Betcha can’t write a story using only 50 words!
Dr. Suess accepted this challenge from his editor, Bennet Cerf, and wrote Green Eggs and Ham with 50 words on the nose.

We may not be seasoned authors like Suess, nor willing to ante up a $50 wager as Cerf did, but we can all try this challenge, just like Sam I Am tried the green eggs and ham.

Some Suggestions:

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    • Allow some time for this prompt. This won’t be a quick 15-minute journal response, but instead, will need some applied critical thinking and word play–think of it as a word puzzle you are all trying to solve. You may want to get the kids started one day, then take a break and return to it the next.
    • Based on my own attempts at making an interesting tale out of just 50 words, you may want to encourage rhyming, especialy in older kids. The Dick and Jane stories, for example, are written with a limited vocabulary and lack the energy of a book like Green Eggs and Ham. Writers of all ages will have more fun writing if others enjoy reading their text
    • Start with a basic story you’d like to tell, or with a character whose name can easily be rhymed, then build a word list. Number a sheet of paper 1-50, and have the kids list words they’d like to use. This should be easier if they choose to rhyme.
      Here is Dr. Suess’ 50: a, am, and, anywhere, are, be, boat, box, car, could, dark, do, eat, eggs, fox, goat, good, green, ham, here, house, I, if, in, let, like, may, me, mouse, not, on, or, rain, Sam, say, see, so, thank, that, the, them, there, they, train, tree, try, will, with, would, you.

 

The whole family will enjoy some other fun facts about Dr. Suess and his stories at Mental Floss.com