A Table Full of Crystals and Gems

We had finished our unit of tall tales, and there was one more day until Spring Break 2024.  The easy thing to do would have been to give my students a game day or a silent reading day.  But I tend not to do the easy thing.

            I decided to engage my students in writing a new piece of fiction, but with props I had never used before.  I knew this story might not go through the entire writing process, but that didn’t matter.  What did matter was idea generating.  What did matter was engagement even on the day before break.

When my students entered the room, they noticed a table covered with a purple cloth.  Beneath the cloth were tiny lumps.  Many of them. There was a lot of speculation about what these lumps were.   I let that continue for a few minutes.  Then, I asked my students to put away everything except their notebooks and something to write with.  Some of them became happily excited.  They know the drill. 

            I lifted the cloth from the table to reveal a number of crystals, gems, and stones.  Some had been made into pins or pendants.  Most had not.  They ranged in size, but almost all could fit into someone’s hand easily.  I asked my students to select one and draw it.  They were not allowed to remove the stones from the table.

            A crowd formed around the display.  Each student had a notebook and something to draw with.  A few asked if they could simply take a picture of their selected stones.  I said, “Of course.  But you still need to draw it.”  After a few minutes of drawing time, I asked my students to go back to their usual spots, and I began prompting them, asking more than a dozen questions about the gem, how it came into their possession, and what happened because of it.  The results were wonderful.  The stories that came out of these crystals, gems, and stones were clever and creative and varied.  I was sad.  Because of the timing, these stories would never become anything more than ideas—unfinished ideas. 

            Just recently, while editing the fairy tale unit in my upcoming book, I realized that this writing prompt is a perfect addition to one of the stories we will read.  “The Princess and the Tin Box” by James Thurber has in it a number of precious stones, precious metals, common stones, and common metals.  A table full of crystals, gems, and stones following the reading of this story might just be the perfect "After Reading" activity.  I will find out in a few weeks.  And this time, I will make sure that we can go through the entire writing process.