More Original and Interesting Stories

And they lived happily ever after.........Prove It!

Being in the classroom twelve years, I noticed that most children had a habit of ending their stories with their characters happy but tired. After hundreds of papers like that, I could see how unoriginal and predictable the papers were getting. If that's happening in one classroom, imagine what is happening in classrooms across the state and around the country!
To have some variety, think of some other more unique ways that characters can feel at the end of the story.
For example, the character could be angry at the end, and instead of only telling the emotion, students can show the emotion by explaining the complete facial expressions, body language, hand gestures, etc. of the character(s) when an event causes that particular reaction, in this case, anger.
This could also make a great classroom game. Your students will show different emotions using the physical aspects above, and the other students can guess what emotion is being expressed. Allow the opportunity to fine-tune the emotions expressed to make them more believable and something the reader can relate to as things happen.