Collaborative Storytelling by Benjamin

In October, storytelling was the topic we explored in our small Friday co-op. The kids learned about expression, using descriptors, telling truths and tales, and lots more.

It ended with a session on how books are made. We talked about how picture books are written by one author or authors and then sent to publisher for revisions, and once the text is pinned down are then sent to illustrators for the pictures. Then the kids were broken into groups. Each group wrote a collaborative story and once finished handed their text to another group to be illustrated. It was an enlightening exercise for everyone!

In Benjamin's case, the enlightenment my own - learning that he has definite visions when creating a story and does not want to compromise on that! He was NOT a fan of collaborative storytelling and reached a point where he just would not participate any further. He was adamant about his version of the story. So he went off and did his own thing while the others in his group finished.

BUT when we got home, he immediately came to me with a huge stack of paper and a pencil and asked me to write down his version of the story. So here it is:

There was a man sleeping in he nighttime in a castle. He was trying to figure out a mystery of who is the monster. He was looking at a book and saw footprints and an arrow stuck in the wall. He went through a secret door and saw a pyramid. The door to the pyramid was locked. He found a key in his house and opened the door and went inside. 

Inside there was a message, "There is a monster here but he's hiding." Then he realized that the monster was standing behind him. He saw a lever and pulled it. The floor slid open and the monster fell into a lava pit. The man sees a hole in the floor of the pyramid, jumps in, and falls onto a boat floating on the Nile River. 

The boat flips over and he lands on a crocodile. The crocodile takes him to his house. It's his pet crocodile. When he gets there his house is locked. The crocodile's sweet tooth falls out and it's shaped like a kay. It fits the door perfectly. He goes inside and sees the monster. Then he sees a tag on the back of the monster that says, "Pet Monster. Owner - Jeff." He says, "Wait! That's me!!"

The End.

Because I think it's really interesting where Benjamin deviated from the group task I'm also including the group story as well.

There was a person sleeping in the nighttime in a castle. He was trying to solve a mystery about who burned down the castle. He was looking at a book to see if he could find out who did it. He saw footprints and an arrow stuck in the wall. He opened a secret door and found a pyramid. There was a lock on the door. He found a kay in his house and opened the pyramid door and went inside and found a message. It said, "there was a monster but now it's gone because it is a speedy monster."

Then he noticed the monster was right behind him! He spies a lever on the wall, flips the switch, and the floor opens up and they both fall into the lava pit (note - this is where Ben stopped participating. He was certain that both the monster and the man should NOT fall into the pit. Just the monster) but the man lands on a lava buoy. The man watches as the monster disintegrates in the lava.

The man falls through a hole in the buoy and lands on a boat in Ancient Egypt sailing through Upper Egypt up the Nile. His boat flips over and he lands on a crocodile. The crocodile bring him to his house which is locked. The key was on the lava buoy! While he is looking for the key he gets chased by a lion and falls into a lava pit. He finds the key. Then he disintegrates.

The End.