Apple Stories and Seed Stories

Today's writing lesson, based on the work of Lucy Calkins, required the students to think about the difference between "apple stories" and "seed stories." The aim of this personal narrative exercise is to develop a scene, rather than a summary. An example of a summary, or "apple story," would be a narrative about all the things you did on your trip to Disneyland. On the other hand, a "seed story," or narrative centered on a particular scene, would focus on one small moment. My favorite seed example was provided by one of the students. "Darryl" told the story of going into the Disneyland bathroom with his father to stuff toilet paper into his shoes so that he would be tall enough to ride the big kid rides!

The lesson went something like this:
First, with kids in their seats, my MT introduced the lesson with an apple that had been cut in half. The class talked about what a seed story might be versus an apple story and why seed stories usually worked better.

Next, kids still in their seats, the class "voted" on several story ideas: hands wide apart meant apple story, fingers close together meant seed story. I knew that kids in the class were "getting it" when I saw them disagree (hands vs. fingers) and then heard kids justify how and why an idea might be either. For example, one of the ideas was "fun time with my dog." The kids argued that this could be an apple story if the author simpled summarized all the different things they did with their dog. On the other hand, if the author wrote about one particular fun thing they did together, it could work as a seed story.

Third, my MT explained that the students would be brainstorming ideas for a seed story, a personal narrative centered on a small moment with another person. Before they moved on to brainstorming, however, they would meet with their writing partners to share yesterday's personal narratives. She reviewed the steps with the class before sending them off to move around the room to meet with their partners. After the kids shared their stories, they returned to their seats and the lesson concluded with some quiet time for brainstorming in their writing journals.