People, Places, and Things

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Work independently to develop elements of a creative work.
  
• Collaborate to create story ideas.
  
• Listen and comment respectfully on each other’s work.

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Materials

For each student:

• Index cards
• Pen or pencil
• Notebook paper

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Preparation

• Read through and familiarize yourself with the entire activity.
• Write on the board a fictional person, place, and thing. For example:
  
  • Person: Mia, the doctor
  • Place: An emergency room in the hospital
  • Thing: A secret decoder ring

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Activity Steps

1. Tell students that they will be working in groups to create story ideas with nothing more than a person, place, and thing.
2. Show students the sample person, place, and thing on the board. Ask students to quickly come up with story ideas based on this person, place, and thing. Invite volunteers to share their ideas.
3. Give each student an index card. Then have students count off by 3s.
4. Instruct students with the number 1 to write the basic idea of a person on their index card (such as Mia the doctor or Sam the soccer player). Students with the number 2 should write a place (such as a house or a baseball stadium). Students with the number 3 should write a thing (such as a cell phone or a paper clip). Clarify to students that the people, places, and things can be as ordinary or unusual as they like.
5. When students are done, form them into groups. Each group should contain one student with each number so that each group has a person, a place, and a thing. (If necessary, 1 or 2 groups may have an extra student and person or place.)
6. Instruct students to develop a basic story idea that combines all the elements on their index cards. Explain that these elements might seem like a strange combination, but this is okay.
7. Allow students to discuss and record their idea for a few minutes, then call time.
8. Pass out additional index cards. This time, have students with the number 1 write a place, students with the number 2 write a thing, and students with the number 3 write a few characteristics of a person.
9. Have students form new groups, again containing one student representing each number. Have the new groups come up with and record new story ideas.
10. Try to repeat the activity at least one more time, so that each student can come up with each category.
11. Reconvene as a whole group, asking students to share one of the most interesting or unusual story ideas their groups developed. Prompt students to discuss how they came up with their ideas and what they liked about each other’s work.
12. To wrap up, ask students what they learned from this activity. Ask:
    
    • Were you surprised at how other groups used their elements? What surprised you about their ideas?
    • What was it like working with more unusual elements?
    • Do you think you can use one of the ideas you recorded or heard as part of a longer story? How do you think you can change or build on the original idea?

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Variations

1. Instead of forming new groups, have students pass one or more of their index cards (person or place or thing) to the group on the right, then record an idea with that new element.
2. Have students use multiple people, places, and things in their stories.
3. Have students remain in their groups and write their stories, rather than just sketching out ideas.
4. Have students write their stories in different formats, such as a graphic novel or a scene from a play or movie.
5. Encourage students to write in a specific genre, such as historical fiction or science fiction.

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