Writing Creatively Sample

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Writing Creatively Dr Lillian Fawcett Ph.D., B.Ed., B.A. Psychology (Honours) This book belongs to____________________________

CONTENTS PAGEIntroduction …………...……………………….……….…….…..…... 2Part One……………………………….………………………….……. 3• Oral Language Development..…………………………….………….. 4Part Two……………………………….……………………….…..…. 7• 10 Minute Daily Writing..……………………………………...…….. 8• Writing Record…………..…………………………………......……. 9• Adjectives………..……………………………………………...……. 10• Adverbs…………………………………………………………..…... 12• Expanding Sentences.……....…………………………………...……. 14• Synonyms: Said………………………………..………………..……. 16• Similes…..……………………………………………………..……… 18• Synonyms: Went……………………………..….….…………..……. 20• Strange Sentences……………………………………………...…..…. 22• Synonyms: Got………………………………..….…………..………. 24• Sentence Beginnings. ……………………………………......………. 26• Synonyms: Saw………………………………..….………….………. 28• Homonyms.…………………………………………………..…..….... 30• Synonyms: Took……..………………………..….…………..………. 32• Homophones………………………………………………..……...…. 34• Synonyms: Ate…………….…………………..….………….………. 36• How Many Words?……………………………….………….....……. 38• Synonyms: Made……………….……………..….………..…………. 40• What a Character………………………………………….………….. 42• It’s all Nonsense…………………………………………..………….. 44Part Three……………………………….…………...…….…….……. 45• Extended Writing..………………………..………………………….. 46• Editing Checklist ……...………………………………….…..……… 47• Example…………………………………………………….…...……. 48• Short Story: Tree ………..……………………………..….………… 52• Short Story: Ship (with example).……………………..….………… 59• Short Story: Sign Post (with example)..…………….….…………… 70• Short Story: Phone Call..…………………………….….…………… 81• Short Story: Kite ………………………………………..…………… 88• Short Story: Robot …………………………………..….…………… 94• Short Story: Rain Cloud…………………………..…….…………… 100• Short Story: Book …………………………………………………… 106• Creating a Twist ……………………………………………...……… 111• Writing Recounts…..…………………...…...……………………….. 114• Some More Ideas ……………………………………………………. 117• Ragin’ Rapids….…………………………………………………….. 118Part Four……………………………………………………...….……. 119• Strange Stories..……………………………………………..……….. 120• Follow the Map ……...……………………….…………………….… 121• Number Writing………………………………………………………. 122• Image Starters………………………………………………………… 123• Good-Bad Stories ……………………………………………………. 124• Silence is Golden…................................................………….………. 125• Ideas for Books.…..……………..………………...…………………. 126• Writing Games………………..……………………………...………. 127 Writing Creatively p. 1

SAMPLEINTRODUCTION Many students find it difficult to write in a cohesive, interesting and fluent style. Writing Creatively provides a systematic, step-by-step program for developing students’ written expression skills. Writing Creatively is divided into four parts. The first part provides activities for developing students’ oral expression. Good language skills underpin good writing skills. The second part consists of a series of ‘10 minutes a day’ exercises designed to develop students’ vocabulary and sentence structures. Part three introduces students to planning and provides an opportunity for writing longer pieces of text. The final section consists of a collection of additional ideas to encourage and give students practise in writing. Many students require numerous opportunities to focus on and practise specific aspects of writing in order to become proficient writers. Part two of Writing Creatively introduces students to different elements of effective writing one at a time. The student is then given the opportunity to focus on and practise this one specific component for the remainder of the week. It is strongly recommended that a 10 minute time slot is set aside each day for students for this activity. Like any skill, the development of writing skills requires regular, focused practise. Effective planning is critical to the development of coherent and logically expressed writing. The use of mind-maps provides a definitive structure to students’ writing, plus provides a built-in indicator of each new paragraph. Students who have a sound grasp of mind-mapping will find it an invaluable tool not only for structuring their writing, but also as a tool for developing study notes. It is strongly recommended that students are encouraged to limit their extended writing to five paragraphs with the emphasis on ensuring that each sentence within those paragraphs is well constructed and interesting. The actual writing of words on paper is only one small component of the process in producing a quality piece of writing. Equal amounts of time should be spent on the planning and editing process. The editing process should not just consist of identifying errors in punctuation, spelling and grammar. It is equally important that time is spent discussing how individual sentences could be improved with the addition of adjectives, adverbs, descriptive phrases and/or rearranging word order to provide variation and interest. In a classroom situation, where time constraints are a limiting factor, students would benefit most if teachers spent time with each student improving just one sentence, rather than correcting papers independently of the students. Writing practice does not always have to result in a formalised piece of work. The fourth section of this book provides a range of ideas that can be used to encourage students to put pen to paper. Many of the ideas could be implemented in a five minute timeslot between other activities or before a break. In addition, several of the ideas in the oral language section could be adapted to involve writing rather than speaking.Writing Creatively p. 2

SAMPLEPART ONE Writing Creatively p. 3

SAMPLEORAL LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT The goal of writing instruction is to improve students’ ability to produce cohesive and coherent written discourse. However, effective writing has been shown to be dependent upon verbal working memory. In addition, this goal presupposes that students have the language resources to support the written expression of their ideas. Oral language acquisition is a naturally occurring process for most children. However, for many children the ability to speak with fluency and clarity is a skill which requires specific instruction and practise. To speak with fluently and clarity students need to be able to organise their thinking and express their ideas in a logical sequence, using grammatically correct sentences which incorporate a wide range of vocabulary. These oral language skills provide the foundation for logical and clear written expression. Oral language and written language are inextricably linked. If you do not have the ability to express your ideas orally, you will not be able to express your ideas in writing. Similarly, if grammatical errors occur in speech they are going to be reproduced in the written form. In fact, research indicates that students who have developed refined oral language skills are better able to produce high levels of written discourse and are more likely to achieve academic success. More specifically, the research indicates a significant positive correlation between oral and written word usage, word quantity, and sophistication of grammar. Oral Language Activities The following activities provide some ideas for giving students oral language practice. They may occur in pairs, small groups or as a class activity. It is important that all students are given the opportunity to participate in a supportive, encouraging environment. Some of the ideas presented in Part 4 may also be adapted to an oral activity.Writing Creatively p. 4

SAMPLEConstruct story maps by drawing or pasting pictures onto a piece of paper according to a theme:  Shopping  Haunted House  Planet  Farm  Strange Land  Park Students move small toys and figures around the story map describing the characters’ adventures. Ask for more detail. What can the character see? What can the character smell? How did the character feel?Set up an obstacle course. Students have to provide instructions at each station as to how to carryout the activity.DACS (Dialogue, Action, Character, Setting): At random times during the day, call out eitherdialogue, action, character or setting. The student has to choose something they can see as thestimulus and then construct an appropriate sentence.Make up a group story. One person begins and other people continue the story. Each person talksfor a given time (e.g., 30 seconds) and at the end of that time must stop immediately (even in themiddle of a sentence) and the next person continues.Take turns to tell a well-known story or describe an event in which the other participants wereinvolved. The speaker changes some elements of the story or recount and the listeners need to findthe errors.Take it in turns to give instructions for everyone else to follow. The instructions need to be foractivities that can be carried out on the spot. Each person is only allowed to give one instructionand as soon as that instruction has been carried out the next person must immediately give the nextinstruction (e.g., Touch your nose with your wrist).20 Questions:  One person thinks of an object or well known character/person.  The other person (people) ask questions which can only be answered ‘yes’ or ‘no’.  A maximum of 20 questions can be asked.  At any time, the asker can have a guess at the answer. However, if the guess is not correct that person is out of the game. Writing Creatively p. 5

SAMPLEPART TWO Writing Creatively p. 7

SAMPLE10 MINUTE DAILY WRITING Each of the activities in this section is designed to develop students’ vocabulary and sentence structure to make their writing more interesting. • At the beginning of the week, introduce a concept to the students and have them complete the associated worksheet. • Students then use the worksheet as the basis of their 10 minute, daily writing activity. • At the end of the 10 minutes, students count the number of words written and record their score on the graph on page 9. • The aim is for students to increase the number of words written during the 10 minutes. • The word count may be modified by excluding words spelled incorrectly or written illegibly. • At the conclusion of the exercise, it is beneficial to work through the passage with students correcting errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar. • It is also beneficial to take one sentence and work together to improve the sentence by rearranging the word order and/or adding adjectives, adverbs and/or additional imagery. If students have difficulties writing down ideas, you may begin the program using the following types of activities. As described above, students should write for 10 minutes then count and record the words written during this time: • Write down words within a category or subject area.  objects you can see in the room  objects you can see out the window  animals  colours  names  food  objects found in a house • Extend the above writing by including adjectives (e.g., a big picture book, a set of different coloured pencils) • Write a list of items on a particular topic, but each item needs to consist of several words.  Gifts for a giant  a striped picnic rug to use as a beach towel  the trunk of a pine tree to use as a walking stick  an oval shaped swimming pool for a bath  Making mum mad  New ice-cream flavours  Things you would do if you were invisible  Wishes you would ask a genie to grant  Activities at your birthday party  Titles for booksWriting Creatively p. 8

SAMPLE WRITING RECORD5049484746454443424140393837363534333231302928272625242322212019181716151413121110987654321 Writing Creatively p. 9

turquoise tiny dark COLOUR S SIZE QUALITY enormousstriped DEGREE AMPLEadjectives angry first NUMBER embarrassed fluffy torn happy luckiest few worst elevenWriting Creatively p. 10

SAMPLE• An adjective describes a noun. Complete the adjectives mind-map. • Each day choose a picture from a magazine or picture book. • Write an interesting description of the object. Use the mind-map to give you ideas. • Write for 10 minutes. At the end of 10 minutes, record the number of words you wrote on the graph on page 9. See if another person can find the picture that you described.The green, stuffed frog has golfball eyes on each side of its head. Writing Creatively p. 11

CESENNTESGNEXPANDI The boy hit the ball.SAfter breakfast, the chubby, black-haired boy angrily hit the small, red ball over the fence. EXPAND ATHMESPE SENTENCES(Hint: Use your adjectives and adverbs mind-maps)LEThe cat sat on the mat. The dog barked at the car.The dragon charged the knight. The monkey climbed the tree.The alien explored the planet. The children swam in the sea.The girl played in the garden. The bird fed its babies.The policeman caught the robber. The moth flew to the light.The fairy flew to the flower. The horse galloped around the paddock.The baby slept in the cot. The snake slithered.Writing Creatively p. 14

SAMPLE• Each day choose a different sentence.• Keep rewriting the same sentence adding in extra words each time.• Use your adjectives and adverbs mind-maps to give you ideas.• Write for 10 minutes. At the end of 10 minutes, record the number of words you wrote on the graph on page 9.The boy hit the ball.The chubby, black haired boy hitthe ball.The chubby, black haired boyangrily hit the ball. Writing Creatively p. 15

exclaimed pleadedSAMsaPiLdEsobbed shouted argued whispered whimpered laughedWriting Creatively p. 16

SAMPLE• Write a synonym for ‘said’ in each cloud. Make sure you write it in the past tense. • Each day use different words from your mind-map to write sentences. • Remember to write ‘expanded sentences’. • Write for 10 minutes. At the end of 10 minutes, record the number of words you wrote on the graph on page 9.“I feel sick,” whimpered the oldlady as she clutched her stomach. Writing Creatively p. 17

SAMPLEPARTTHREE Writing Creatively p. 45

SAMPLEEXTENDED WRITINGThe extended writing section teaches students how to plan, write and edit longer pieces ofwritten work. For maximum benefit, this process should take place over a number of days.PLANNINGA key component of the process is planning. There are three steps in this planning process:1. Oral discussion to stimulate the students’ imagination and thought processes. This step can be enhanced by showing students a relevant picture or YouTube clip.2. Establishing the setting, character(s), event and resolution. Students commonly write a series of events without spending time describing and expanding on them. Therefore, it is very important that students only describe one key event and limit the number of characters (to a maximum of three).3. Completing the mind-map provides a brief outline of the overall structure and sequence of the writing. Encourage students to only write in key words. The circle in the centre should reflect the key idea of the writing (e.g., the title). The next level of circles represents each of the paragraphs. As students become more competent in the process, they can fill in the next level of circles which indicate sentences. Each of the outer circles relate to a sentence within that paragraph. Using mind-maps provides automatic structure to students’ writing and they are instantly able to identify when to begin a new paragraph.WRITINGOnce the planning process has been completed, it is recommended that students write oneparagraph each day following the instructions provided for each sentence.• Begin by looking at the sample text. Circle the words in the sentence that relate to the instructions.• Students write their own sentence ensuring it follows the instructions.• Continue this process for the whole paragraph.• Once the paragraph has been completed, students should read through the whole paragraph to make sure it makes sense and that each sentence logically connects to the next sentence. Help students to make the necessary corrections.*Hint: For students with poor working memories who have difficulty remembering theirsentence, have them write the first letter of each word as they orally say the sentence.They can then refer back to these ‘notes’ as prompts.EDITING & PUBLISHINGThe final stage is editing the writing. Ideally, an adult should type up the student’s work ‘as itis’ and then edit the material together using tools such as spell and grammar checkers and‘Thesaurus’ (right click any word, scroll down to synonyms and choose ‘Thesaurus’ from thedrop down menu).It is recommended that edited work is typed with the aim of compiling all the pieces into abook.Note: As students become more competent in writing short stories, have them consider howthey can give a twist to their stories to make them more interesting. A good example for olderstudents is Roald Dahl’s short story “Lamb to the Slaughter”. Another example, written by aYear 7 student, is provided on page 88.Writing Creatively p. 46

SAMPLEEDITING CHECKLIST:• Does it make sense?• Does the writing begin with a capital letter?• Read from the first capital letter to the first full stop.  Does this sentence make sense?  Is it one sentence or is it 2 or 3 sentences and therefore needs some more full stops and capital letters?  Is it telling you something and needs a full stop?  Is it asking you something and needs a question mark?  Do this for each sentence.• Have speech marks been used?  Look for words like ‘said’, ‘explained’, ‘shouted’, ‘cried’. These words usually indicate that speech marks are required.  If there is no speech, can you change or add sentences to include speech?• Have commas been used?  Look for lists of items and events.  If ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘I’, ‘they’, ‘we’ or a person’s name is used in the middle of a sentence, you may need a comma.  Is there a comma after words like ‘Therefore’, ‘However’, ‘Consequently’?• Check the spelling.  Start at the end of the page and check each word until you get to the beginning. This strategy makes you really check each word.• Has the same tense been used (preferably past tense)?• Look for words such as ‘said’, ‘got’, ‘went’, ‘saw’ and ‘took’. Can you think of a more interesting word to use?• Could you draw a picture using the information provided or does more detail need to be included? Writing Creatively p. 47

SETTING (WHERE?): CHARACTERS (WHO?):• Middle of a strange forest • Ben – 8 years old, small, thin• Branches are like arms - Courageous, mischievous, adventurous• Late afternoon – sun beginning to set - Dress - school uniformExSaAMmPLE pleEVENT(WHAT?): - Black, short hair • Elf - Pointy ears, bulging eyes - Green shirt and trousers RESOLUTION (ENDING):• Ben looking for his sister • Ben has to believe in magic- Meets an elf • Steps into cave but finds himself in- Follows elf sister’s bedroom and sees her sleeping- Elf takes him to a caveWriting Creatively p. 48

Introduction:Event 1: Meets elf SBen in forest lookingTitle: Do you Believe Event 2: Follows in Magic?for sister elf Event 3: ComesExaAMmPL pleConclusion:Believes in magic and sees sister Ein bedto cave Writing Creatively p. 49

SAMPLEEXAMPLE STORY: Do you Believe in Magic?PARAGRAPH 1: Set the scene and introduce the character.1. Begin with your key character speaking (Make sure you include his/her name and the setting): “I’m scared,” whispered Ben as he looked around the strange forest.2. Begin with a prepositional phrase: All around him, tree branches reached towards him, grabbing at his clothes and pulling his hair.3. Include a description of one feature of the character using a simile or metaphor: Ben wrapped his thin, spaghetti like arms around his small body, trembling like a leaf blowing in the wind.4. Begin with a word ending in ‘ing’: Wiping the tears from his eyes, Ben straightened his shoulder and stood tall.5. Ask a rhetorical question that outlines the problem/plot: Would he be brave enough to search the forest for his sister?PARAGRAPH 2: Introduce the first event - Ben meets the elf.1. Begin with a word ending with the suffix ‘ing’. Make sure you include the key character’s name: Creeping through the forest, Ben saw an elf peeping at him from behind a tree.2. Write a sentence containing only 2 or 3 words: He stopped.3. Use speech: “Can I help you?” asked the elf in a sing-song voice.4. Begin with an adverb (words ending in ‘ly’ are adverbs) and use a conjunction (and, but, because..): Silently, Ben looked at the elf and wondered if he was a friend or foe.5. Include a simile or metaphor: The elf slowly smiled at Ben, lighting his face like the sun rising in the morning sky.PARAGRAPH 3: Introduce the second event - Ben follows elf.1. Begin the sentence with ‘Without’: Without stopping to think, Ben nodded his head.2. Write a sentence with exactly 20 words in it: In the blink of an eye, the elf turned and began twisting his way between the swaying and clutching trees.3. Begin with a conjunction (s, therever, ,owever, lthough, /f, then …): As he passed each tree, it magically lifted its clutching branches into the air leaving a safe passage for Ben.4. Write a sentence with 3 to 5 words: Ben felt much braver now.5. Write a sentence that tells us about the character’s attitudes, values or feelings: He didn’t use to believe in magic, but how else could he explain the elf and this forest. Writing Creatively p. 50

SAMPLEPARAGRAPH 4: Introduce the third event - Comes to a cave.1. Begin with an adjective: Two minutes later, the elf stopped in front of a cave hidden in the hillside.2. Begin with a word ending with the suffix ‘ing’: Covering the entrance was a huge stone, too heavy for Ben to move.3. Use speech: “Your sister is safe inside this cave,” sang the elf and then with a click of his fingers disappeared.4. Write a sentence with 3 to 5 words: Ben stared at the stone.5. Write a sentence with exactly 20 words: There was only one way Ben could get into the cave and that was if he really believed in magic.PARAGRAPH 5: Conclusion/resolution - Ben believes in magic and sees sister.1. Write a sentence with at least two verbs and two adverbs: Ben placed his hands firmly on the stone and closed his eyes tightly.2. Use speech: “I believe in magic. I believe in magic,” he said confidently.3. Include a simile or metaphor: The rock dissolved in his hands, like milo in hot milk.4. Begin with an adverb (words ending in ‘ly’ are adverbs): Hesitantly, Ben walked into the dark cave, wondering what would happen next.5. Use 3 adjectives: There, sleeping peacefully in her bed, was his little sister snuggled up with her favourite hairless teddy bear.1. Read through your story to make sure that it makes sense.2. Circle all the simple words like ‘said’, ‘got’, ‘went’, ‘saw’, etc. Change these words for a more interesting word.3. Check that every sentence begins with a capital and ends with a full stop. Does the sentence need a question or exclamation mark?4. Have you used speech marks? Look for words like ‘said’, ‘shouted’, ‘whispered’.5. Check that each words is spelled correctly.6. Do you need any commas?7. Can you change any sentences to make them more interesting? Writing Creatively p. 51

SAMPLE SHORT STORY: TREESTIMULATE THE IMAGINATION:• What is special about this tree?• Is it a magic tree?• Is there something special inside this tree (e.g., a tree house, a bird’s nest, a hole)?• Was the tree chopped down?• Is it the home of someone or something?• Did someone or something climb the tree to escape from danger?• Did someone or something fall out of the tree?• What is at the top of the tree?• Find a YouTube clip or picture to enrich the students’ image. Try ‘In the forest’ or ‘Strange trees’.DEVELOP THE SETTING:• Where is the tree (forest, desert, city, farm)?• Describe the location.• What is next to the tree (water, building, plants, cave)?• Describe in detail.• How would you describe the tree (colour, height, width, smell, feel)?• Describe the day (sunny, overcast, rainy, windy, stormy)?• What time of day is it (morning, afternoon, night)?• What era is it (in the future, in the past, in the present)?DEVELOP THE CHARACTER(S):• Who is the main character?• Give the character a name.• Describe the character’s appearance (age, clothes, hair, skin, scars, ears, nose, eyes, size, shape).• Describe the character’s personality (mean, kind, patient, trickster). How do his/her actions show his/her personality?• Describe the character’s voice.• What are the character’s strengths and/or weaknesses?DEVELOP THE EVENTS:• What one thing happens in your story?• Describe the event in detail. Use your sense of sight, hearing and touch.• How did the character feel?• What did the character or the other character(s) say?DEVELOP THE RESOLUTION:• What happened in the end?• Use your sense of sight, hearing and touch.• What did the character say?• How did the character feel?Although the character and setting should be developed in some detail, not all of thisinformation needs to be actually used in the story.Writing Creatively p. 52

SETTING (WHERE?): CHARACTERS (WHO?): EVENTS (WHAT?): SAMPLE RESOLUTION (ENDING): Writing Creatively p. 53

Introduction: Event 1: Event 2: Conclusion: SA Title: MPLEEvent 3:Writing Creatively p. 54

SAMPLE PARAGRAPH 1: Set the scene and introduce the main character.1. Begin with your key character speaking (Makesure you include his/her name and the setting):2. Begin with a prepositional phrase (In front…Behind…All around…Over the ….Under.... Next to..…):3. Include a description of one feature of thecharacter using a simile or metaphor:4. Begin with a word endingwith the suffix ‘ing’:5. Ask a rhetorical question thatoutlines the problem/plot: PARAGRAPH 2: Introduce the first event.1. Begin with a word ending with the suffix ‘ing’. Makesure you include the key character’s name: Writing Creatively p. 55

SAMPLE2. Write a sentence containingonly 2 or 3 words:3. Use speech:4. Begin with an adverb (words ending in ‘ly’ are adverbs)and use a conjunction (and, but, because..):5. Include a simileor metaphor: PARAGRAPH 3: Introduce the second event.1. Begin the sentencewith ‘Without’:2. Write a sentence withexactly 20 words in it: Writing Creatively p. 56

3. Begin with a conjunction (As.. Wherever...However... Although... If... When …):4. Write a sentencewith 3 to 5 words:5. Write a sentence that tells us about thecharacter’s attitudes, values, beliefs or feelings: SAMPLE PARAGRAPH 4: Introduce the third event.1. Begin with anadjective:2. Begin with a wordending with the suffix ‘ing’:3. Use speech:4. Write a sentencewith 3 to 5 words: Writing Creatively p. 57

SAMPLE5. Write a sentence withexactly 20 words in it: PARAGRAPH 5: Conclusion/resolution. 1. Write a sentence with at least two verbs and two adverbs:2. Use speech:3. Include a simileor metaphor:4. Begin with an adverb (wordsending in ‘ly’ are adverbs):5. Use 3adjectives: Writing Creatively p. 58

SAMPLEPART FOUR ADDITIONAL WRITING ACTIVITIESThe following pages provide a range of other ideas andactivities to motivate students and give them practice inexpressing themselves in writing. Writing Creatively p. 119

SAMPLEStrange StoriesEach student is given a piece of lined paper andbegins writing a story. After a set time (2-5 minutes), students must put down their pens and fold their paper so only the last line is showing. Everyone then passes their piece of paper to the left. Without unfolding the paper, students continue writing the story based only on what they can see written on the last line. Continue this process until students have contributed to several different stories. Students unfold the paper and read the strange stories. This activity can be done with two or several people. Writing Creatively p. 120