Once Upon A Time...

I just had my small group of seniors write collaborative stories in first period. I gave them the first sentence and let them write whatever they wanted after that.

Here's what they came up with. I think they're awesome.

Once upon a time, there was a teacher who disappeared from school. But, he was found. He was found in the forest. He was found with a fairy. The end.

Once upon a time, there was a woman who had 17 children. She loved every children. She children were all girls. Everyday, they spent a happy life. The end.

Once upon a time, there was a student who could talk to birds. She could talk to animals. She talked to many animals and they were good friends. They enjoyed everyday. The end.

Once upon a time, there was a girl who ate bugs. She came to love bugs. She loved bees the best. It was a special taste, so she loved it's taste. The end.

Once upon a time, there was a boy who loved chocolate. He ate chocolate everyday. He became fat. He did not work. The end.

Aren't they great?

I remember doing this in college, with friends at a local bar/eatery. Maybe I only did it once or twice, but having my students do this activity this morning flung me back to a time where I would have to peel the notebooks being passed around off of green plastic table cloths at St. Ives -- the smell of oily french fries and fingerprinted ketchup bottles laid thick in the air.