Non-fictional narrative

L.I: Take a real life experience and create a 'moment in time' narrative.

Today in literacy we focused on using relivant experiences and current events to help us write emotive and resonating short stories. As writers the children really need to connect to the experiences of their main characters or they risk getting swallowed by their writing as it becomes unrealistic or emotionless.

First rule of thumb for getting to know your characters is getting to understand the situation they are in by doing background research.

"To really write believable stories that connect with the audience authors often spend time researching their themes. Including interviews, photographs and articles. This helps add depth and realism to their work."

We based our writing on the devastating floods in Pakistan as it is a topical and emotional theme. The children read and took notes from news paper articles and you-tube footage of news stories, interviews and images from all around the world. This gave the children a real understanding and empathy for the reality of the situation, and also enabled us to gather some fancy phrases and language from the reporters and journalists. Here are some of the narratives:

The murky murder took all i had, my family, my home and my few belongings. The raging rapids did not care what route it took or what it destroyed on the way. My home now lives alone and empty, hidden beneath millions of gallons of water. I can only save myself and help to recover the bodies of those whose lives now follow the path of the ice cold ribbon that continues to take away our world.
Hazel

As i climbed desperately to what once would have passed for a house, millions of gallons of water rushed past me. I could see people on the opposite banks but they were paying me no attention. I was one tragedy out of thousands. I tried to call for help but all i received was a mouthful of muddy water.
Thomas

My hands were loosing grip, i was slowly slipping down the tree into the rushing rapids. Millions of gallons of water prepared for its meal of human flesh and devastation. I gazed around me looking for more options, i tried to crawl up the tree but the water had already started to consume my feet. My brain blazed. There was only one option left. I jumped and landed on a fragment of a tree, my hands covered in red goo. I lay on the log as the force of nature carried me down the river.
Troix