Study Notes for Part A LA PAT (Story and Newspaper Article)
You will have 3 hours (some students will get extra time if they are English Language Learners) to write a story, based on a picture prompt, and a newspaper article, based on a sheet of facts. We recommend you spend 1.5 hours on the story, 1 hour on the newspaper article, and 30 minutes on editing and checking.
Story:
Here's what you need to remember for the story:
Follow the plot structure mountain we've learned, including Introduction, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action and Conclusion.
Introduction: Begin with action, dialogue, thought/question or sound effect. A good introduction introduces your characters and setting, includes setting description that appeals to the senses, and character description, and introduces the problem.
Rising Action: This is where you build suspense. Use one of the techiques we learned in class: Magic of Three, Story Questions, or Word Referents (or a combination of these)
Climax: This is the most exciting part of your story where your character solves his or her problem. Remember to STRETCH this part of the story out by adding action, dialogue, thoughts and questions, descriptions and sound effects!
Falling Action: This is very close to the end, where you tie up any loose ends and answer any of your reader's unanswered questions.
Conclusion: This is the ending. Remember to end with a wish, hope or decision!
Remember to use specific vocabulary and lots of figurative langauge, proper paragraphs and indent!!!
Newspaper Article:
Begin with a headline and a byline (a title, and your name). Remember that the structure of a newspaper article is very different from a story: it looks like an upside-down pyramid, because you're organizing your information from most to least important.
Lead paragraph: This is your first paragraph. It must answer the 5Ws and H: Who, What, Where, When, Why and How.
The rest of the article should be organized into paragraphs, from most to least important information, and should include quotes from people involved, as well as facts and statistics.
Remember to put quotes in quotation marks and explain who is talking! Don't just say "Peter Parker", explain who this person is: Peter Parker, a Grade 6 student at Blessed John XXIII School. Remember to use specific vocabulary, and make your information specific! Don't just say "last week", say "May 5, 2014 at around 3 pm."
Use paragraphs and remember to indent!