When I recently presented about the writing process in two sixth grade classrooms, the students had a lot to say about writing fiction. I told the students that according to the International Screenwriters Association, powerful storytelling consists of an entertaining story, a sense of voice, dialogue, and authenticity. The students added a few more attributes to the list. Most often mentioned was character development. Four students mentioned small details, which I appreciated because it’s something that I continue to work on in the editing process to add depth and emersion.
The students also demonstrated that adults are boring and … well … corny through their sixth grade and adult dialogue comparisons.
All the students’ responses were accurate and entertaining, though there were some that stood out. I wrote sixth graders’ dialogue in italics so you can differentiate and enjoy the differences in voice and authenticity.
“Wanna go biking on that fire trail?”
“Hey, want to go biking on that ooh ooh ah trail?”
“That’s rad, bro.” or “That’s dank, bro.”
“That’s cool, [name].” or “That’s really cool, man.”
“What’s my favorite food? Oh my gosh!!! I love this question!!! My favorite food HAS to be pesto pasta!! I love it so much!! It is so yummy!!”
“I very much like pesto pasta.”
“I was chillin’ out at my beach house.”
“I was relaxing at my expensive beach house.”
“What’s sup? Whatcha doin’?”
“Hello. What are you doing?”
We’ve never heard an adult say a trail was “ooh, ooh, ah,” but wouldn’t it be great if someone did? And “dank”? What exactly does that mean these days? I don’t know, but I do know that a decade or two from now, we’ll be reading some very entertaining novels coming from these creative minds.
I invite you to comment on your favorite sixth grade dialogue.
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