Jessica RomeoJessica is a Reader with a capital R. From escapist to educational, Shakespeare to Sci Fi, epics of Harry Potter proportions or the back of cereal boxes, nothing is beyond the reach of this voracious consumer of words. This is a passion she has passed on to her gorgeous and gifted children Thomas, Sydney Li and Vi-Vi. Her fondest dream is to become a real Teacher, with a capital T.

‘It doesn’t happen all at once,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to the people who don’t understand.’

~ Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit

Below you will discover two samples of my abilities. (Yes, I said two samples and yes, it is still nearly 20 pages. I tend to go a little overboard. If you glace down really quickly you might get vertigo so take it slowly.) One, ‘It’s a Small World’ (pages 2-6) is an Isearch essay about my daughter and the other ‘Nano Novels’ (pages 7 to the end) is a writing focused unit with a real world focus. I hope you perusing them as much as I enjoyed percolating them!

No matter what metaphor for education you subscribe to - gardens in bloom, building blocks, puzzle pieces – it all comes down to connection. From page to mind, from teacher to student, from me to you, a world of knowledge waits to be handed over. Pass it on.

~ Jessica Romeo, teacher

I-Search IntroductionTitle: It’s a Small WorldJessica RomeoFinal DraftMarch 11, 2010

It’s a Small World

The tongue, like a sharp knife, kills without drawing blood.

Buddha 

Small. That’s the first word that comes to mind. A full head smaller than any of her classmates, with delicate hands and little feet. She had always been small. Like a little bird, Mama says. Long dark hair that reached to her waist and huge black eyes, in even bigger wire rimmed glasses, lent to the effect. On this day she had chosen her favorite ao dai. In fact, she had saved this outfit especially to wear on this special day. Long silk white pants, with a nearly invisible pattern of bridges and water scattered across, managed to cover her shoes entirely. On top of that a mandarin collar silk top, long sleeved and pink, fluttered gently around her knees. Slit up each side, right up to her waist like the grown up versions she saw at Temple. She had felt so grown up, so proud to wear this to school that morning. That morning feels so far away now.

Small is how the children standing around her chanting made her feel. “Booty Lover! Booty Lover! Sydney Li is a Booty Lover!” Contrary to popular belief Sydney Li was not particularly fond of anyone’s bottom. She didn’t think of herself as different… an original maybe. She could sing and dance, play the recorder and the violin. She took gifted classes and had never gotten less than an A on anything. She liked school. I do not like bottoms.

School came easy to her. Friendship did not come so easily. A girl she had recently started to think of as a friend muscled her way through the group and Sydney Li chanced a look up from the ground. Perhaps this was hope. Perhaps this was a friend to stand by her side and hold her hand. Someone to tell them all to be quiet and go away. Someone she could run away to the swings with and giggle as if this had never happened. Amanda. That’s her name. Amanda.

It got quiet. The chanting stopped as the gradually growing group of children surrounding Sydney Li waited to see what would happen next. “Do you believe in God, Sydney Li?” Amanda asked. That’s an odd question. Why would you ask me that? Slowly she shook her head. No. She didn’t. She had seen pictures of Jesus and knew some of the stories but they were only stories to her. The crowd started to mumble but Sydney Li maintained eye contact with her friend.

“What do you believe in Sydney Li?” Sydney Li smiled a little and her eyes got bigger, more hopeful. Maybe she was just curious! Sydney Li liked learning new things but she liked explaining things she knew even better. “I believe in Buddha. I saw pictures of his bones so he was real for sure. He was a Prince! That was just one of the

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Buddahs though. There have been many re-in-car-nated” - She stumbled over the new word she had learned during Tet that weekend, and flushed with pride when she got it right - “Buddhas and some people believe that Jesus was a Buddha, too!” Yes! Common ground! She chanced another look around and saw her friend smiling, too. This wasn’t the kind of smile Sydney Li was looking for though. Uh oh. “People who don’t believe in God go to Hell,” Amanda proclaimed. There was an audible gasp and a few giggles from the crowd when this forbidden word was uttered. Amanda looked pleased with the effect and added an accusatory finger point in Sydney Li’s direction. The chanting started up again and this time it was longer. “Booty Lover! Booty Lover! You’re going to he-ell!” Why are you doing this to me? Why does this even matter? I thought we were friends! This was supposed to be my special day!

Sydney Li could no longer raise her unblinking glare from the ground. She was determined not to cry in front of them but she could feel the hot burn trying to creep out. With her little fists balled at her side, she practiced the slow deep breathes Daddy had taught her to try and control her temper. Feisty, Mama called me. Gotta rein it in. That’s what Mama said. Rein it in. It seemed for a moment like she was going to make it but then her “friend” held up a hand. Since when was she so popular? And where’s a teacher when you need one? Most of the crowd stopped chanting, though a few in the back enjoyed the sound of their own voice and the joy in saying a bad word, too much to quit. “Anyone who plays with Sydney Li is a Booty Lover, too. Do you want go to hell?” Nods and grimaces from the crowd with a few choruses of ‘Nooo,’ like they were sitting at story time and giving the teacher the expected responses.

Small. Lonely. Different. Sydney Li waited until the crowd marched off after their new leader before she let one tear trickle down her cheek, red with embarrassment and contained anger. She wiped furiously at her face and turned her back in case anyone was looking. Her shoulders were starting to hurt with the strain of her fisted hands. It would be a few days before her shoulders stopped aching. It would be even longer before anyone sat with her at lunch again.

I am Sydney Li’s Mama. Her Daddy is Vietnamese and I am boring, white bread, American. She looks like me. She looks like him. She looks like Sydney Li. Her mind, though, that is 100% original. I know she doesn’t have any particular fondness for booties, despite the fact she possess (in my completely biased opinion) just about the cutest rear end you have ever seen. (Don’t tell her I said that.) She, like her Father, is Buddhist. It was a decision we left up to the children but we are not surprised Sydney Li chose early and stuck to her guns. She loves being Buddhist and will tell anyone who’s interested all the stories she knows. That little scene has been repeated yearly since Sydney Li started Kindergarten. Not always the same number of kids, not always the same time of year even, but always Sydney Li. This has been an issue of great debate in our family. Sydney Li is the middle child of three and yet neither of her siblings has ever received such brutal treatment. Are those specific children just cruel? Are their parents to blame? Why Sydney Li? What did she ever do to them? Those are questions I cannot answer.

I could try and fix things. At first I wanted names. Tell me who did this to my baby. I want to call their mothers! But was that going to fix anything? Was a forced

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apology going to help these children understand diversity, multiculturalism, and differences? Would an apology stop this from happening again? The answer was No. An apology would have made me feel better maybe but it wouldn’t improve Sydney Li’s life and she had to come first. So, every year for Tet, also known as Lunar or Chinese New Year, I trek out to my children’s classes and give a little presentation on what it means to be Vietnamese. I tell them about ways our family is different: the food we eat, (chopsticks are always a puzzle for them), the music we listen to, (my kids can usually be counted on to sing a little nursery rhyme), and the clothes we wear, (like the aforementioned ao dai).

I also explain all the ways we are the same. My favorite technique is stories. I once read that to know a culture you must know the bedtime stories they tell their children as this is what they want to pass on, what they feel is important enough for the new generation to hear. So I tell my stories; The story of the Dragon People, The Great Race, The Kitchen God, and always a popular one What Happens on New Years. New Year allows me to compare separate little moments on one holiday to the large variety of holidays they are familiar with. “On Lunar New Year we make a big spread of all our favorite foods to share with family and friends and to say thank you for the bounty of the last year. Doesn’t that sound a little like Thanksgiving? On Lunar New Year the children wake up and get a brand new outfit to wear. Do you guys ever get a new outfit to wear on Easter?” Of course, I always bring a bribe. I bring what has now become known as my famous Little Red Envelopes full of chocolate coins. The older students get a little more history, and since I can be a little more forceful with the point of my visit I can also be a little more creative with the bribes. I have brought in lychee jello and dried squid for the brave at heart. Those tend to be the children who are the most interested in how my children are different. Not judgmental, just curious. But it’s not all my children I worry about, just Sydney Li, and to me that is curious.

Did we bring this on? We “admitted” we were “different” so did we bring this down on ourselves? Should all people capable of hiding their differences do so? Why, when diversity is practically a staple of Social Studies classes everywhere, is this still happening? Why, when excellent programs like D.A.R.E., G.R.E.A.T. and Amnesty International teach our children to stand up not only for themselves but for the underdog, is ridicule ok for some? When we preach diversity and consider ourselves enlightened people can we really turn our back on the people who are different than us? Why do children, who were raised by the “I’m ok, you’re ok” generation, hurt my child and others like her? Why is Retarded or Gay casually accepted as slang when we would never dare throw around Colored or Jew? Of all the “whys?” my largest question seems to be this: Why do some minority groups, subcultures and differences not get the same compassion? Is there a line we don’t cross? How do we decide who lands on what side because if this happened to her once, it could happen again. If this could happen to my little girl it could happen to anyone.

To answer these questions, and probably unearth a hundred more I will use anecdotal evidence; the story of an 11 year old girl removed from her soccer team because a hijab is not a part of the team uniform, the most recent deaths in the LGBT community, issues regarding Muslims students in your classroom and whether it’s their

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right to pray to Mecca at the appropriate time. I will interview a variety of councilors, mentors and representatives from D.A.R.E., G.R.E.A.T., and Amnesty International to ask them how diversity is taught and if this is the most effective method. I will research the history of diversity training and pioneers to see who they had hoped to benefit and if they covered all their bases. This search is devoted to showing how the world has moved forward and how some children got left behind.

Sydney Li is ten years old now. She’s still small but there’s something more solid about her, sitting beside me in her skinny jeans and “It’s not easy being this cute” t-shirt. She’s cut her hair since then and grown into her glasses but she’s still small, delicate. She meets me head on, face to face, eye contact made and held. Confidence radiates from this brilliant child. She’s mature for one so young. Side effect of her childhood? I can’t help asking myself did I protect her enough. Was there was something else I could have done to save her? So that’s where I’ll start. “Tell me about discrimination.” She’s quick to jump in with all the “right” answers and it takes us a while to move past the script: discrimination is wrong, people should all get along, Martin Luther King Jr. stood up for black people and women got the right to vote. I know she knows this but that doesn’t help me answer the deeper questions. I moved away from her school teachings and started digging for awareness. I was shocked how much she had picked up. She had seen on CNN Kids about the soccer team that kicked the girl off for wearing a hijab. She had heard about gay teens being beaten up and killed. She had seen other kids picked on for being different and informed me it was happening to her siblings whether they complained about it or not. “Thomas is a boy,” she says with only the mildest disdain. “He doesn’t really hear them. I have to stand up for him because he doesn’t understand. But Vi-Vi would rather be normal; she doesn’t want to be different because she’s a teenager now.” How odd to see such resignation in one so young.

I asked her about that day in Kindergarten and others like it. “Girl scout didn’t help either.” she reminds me. She recalls it as a time when we had tried to fit in and we weren’t wanted. To me it was a time where I tried and failed her. Again. I wish she didn’t remember so much. The troop leader, Amanda’s mother it turned out, wanted to pray over the snack and my children had been taught not to interrupt but sit quietly until everyone was finished. This seemed to work out well for a few weeks until the big World Bazaar. That was when our leader found out for the first time that we weren’t as Christian as everyone else. Suddenly, they were short a few snacks every meeting. There weren’t enough craft kits to go around. The prayer sessions increased and the need to pray for those who had not seen the light was presented. “The girls weren’t bad, kind of nice but the parents… I don’t like it from the kids but they are just kids. It was really bad to have an adult do it. It felt real.” After we quit Sydney Li had a hard time explaining to her troop mates why she didn’t attend anymore and that hurt her. My poor baby, I thought. How did I let this happen over and over again?

What hurts more though is the casual discrimination, she says. Every Christmas they discuss Hanukah and Kwanza. Her favorite teacher said “We’re all Christians here, right?” and Sydney Li didn’t raise her hand. This teacher had taught her big sister and knew me so Sydney Li was sure she would remember on her own, was sure she hadn’t meant to leave her out. “But then she listed all these other religions and I am pretty sure

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she listed everything BUT Buddhism and I started to wonder if she was doing it on purpose. Teachers do that all the time. They say ‘by the grace of god’ or ‘thank heavens’ or expect you to know church songs and bible stories. How would I know? It’s like they want me to be Christian.”

I messed up badly at one point and she called me on it with her trademark arched eyebrow and a tone that could cut butter. “Would you be friends with someone who was different?” I said. “What if they were a different religion, or gay? Would you be their friend?” Don’t you give me that look, Missy! “Being different doesn’t make me want to be your friend. You shouldn’t bring it too far forward or to far back. You still check them on their personality. Being different doesn’t make you special or nice so it doesn’t automatically make me your friend.” Sorry. My bad. I wondered if she would feel better if they forgot entirely. Wouldn’t it be easier if they forgot you were different? Not for this little girl. She’s tough. She has discussed some pretty heavy topics with me and not shed one tear nor lowered her head one inch. “It’s necessary that they remember … but not to be rude! I’m not ashamed of it. Why should I be ashamed of it? I am ashamed of them sometimes.”

I wanted one more answer from her but I wasn’t sure how to ask it. How does a grown up ask a child what we can do to fix this? How did we come this far and how do we stop it from continuing? Could I have done differently? Could I have saved you? Once more she’s ahead of me. “Their parents aren’t teaching them discrimination, but giving them all the tools: this is what we believe is right and this is why we believe it. So, kids think everything else is wrong. No one can stop it. Your parents can make it stop at least in that moment and that’s pretty much all I can ask from you.” Ouch. “ I think there will be more wars, more people standing up but it will never reach everyone, all the religions, all the gays, because there aren’t enough good people to stand up. Will we boycott? Sit down? We are little fish in a big pond. It’s hard to stop things and your whole life is in danger from those you disagreed with. I don’t blame them for not trying … but it doesn’t make it any easier.” And all I can think is out of the mouth of babes.

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Nano Novels

Short Fiction

Jessica Romeo

Fall 2010

The Overview

1. The Rationale: It is important to master the elements if you are going to compose your own literature and fully grasp the impact of published work but a smidgen of fun never hurt anyone. Nothing influences the fun more than a dash of challenge and a little sprinkle of competition so we will throw those in as well. To quote an educational rap song:

“Plot, Character, Conflict, Theme,Setting, yes these are the 5 thingsThat you're going to be needingWhen you're reading or writing

A short story that's mad exciting”

Well, who doesn’t want to create things that are “mad exciting”? I know my class does! The stories we read and compose, properly called Micro fiction, will have a word limit that grows smaller by the day – beginning at the traditional 250 words but eventually shrinking to 45 words to mimic their real live Twitter accounts (hereby dubbed Sweet Tweets!) bringing their real life into the classroom. A compellation of their works, from here on out called Nano Novels, will complete the unit and make their work available for exhibit in the classroom and at home. They might never forget this project - especially since it fits conveniently in their pocket! – Small creations with a big impact. By the time we are through with these kids, not only will they never forget the five elements of fiction again but they will have mastered the arts of subtlety and bring minimalism to new dimensions - Really little ones! (Rationale = 250 words FTW!)

2. The Summary: The students will examine a series of published Micro Fictions, digging for the five elements of fiction: plot, character, conflict, theme, and setting. They will then create five pieces of fiction with a word limit of 250 words (max). They will use a tweaked version of PQP’s to evaluate each other’s work and then personally select two stories for further editing. One will be polished and published in a class Nano Novel (complete with magnifying glass for easy reading!) The second story will be whittled down even further until it can tell an entire story in 45 characters, just like on Twitter. All the remaining stories will go into their portfolios for use at a later time.

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3. Objectives: CA 1, CA 4, 1.8, 2.1, 2.2 Apply a writing process to write

effectively in various forms and types of writing

CA 4, 2.1Compose text

a. showing awareness of audience

b. choosing a form and point of view appropriate to purpose and audience

CA 4, 2.1Compose text with:

a. strong controlling ideab. relevant specific

detailsc. complex ideasd. freshness of thought

CA 4, 2.1Compose text with

a. effective beginning, middle, and end

b. a logical orderc. effective paragraphingd. cohesive devicese. varied sentence

structuref. clarity of expressiong. active voice

CA 4, 2.1Compose text using

a. precise and vivid language

b. writing techniques such as imagery, humor, voice, figurative language, and rhetorical devices

CA 1, 2.2In written text use

a. conventions of capitalization

b. conventions of punctuation

c. standard usage

CA 4, 1.8, 2.1, 2.6, 4.8Compose a variety of texts,

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a. using narrative, descriptive, expository, and/or persuasive features

b. in various formats, including workplace

communications (resume, letter of application, follow-up letter)

c. including summary

d. including literary analysis

e. including reflective writing

4. Length of curriculum: One weekish5. Materials and Resources:

(a) the schoola. computer and printing servicesb. http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/browse/processRequest.do?

demandPrefix=12&sku=39/123&mode=Searching&erec=3&D=magnifying+glass&Ntt=magnifying+glass&Ntk=all&Dx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&Ntx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&y=0&N=0&requestURI=processProductsCatalog&x=0&sd=Colorful+Magnifying+Glasses

(b) Mea. Micro Fiction by Jerome Stern

(c) the students.a. Their brilliant and creative mindsb.

6. Means of Assessment: (a) The formative assessment: Five micro fiction stories, one Tweet Sweet, and one PQP form for each of their group members.

(b)The summative assessment: Nano Novels featuring one 250 word story from each student in the class and the top ten best Sweet Tweets as voted on by the class.

(b) Means of Assessment: An analytic rubric will be used to grade the story submitted for publication and a bonus of ten points will go to the ten Sweet Tweets winners as selected by the class.

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Heading Short Fiction: Nano Novel, Micro Fiction Fall 2010 Day 1 Mrs. Romeo

Objectives CA 2, 3, 1.5, 1.6, 2.4, 3.5Use details from text(s) to demonstrate comprehension skills previously introducedanalyze character, plot, setting, point of view analyze the development of a theme across genresevaluate the effect of tone on the overall meaning of work

InstructionalFramework

Initiating

Lesson PlanFormat

Teacher DirectedConcept – introducing a new theory, symbol, idea

Grouping Whole Class Materials & Resources

Teacher: Micro Fiction by Jerome Stern, Graphic Organizer

Strategy Read Aloud/Think AloudReview PreviousLessons

Opening 10 Minutes Play music while students compose Journal Entry (Itsy Bitsy Teensy Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini)

New Material Middle 25 minutes - Actual LessonHand out packet of short stories and read select items from the book, walk through discussing and brainstorming the 5 elements of fiction as well as the intense meaning in certain words to give impact to such little stories

Guided Practice

10 minutesAllow time for filling out graphic organizer, answer questions about the 5 elements

Closure toLesson

5 minutesWagon Wheel: Summarize a life-changing event in one sentence. Make the listener want to hear more!

Assignment for Tomorrow

5 minutesFinish reading the stories and the graphic organizer if not completed in class

Note to self: Need copies of reading packets, organizers, teeny tiny cd, copy of the book with some favorites marked for quick reference

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Heading Short Fiction: Nano Novel, Micro Fiction Fall 2010 Day 2 Mrs. Romeo

Objectives CA 4, 2.1Compose text with:strong controlling idearelevant specific detailscomplex ideasfreshness of thought

InstructionalFramework

Constructing

Lesson PlanFormat

Student DirectedDiscussion

Grouping Whole Class, IndividualsMaterials & Resources

Teacher, Student a million and one ideas for stories

Strategy Quick WriteReview PreviousLessons

Opening 10 Minutes Journal Entry with music playing while they work (theme songs from little people: George Shrinks, Stewart Little, Big World, Polly Pocket, Smurfs, Baby Brats)

New Material Middle 25 minutes - Actual LessonAs a class brainstorm possible topics of short fiction, possibly read a few more from the book, talk about good stories we remember and how we can summarize them as a way of shortening them and then zero in on one piece (one moment) of a great story and what made that moment so memorableAs individuals start working on Quick writes, don’t worry about punctuation or length even, just focus on words with impact, words that convey meaning all on their own and how to utilize them in a story to incorporate all 5 elements without saying too much. This is a good time to utilize the shrink a century, explode a moment, dialogue and dialect talents we have been working on!Everyone must bring in 5 possible stories for tomorrow so this is your chance to work on it in class and ask questions. The more you have to choose from the easier tomorrow will be.

Guided Practice

10 minutesGet volunteers to describe what they are working on now and how they think it might come out

Closure toLesson

5 minutes: Wagon Wheel:Describe a moment in a book or movie without telling the name giving details outside of name/date/fact that shows the impact of the moment

Assignment for Tomorrow

5 minutes5-10 micro fictions that include the 5 elements of fiction each written on a separate sheet of paper, do not put your name on it!

Note to self: Do you think you could compose a story or two of your own?

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Heading Short Fiction: Nano Novel, Micro Fiction Fall 2010 Day 3 Mrs. Romeo

Objectives CA 4, 2.1Compose text using precise and vivid languagewriting techniques such as imagery, humor, voice, figurative language, and rhetorical devices

InstructionalFramework

Utilizing

Lesson PlanFormat

Student DirectedCooperative Groups

Grouping Small Group Materials & Resources

Student: a minimum of 5 short stories using the five elements of fiction

Strategy Ask the author/Key QuestionsReview PreviousLessons

Opening 10 Minutes Journal Entry while appropriate music plays (The 5 elements rap!)

New Material Middle 25 minutes In small groups, make a pile of all the fiction composed for homework and shuffle it so no one knows whose was whose. For each: Find the five elements of fiction. Compose five questions you need clarified or would like to know more about from the story. Give (up to) five positive comments about the work in front of you and then pass it on. Staple your comments to the story. Collect your own stories for tonight’s revision homework.

Guided Practice

10 minutesAs a class talk about the best story you read today and what made it so effective. The author can claim it if they like or remain anonymous.

Closure toLesson

5 minutes Wagon Wheel: Tell us a joke that has setting, character, plot conflict and theme! It had better be rated E for everyone.

Assignment for Tomorrow

5 minutes: Of the five stories, pick one that you will edit and revise for a maximum of 250 words clarifying the questions and adding detail as needed. All other work will be placed in your portfolio for later use, to expand into a larger, longer story later.

Note to self: Chances are half these stories are awesome and half the students are being driven mad by the word limit. Be ready with Kleenex and comforting words.

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Heading Short Fiction: Nano Novel, Micro Fiction Fall 2010 Day 4 Mrs. Romeo

Objectives CA 4, 2.1Compose text using precise and vivid languagewriting techniques such as imagery, humor, voice, figurative language, and rhetorical devices

InstructionalFramework

Utilizing

Lesson PlanFormat

Student DirectedProblem solving

Grouping Individual, PairsMaterials & Resources

Paper and pencil

Strategy Beat the ClockReview PreviousLessons

Opening 10 Minutes Journal Entry while appropriate music plays (Jeopardy Theme song)

New Material Middle 25 minutes Everyone will be given all 25 minutes to compose an entire story in only 140 characters including spaces! A story composed of the five elements of fiction that will fit in a Tweet. You must do a word count before showing it to me, you must underline the five elements or list them off to the side. The first completed Sweet Tweet will be the cover art for our Nano Novel. The class will vote on the ten best in class and these will be included in the Nano Novel as well!

Guided Practice

10 minutesRead our Sweet Tweets aloud and vote on the best in class.

Closure toLesson

5 minutes Wagon Wheel: Introduce and describe yourself in five to ten words. What are the fewest words you can use and still convey meaningful information?

Assignment for Tomorrow

5 minutes: Email me your finished, revised, polished micro fiction for inclusion in the Nano Novel.

Note to self: It is all on you tonight! Compile, print, and assemble Nano Novels ASAP!

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Examples of the Topic:

The Poet’s Husband by Molly Giles

He sits in the front row, large, a large man with large hands and large ears, dry lips, fresh-cut hair, pink skin, clear eyes that don’t blink, a nice man, calm, that’s the impression he gives, a quiet man who knows how to listen; he is listening now as she sways on stage in a short black dress and reads one poem about the time she slit her wrists and another poem about a man she still sees and a third about a cruel thing he himself said to her six years ago that she never forgot and never understood, and he knows that when she is finished everyone will clap and a few, mostly women, will come up and kiss her, and she will drink far too much wine, far too quickly, and all the way home she will ask “What did you think, what did you really think?” and he will say, “I think it went very well” – which is, in fact, what he does think - but later that night, when she is asleep, he will lie in their bed and stare at the moon through a spot on the glass that she missed.

(197 words! Wowzers)

Wrong Channel by Roberto FernandezBarbarita waited impatiently for her ride as beads of sweat dripped from her eyebrows

into her third cup of cold syrupy espresso. She headed for the toilet when she heard the knocking sounds of Mima’s old Impala. “About time you got here,” yelled Barbarita from the Florida room.

“It wouldn’t start this morning.”Barbarita got in, tilted the rearview mirror, and applied enough rouge to her face for a healthier look. She wanted to make a good impression on the doctor who would approve her medical records for her green card. On the way to Jackson Memorial, Mima talked about her grandchildren.

Barbarita knocked down all the Bibles and Reader’s Digests on the table when the nurse finally called her name.

“Sorry, ma’am, but you can’t come in, the nurse said to Mima.“I’m her interpreter,” replied the polyglot.“No bueno,” said the doctor grimly as he walked in with Barbarita’s X-rays. He told

Mima, “Ask her if she had TB.”Mima turned to Barbarita. “He says, if you have a television?”“Tell him yes, but in Havana. Not in Miami. But my daughter has a television here.”

Mima told the doctor, “She says she had TV in Cuba, not in Miami, but her daughter has TV here.”

“In that case we need to test her daughter for TB too.”Mima translated, “He says he needs to test your daughter’s television to make sure it

works, otherwise you cannot get your green card.”“Why the television?” asked a puzzled Barbarita.“How many times did I tell you you needed to buy one? Don’t you know, Barbarita? This

is America.” (269 words. The big cheater.)

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Micro Fiction, Nano Novel, Sweet Tweet Rubric

CATEGORY 4 3 2 1

Writing Process Student devotes a lot of time and effort to the writing process (prewriting, drafting, reviewing, and editing). Works hard to make the story wonderful.

Student devotes sufficient time and effort to the writing process (prewriting, drafting, reviewing, and editing). Works and gets the job done.

Student devotes some time and effort to the writing process but was not very thorough. Does enough to get by.

Student devotes little time and effort to the writing process. Doesn't seem to care.

Creativity The story contains many creative details and/or descriptions that contribute to the reader's enjoyment. The author has really used his imagination.

The story contains a few creative details and/or descriptions that contribute to the reader's enjoyment. The author has used his imagination.

The story contains a few creative details and/or descriptions, but they distract from the story. The author has tried to use his imagination.

There is little evidence of creativity in the story. The author does not seem to have used much imagination.

Problem/Conflict It is very easy for the reader to understand the problem the main characters face and why it is a problem.

It is fairly easy for the reader to understand the problem the main characters face and why it is a problem.

It is fairly easy for the reader to understand the problem the main characters face but it is not clear why it is a problem.

It is not clear what problem the main characters face.

Characters The main characters are clear, described in text or imagery. Most readers could describe the characters accurately.

The main characters are described. Most readers would have some idea of what the characters looked like.

The main characters are named. The reader knows very little about the characters.

It is hard to tell who the main characters are.

Setting Many vivid, descriptive words are used to tell when and where the story took place.

Some vivid, descriptive words are used to tell the audience when and where the story took place.

The reader can figure out when and where the story took place, but the author didn't supply much detail.

The reader has trouble figuring out when and where the story took place.

Requirements All of the written requirements (250 words no more no less, 5 elements of fiction included, typed and emailed to me on time) were met.

Almost all (about 90%) the written requirements were met.

Most (about 75%) of the written requirements were met, but several were not.

Many requirements were not met.

Notes:

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Micro Fiction in the Real World

Windows Live Messenger: 128 characters (including spaces)

Twitter: 140 characters (including spaces)

Facebook: 420 characters (including spaces)

MySpace: 2,000 characters (including spaces)

Text message: 20 cents per message… and you're charged for receiving regardless of whether you read them or

not

Are you tired of getting indecipherable messages on your cell or laptop? Are you tired of straining your brain to read the cryptic messages

left on your email or blog?Isn’t it time to say I want full sentences - full of meaning - full of life?

Micro Fiction:250 full sized words (not including spaces!)

Filled with impact, meaning, and connotations!Packed with context and the subtle inferences!

All the hints and clues you crave!All the allusions a person could ask for!

All ready at your disposal to convey plot, character, conflict, theme, and setting absolutely FREE!

If you are tired of the alphabet soup send out a message they will understand:

AYS? DYNWUTB? DIIK! UR TMTH. FC'INGO! * SMHID* UGTBK! It’s too much EF4T. BTDT bought the tshirt. UR A CWOT. It was a NT but it was LNT. UFN this is an AFZ. UR B&. IRL I TILIS. @TEOTD, TMWFI, .02 R worth way more than you .20 per message. RMLB: TTG TSTB. ENUF is ENUF. EOM. EOD. EOL W/U.

O.o

IRMC

There’s an App for

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.02 (My two cents worth) @TEOTD (At the end of the day) AFZ (Acronym Free Zone) AYS (Are you serious?) B& (Banned) BTDT (Been there, done that) CWOT (Complete waste of time) DIIK (Darned if I know) DYNWUTB (Do you know what you are talking about?)

EF4T (Effort) ENUF (Enough) ENUF (Enough)EOD (End of discussion) EOL (End of life) EOM (End of message) IRL (In real life) IRMC (I rest my case )LNT (lost in translation) NT (Nice try) RMLB (Read my lips baby) SMHID (Scratching my head in disbelief)

TILIS (Tell it like it is) TMTH (Too much to handle) TMWFI (Take my word for it) TSTB (The sooner, the better) TTG (Time to go) UFN UGTBK (You've got to be kidding) UR (you are) W/U (With You)

___________________________?___________________________________________?(AYS) (DYNWUTB)

__________________________________!____________________________________.(DIIK) (UR TMTH)

_______________________________________________________________________!(FC'INGO)

*______________________________________________________________________*( SMHID)

_______________________________________________________________________!(UGTBK)

It’s too much _____________._________________________________, bought the t-shirt.(EF4T) (BTDT)

_______________________ a ______________________________________________.(UR) (CWOT)

It was a _____________________ but it was __________________________________.(NT) (LNT)

____________________________________ this is an ___________________________.(UFN) (AFZ)

_______________________________________________________________________.(UR) (B&)

____________________________ I_________ ________________________________.(IRL) (TILIS)

_______________________________________________________________________,(@TEOTD)

_______________________________________________________________________,(TMWFI)

_____________________________________worth way more than you .20 per message.(.02) (R)

_______________________________________________________________________:(RMLB)

_______________________________________________________________________.(TTG) (TSTB)

_________________is ______________. _____________________________________.(ENUF) (ENUF) (EOM)

____________________________. __________________________________________.(EOD) (EOL) (W/U)

O.o

__________________________________________________________.

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(IRMC)

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Download this song free at http://www.flocabulary.com/fivethings.html to help you!

Check it out yo...

Setting, that's like where it's going down,Could be the train compartment, a castle or a town,Could be the Arctic winter - like To Build a FireThe temperature's dropping, excitement is getting higher,Setting sets the scene so the scene seems set,Could be the Italian restaurant where we met,Setting gives us the where and the when,Could be modern day, the future, or way back when.

Plot, Character, Conflict, Theme,Setting, yes these are the 5 thingsThat you're going to be needingWhen you're reading or writingA short story that's mad exciting x2

Plot is the action, the quest for satisfaction,What's going down, what's going to happen.Four men at sea in an open boat,Rowing and hoping that they can stay afloat. The plot: They have to make it to the beach,But the waves are big, and the shore seems out of reach,Plot is a series of events... like Lemoney Snicket,It could be crazy, wild or straight wicked.

Plot, Character, Conflict, Theme,Setting, yes these are the 5 thingsThat you're going to be needingWhen you're reading or writingA short story that's mad exciting x2

Knock knock, who's there? Oh, it's the characters,The people in the story who carry out the action.Characters can be pretty, tiny or clean,Characters can be silly, whiney or mean,Juliet is a character, and so is Romeo,

Pokemon has characters and so does Yu-gi-oh,Characters could be dogs, lions, or hippos,JK Rowling chose Harry Potter. "Why?" Who knows!

Plot, Character, Conflict, Theme,Setting, yes these are the 5 things

That you're going to be needingWhen you're reading or writingA short story that's mad exciting x2

Uh-uh! Put your snack back in your backpack we're not finished!Something gone wrong! That's the conflict kidsA struggle in the plot, now who's on top,Could be a fight for money, like some robbers and cops,Could be an internal conflict - a struggle inside,Like I don't want to tell the truth but I don't ever want to lie,Flick something in your eye, now you're conflicted,What created drama? The conflict did.

Plot, Character, Conflict, Theme,Setting, yes these are the 5 thingsThat you're going to be needingWhen you're reading or writingA short story that's mad exciting x2

The theme of the story is the main idea,The central belief or the topic that's in there,It's usually something abstract like sacrifice,Isolation or resurrection: we're back to life,Like don't lie, don't practice libel,The theme of To Build a Fire is survival,Survival on your own like Fievel MoskowitzFlocabulary's something that you HAVE TO GET...

Plot, Character, Conflict, Theme,Setting, yes these are the 5 thingsThat you're going to be needingWhen you're reading or writingA short story that's mad exciting x2

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Five for Fiction

Mrs. Romeo’s Short Fiction Fall 2010

Name_____________________________________________________________

Exposition: How it all begins

________________________________________________

________________________________________________

____________________________________

Rising Action: Conflict!

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

_____________________________

Climax: Turning Point (dun dun dun)

_______________________________________________

_______________________________________________

________________________________

Falling Action: What goes up must come

down…

____________________________________

____________________________________

____________________________________

____________________________________

_______________

Resolution: Happy ever after?

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

___________________________

Plot (short summary):

_________________________________________

Character(s):

_________________________________________

Conflict:

_________________________________________

Theme:

_________________________________________

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