I start off the lesson by reading, The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. For those unfamiliar with the book it is by Chris Van Allsburg (author of Jumanji and The Polar Express) I always begin by reading the introduction wrtitten by Van Allsburg.
It goes as follows:
I first saw the drawings in this book a year ago, in the home of a
man named Peter Wenders. Though Mr. Wenders is retired now, he once
worked for a children's book publisher, choosing the stories and
pictures that would be turned into books.
Thirty years ago a man called at Peter Wenders's office, introducing himself as Harris Burdick. Mr. Burdick explained that he had written fourteen stories and had drawn many pictures for each one. He'd brought with him just one drawing from each story, to see if Wenders liked his work.
Peter Wenders was fascinated by the drawings. He told Burdick he would like to read the stories that went with them as soon as possible. The artist agreed to bring the stories the next morning. He left the fourteen drawings with Wenders. But he did not return the next day. Or the day after that. Harris Burdick was never heard from again. Over the years, Wenders tried to find out who Burdick was and what had happened to him, but he discovered nothing. To this day Harris Burdick remains a complete mystery.
His disappearance is not the only mystery left behind. What were the stories that went with these drawings? There are some clues. Burdick had written a title and caption for each picture. When I told Peter Wenders how difficult it was to look at the drawings and their captions without imagining a story, he smiled and left the room. He returned with a dust-covered cardboard box. Inside were dozens of stories, all inspired by the Burdick drawings. They'd been written years ago by Wender's children and their friends.
I spent the rest of my visit reading these stories. They were remarkable, some bizarre, some funny, some downright scary. In the hope that other children will be inspired by them, the Burdick drawings are reproduced here for the first time.
Thirty years ago a man called at Peter Wenders's office, introducing himself as Harris Burdick. Mr. Burdick explained that he had written fourteen stories and had drawn many pictures for each one. He'd brought with him just one drawing from each story, to see if Wenders liked his work.
Peter Wenders was fascinated by the drawings. He told Burdick he would like to read the stories that went with them as soon as possible. The artist agreed to bring the stories the next morning. He left the fourteen drawings with Wenders. But he did not return the next day. Or the day after that. Harris Burdick was never heard from again. Over the years, Wenders tried to find out who Burdick was and what had happened to him, but he discovered nothing. To this day Harris Burdick remains a complete mystery.
His disappearance is not the only mystery left behind. What were the stories that went with these drawings? There are some clues. Burdick had written a title and caption for each picture. When I told Peter Wenders how difficult it was to look at the drawings and their captions without imagining a story, he smiled and left the room. He returned with a dust-covered cardboard box. Inside were dozens of stories, all inspired by the Burdick drawings. They'd been written years ago by Wender's children and their friends.
I spent the rest of my visit reading these stories. They were remarkable, some bizarre, some funny, some downright scary. In the hope that other children will be inspired by them, the Burdick drawings are reproduced here for the first time.
After reading the intro, my students are hooked. I then proceed to tell them that it is their job to chose a picture from the collection and write a story. The pictures range from silly to downright creepy.
Now the day I did the lesson was a day where they had had inside recess, AND it was at the end of the day and STILL you could of heard a pin drop. Even my struggling writers produced a page and a half of text in 30 minutes and many of my students asked to take their writing home to work on. This doesn't happen everyday folks!
I teach fourth grade, but this could easily be adapted to many different grade levels. In fact, there is a version of Harris Burdick that has stories written by authors such as Stephen and Tabitha King, Louis Sachar, Kate DiCamillo, Lois Lowry and other popular authors.
I'd love to hear from those who have tried this lesson out with their students and the stories that came about.
Here is an example of one of the pictures found in the book:
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| Uninvited Guests His heart was pounding. He was sure he had seen the doorknob turn. |
I'm going to save this and try it with my students next year!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to hear how it goes when you do try it! :)
ReplyDelete