Rev Up Writers! - creativity-sparking activities

Start off the year with creativity-sparking activities and writing fun

The beginning of the year is a great time to get your students excited about writing and ready to face the many challenges to come. Start the year with these fun and imaginative assignments and your students will be eager to pick up their pencils!

Beach Ball Stories

Bring a little bit of end-of summer into your classroom and get students' writing skills in gear with this lively game. All you'll need is a beach ball and an overhead projector (or chalkboard) to get started writing quick paragraphs.

* Begin by writing a sentence on a transparency--for example, "I had terrible car problems today." (Students enjoy the idea of owning a car!) Beneath it, write words next, finally, and as a result.

* Read the topic sentence aloud, then throw the beach ball to a student, who will supply the first supporting point: "First, I was driving on the highway and almost got in an accident."

* He or she throws the ball to a classmate, who supplies the next supporting detail: "Next, I ran completely out of gas."

* This child throws the ball to a third who adds a detail starting with the word finally: "Finally, the wheels fell off and rolled down the street."

* The next child who catches the ball adds a concluding sentence that explains the result of these events: "As a result, I had to walk seven miles home."

After students create several paragraphs "in the air," ask them to write their own paragraphs on paper. Then ask them to underline the topic sentences, circle the transition words, and draw a star next to the conclusion.

Superb Sentences on Display

Save favorite sentences! Start a writing center display of sentences kids love from their own writing. After the class finishes a writing project, invite students to choose a sentence, record it on a sticky note, and post it. It's fun to to read great writing in small bits. Students feel encouraged to try new techniques.

When they see their sentences displayed, they are sometimes surprised to discover how much they know about writing already. They can see similarities between their own sentences and those they read in books.

Old Friends, New Friends

Nikki Giovanni' poem "two friends" is perfect for inspiring back-to-school poems about old friends--and for introducing students to new friends. Its "list" structure is one that children can try with great success. And illustrating these fun poems will turn this writing project into take home treasures. Begin by giving each child a copy of the poem reproducible on page 70. Read it aloud and ask children to describe the structure of the poem. Invite children to use the poem as a model for their own poems about friends. First have them write a poem about a friend of their choice. Repeat the activity to introduce children to new friends. Write each child's name on a slip of paper. Have children pick a slip at random, then team up with that child, Let partners spend two minutes chatting to find out what they have in common, then write a poem that includes some of these things.

Add-On Authors

This cumulative and collaborative writing activity teams up your young authors to create a story that will surprise everyone. Use it at the beginning of the year to warm up creative-writing skills and to show students how much fun working together can be. Start with a long sheet of paper. (You can tape several sheets of paper together.) Write a sentence or two to begin the story at the top, then fold the paper back, leaving only the last line of writing visible. Give the paper to a student. Have this child read only the last line of what you wrote, and then add a few lines on to the story. This child folds the paper back, again leaving only the last line visible, and then passes it to the next child. Continue the process until every child has added on to the story. Remind each child to fold back the paper and leave only one line showing for the next person. The last child to get the paper writes the ending. Then unfold the paper and share the surprise story with the class!

Tip: To make the process go more quickly, divide the class into two groups. Start a story with each group. For story openers, try children's books. Your students will enjoy seeing how a story changes with new "authors."

Read All About Us!

Weekly newsletters are a great way for teachers to keep families informed of in-class activities, Letting children contribute to these informative send-homes gives them a reason to write from the very beginning of the school year. For first-week news, you might invite each child to write a sentence about something he or she enjoyed about the first few days. Students might also write "Previews of Upcoming Events" in your classroom and around the school.

Standards tip: Allowing the class to participate in the newsletter provides a built-in way to share students' writing with an audience, whether it's a project update, an introduction of a new student, a book review, or a short story.