By CARMEN DUFRESNE and MICHAEL S. DIXON, Pettingill Elementary School

How are children motivated to write? With the help of imaginary pet turtles, Pettingill School’s fourth-grade teachers verified that children who are excited about writing succeed in the sometimes seemingly insurmountable task of writing a good story.

Students created pet turtles from a paper bowl, construction paper, and crayons. Students gave the turtles names and kept them on their desks during the writing sessions that followed. These turtles became the subjects of stories written by the students as part of the fourth-grade writing program.

The program, based on the Six Traits of Writing, improves students’ ability to write creatively and effectively by teaching them the six key concepts of writing: the effective development of ideas; good organizational flow; a strong voice; a rich choice of words; fluent, well-structured sentences; and appropriate use of convention, i.e., grammar and punctuation. Good stories are based on good ideas that go beyond the obvious, intrigue the reader, and present an original insight or unique perspective. Effective writers use a great lead to “hook” the reader’s interest. A main story line to which all details connect, clear transitions, and an ending that feels just right are all key to effective creative writing. Rich words in a story help to create vivid and accurate pictures in the reader’s mind. Fluent sentences have a rhythmic flow that makes the writing musical to the reader’s ear. Using conventions accurately fosters clarity and understanding, and gives the writing a polished feel. The writer’s individual voice is the author’s signature, and can entice a reader to read more of the author’s stories.

But how to teach these rather abstract and esoteric concepts? That’s where the pet turtles came in. Students were challenged to incorporate the various writing traits into stories they written about their precious turtles. John Peters wrote about a 98-year-old sea turtle who lives off the coast of Jamaica and whose shell is scratched by a shark! Matt Myrick wrote about a Canadian turtle on the run from the animal patrol, who goes undercover as a school mascot. Joe McKinnon wrote about a “loopy doopy” turtle whose “comfy” situation is disrupted by a disagreement with the family dog. Justine Bachelder’s turtle lives in an “old, musky tree trunk” and gets into a tussle with a fox. John Goulet wrote about a sports-loving turtle that holds marble tournaments in its shell. Dria Dean’s turtle dips its French fries into the ocean to make them saltier. Mitchell Grimmer wrote about a skydiving turtle, Shawn Ricker about a married turtle, and Kristie Holland about an adventurous turtle who loves to go “swimmety swim” in rock caves.

The students learned some valuable lessons about writing, and had some fun in the process! The exercise culminated with exciting turtle races.