INSTANT WRITING

NOMBRE: Eliana Pinza Tapia

Writing on the spot without much in the way of preparation or warning

CHARACTERISTIC• It can be used whenever the teacher feels

it is appropriate

ACTIVITIES

SENTENCE WRITI

NG

Dictating sentences for completion

Writing sentences

The weather forecast

Dictating sentences for completion

Teachers can dictate part of a sentence which students have to complete about themselves.

For example:“My favorite restaurant is …”

Writing sentences

Teachers can ask students to write two or three sentences

about a certain topic

For example:If Ss are discussing education, they can write sentences about positive

aspects of taking exams

The weather forecast

At the beginning of the day teachers can ask Ss to write about themselves and

their day as if they were writing a weather forecast.

For example:“What is the weather like now?”

USING MUSIC

Words

What is the composer

describing?

Film scores

How does it make me

feel?

Musical stories

Words

Teachers can play a piece of music and have Ss write down any words that

come into their heads as they listen.

For example:“Classical music”

What is the composer describing?

Ss are told that in a piece of music they are about to hear the

composer is trying to describe something specific. While

listening to the music they have to write down whatever they

hear in the music.

For example:Vivaldi famously describes the

seasons

Film scores

Ask Ss to listen to a piece of music and then create the opening scenes for a film that the music suggests to them.

For example:Film music

How does it make me feel?

Teachers can play Ss musical excerpts and get them to write their reactions as they listen.

For example:“What colour do you think the

music is?”

Musical stories

Ask Ss to write stories on the basis of music they listen to.

The teacher can dictate the fist line of a story.

For example:“He turned and looked at her”

USING PICTURES

Describing pictures

Suspects and

objects

Write the postcard

Portraits

Story tasks

Describing pictures

Ask Ss to write a description of one of the

pictures that you will show them

Suspects and objects

Give Ss a variety of pictures and ask them to write about only one of them.

Then Ss give their descriptions to another student who has to identify which picture is being

described.

Write the postcard

Give Ss postcard scenes and then ask them to write the postcard which they

would expect to write to an English-speaking friend from such a location.

Portraits

Ask Ss to write a letter to a portrait, asking the character questions about his or her life and explaining why they are

writing to them

theberry.com/2010/11/24/more-star-portraits-by-artist-shahin-20-photos/celeb-portraits-11/

Story tasks

Ss can be given a series of pictures of random objects and told to choose four

of them, and write a story which connects them.

http://sp.depositphotos.com/1637307/stock-illustration-Birthday-objects.html

WRITING POEMS

Acrostic poems/alphabet poems

Stem/frame poems

Metaphor generators

Model poems

Acrostic poems / alphabet poems

An acrostic poem is one where the first leters of each line, when read downwards, form a word.

http://mjoyce.hubpages.com/hub/acrostic-name-poems-for-girls-that-star--with-c

Stem/frame poems

Give Ss sentence or phrase stems or frames for them to complete and

which, when completed make something that is almost a poem.

For example:I like ……… because ……….I like ……… because ……….I like ……… because ……….

But I hate ………. Becaue ……….

Metaphor generators

Think of someone you love. Write that person’s name at the top of the

page. Start the first line with the word YOU.

Write about their person as if they were a kind of food.

End up with something which can often be extremely meaningful.

Model poems

Ask Ss to write about the same themes of the poem you have given them or use the

same poetic forms.

REFERENCES

Harmer, J. (2004). How to teach writing. England: Pearson Education Limited.