Story Starter
For your writing assignment this week, you are to choose one of the following
phrases as the beginning of a story and finish the story. You need at least one
paragraph to introduce the problem, then another paragraph to bring the story
to an end. When you are done writing your story, go back and check it over to
be sure you have added lots of interesting details and describing words—words
that put the reader into the story, words that tell size, shape, kind, color, feel,
smell, texture, sounds, etc. You will probably need to write this first copy again
before you have an adult check it over or perhaps you’d rather write your rough
draft on lined paper, skipping every other line so that you can go back and make
corrections and additions more easily.
Choose one of the following:
 I never expected that one day I would open my closet and find…
 It was obviously going to be an unusual day when my mom came into
my bedroom and said…
 She was a funny old lady, but I knew she had come to tell me…
 It was my best friend’s deepest secret and it would be hard to keep…
 Late one night the neighbor knocked on the front door and asked…
 Something brushed up against my foot and to my surprise turned to
horror as I looked down and saw…
Remember:
1. ___ at least 5-8 sentences for each paragraph, including a topic and
concluding sentence
2. ___ a transitional sentence which smoothly takes your reader from paragraph
one to paragraph two
3. ___ clearly edited and revised rough draft
4. ___ signature of adult who helped proofread your work
5. ___ final copy is neat and written in cursive or typed neatly
6. ___ heading is included on the final copy (name, date, writing, Story Starter)
7. ___ all three papers stapled together with final copy on the back
Writing Assignment Due Date: Thursday, March 10 , 2011