a false lead that points the wrong way and how the truth comes out. Back to School Mystery of the Library Bookmarks and Winter Mystery of the Giant Snowball both use this plan.

Third person limited tells the story with he, she or they but shares only one character's thoughts. Halloween Fantasy of a Costume With Its Own Will and Leap Day Story of an Unwanted Leap Year Power both use it.

No. Every sheet asks for an original story, so there is no single answer. The planning chart on each page shows whether the student used the required technique.