Help students transform plots into scenes by having them expand on urban myths, stories that circulate as part of American city folklore. Read the following urban myth to the class:

          Picture the following scene: On a warm summer night you are walking along the main street of your home town past the Shalersville Funeral Home. As you pass the open door, you hear the somber music of a funeral service and notice several of your friends gathered near the entry. An icy tingle chills your spine, and you feel drawn into the service. As you enter the parlor, you find it odd that no one greets you. You gesture a hello to Ann Collins, one of your closest friends, but she ignores you, refusing to reply or even make eye contact. Other acquaintances turn their backs on you, continuing to talk as though you weren’t there. Finally, you glance at the open coffin and discover your own smiling face staring up at you, blank eyes wide open.

          Ask students to rewrite this myth by embellishing each scene with sensory images. They may change the characters, setting, and minor details, but they must follow the same plot.

          For more variety, you may want to provide students with other tales. Two authors have anthologized summaries of these urban myths. J. Brunvand has written The Choking Doberman and Other "New" Urban Legends and The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends and Their Meanings. Alvin Schwartz has written Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. All four collections contain excellent plot summaries for bridging scenes to stories.