Novels may also provide a model for writing. Story grammar elements, for example, provide a framework for appreciating how authors develop their tales. Participants may begin to examine the stories they are creating in Writing Workshop with a more critical eye. Through analyzing the story grammar elements within the writing of published authors, participants can gain insight into their own writing and realize that particular elements may require further elaboration and expansion.

The accompanying list of selections contains stories that have been used effectively with different groups. The symbols (E) for easy, (I) for intermediate and (D) for more difficult have been used to rate the books.

Sadako and Thousand Cranes, by E. Coerr, published by Dell in 1977, a true story ... (E)

A Taste of Blackberries, by D. B. Smith, published by Scolastic in 1973, a touching story about a boy who learns to deal with a friend's death.... (E)

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson, published by Harp C Child Books (1988). A humorous story about a group of most unlikely, not very well off, poorly-behaved children who become part of a serious pageant of the Christmas story.... (E)

The Facts and Fictions of Minna Pratt by P. MacLachlan, published by Harper and Row in 1988.... (I,D)

Arthur for the Very First Time by P. MacLachlan, published by Harper and Row in 1989. ... (I,D)

Journey a more complex story by the same author, P. MacLachlan.... (I)

Stone Fox by J. R. Gardiner, published by Harper and Row in 1980.... (I,D)

The Family Under the Bridge. by Natalie Savage Carlson, published by Harper and Row in 1989.... (I,D)