Transformation Stories

In this activity, you will write a story about a character who makes changes. This activity can be completed individually or with a partner.

If Individually:

• Before you write the story, identify the types of changes you want your character to experience. You can choose one or more changes.
• Compose a very short story. In this story, you will write about a character who experiences the change you selected.
• The goal is to write a story that demonstrates a type of change, which will be clear to the audience. Do not state the specific change. Rather, show the type of change through descriptions (i.e. what the character does, how the character acts or responds, etc.)

If with a partner:

• Select a partner or partner(s).
• From a basket or bowl, choose one of five changes.
• With your partner or partners, you will compose a very short story. In this story, you will write about a character who experiences the change you selected (and if you would like, you can include an additional change or two).
• The goal is to write a story that demonstrates a type of change, which will be clear to the audience. Do not state the specific change. Rather, show the type of change through descriptions (i.e. what the character does, how the character acts or responds, etc.)

After completing the story individually or with a partner, peers will guess the types of changes presented in your story.

Story Example:

Laura moved from a big city to a small town that was close to the mountains because her family decided they wanted to be closer to nature. One day on a hike, Laura saw a group of people climbing boulders and mountains. She had never seen people climb. At that moment, she decided she wanted to climb rocks and mountains too.

Laura had never climbed before. She started taking climbing classes where she learned how to move her hands and feet. At first, she felt nervous because she didn’t like being up so high and didn’t know how to lift her body. Over time, she began to feel more comfortable with the movements and started figuring out what to do. She spent more time working out, building up strength in her arms, shoulders, and legs. She also made friends with people who climbed. They spent time climbing indoors, and her friends gave her recommendations of how to improve her techniques.

After months of taking classes, working out, and practicing indoors, she felt more confident in her ability to climb and took a trip with friends to climb boulders outside. On this trip, she got halfway up a boulder before getting tired, frustrated, and scared. She climbed back down and took a break. She decided to try to climb the boulder again. First, she started climbing slowly then moved faster up the boulder, remembering where to put her feet and hands. She kept going until she reached the top.