Writing Roulette
· Provide a simple structure for the story consisting of three major elements.
1. A setting and characters
2. A problem or goal for the main character
3. A resolution
· Have all students begin by writing about the setting and characters in a story and advise them that each section of the story must use at least two words from the lesson or unit they have been studying.
· Set a specific time limit for the first story section.
· When time is up, have students exchange papers or collect and shuffle them so that a second author writes the problem or goal section.
· Exchange papers one last time so a third author writes the resolution for the story.
· Then, have students return the story to the original author and share aloud those stories that are particularly interesting and use the content vocabulary in creative ways.
pathogen pasteurization penicillin
antibiotics viruses conjugation
chemosynthesis
Setting and characters—My uncle Fleming is a chemist in The Woodlands. He was named after the man who discovered penicillin. Uncle Fleming works for a company called Biotechniques that produces antibiotics to help people with deadly bacterial infections.
Problem or goal—He was working late one night last week when he heard a noise just outside his lab. As he opened the back door to investigate, he saw a dish of milk that contained several deadly viruses on top of a garbage can. Knowing that these pathogens could cause a worldwide epidemic, he reached over to pick them up and bring them inside. Just as he carefully lifted them from the top of the garbage can, he slipped on a banana peel and fell to the ground.
Resolution—Luckily, Uncle Flem’s coworker had pasteurized the milk before he left it on the garbage can for the stray cat that had been hanging around. Because of this almost fatal error, my uncle has dedicated his life to studying chemosynthesis in the hopes of discovering how bacteria make organic molecules from inorganic material.