In pairs, students reconstruct the story, drawing and telling alternating sentences. Students record vocabulary into their notebooks. Draw and tell the story all together to review. In small groups, students write the story in its entirety, each student being responsible for three or four sentences. Students edit their sentences by checking their own, then a partner's writing against the vocabulary board.
Students illustrate their sentences, based on the sketches made during the retelling.
They bind the pages together to make a book. Groups practice reading their finished story, then exchange stories with another group. Here is a simple story you can use early in the year. The bracketed words are the things you sketch as you tell the story. Use just enough detail in your drawing to get the point across.