Motivating through writing

Motivating Through WritingJazz up your curriculum with Creative Writing1Creative writingWhat makes writing creative?

How is that different from other writing?

Is creative writing without form?Totally free form?2What are the types (genres)?PoetryMemoir (using anecdotes from your life)Fiction A. Short StoryB. Novel DramaOne-act or three-actScreen plays

Le3Are you a poet?Lets try writing poetryCan you do that? Have you ever written poetry?You will do it now.What do you need?Pen and paperAdd imagination.

5Start with HaikuWho Am I?In a pouch I grow,On a southern continent --Strange creatures I know.

Whats the formPoetry has forms;The sonnet has 14 lines, carefully rhymed.Haiku doesnt have to be rhymed but it has a certain amount of syllables

I am first with fiveThen seven in the middle Five again to end.

More haikuWho am IGreen and speckled legs,Hop on logs and lily padsSplash in cool water.

Who am I?Write a haiku about a certain animal but don't mention the animal's nameMany hairy legs I crawl fast around my spacePeople dont like me.Who am II have four strong legs.Hairy or fuzzy my skinI like to bark too.Now: Pair SharingMany ways to do this.

Think/Write/Pair/Share

Think/Pair/Share/Write/Share again.Why is this process good???? (I wait for them to think.12Pair with someone and share your haiku.

Did you use the right amount of syllables?

Count them.

That is the form.Other haikuBeachesSand scatters the beachRough waves crash on the seashoreDeep water shimmers

SnowflakesSnowflakes are our friendsThey descend when winter comes.Making white blanketsWrite another haiku

Using any idea or topic

Peace, friends, Joy, et cetera

Share againPoetry is easyLets try an even easier poetry form:

Acrostic poems:

Sun, you are bright and shinyUnder the sky so blueNothing is brighter than you.

How to write an acrosticChoose any word: your name, or anything you want to describe, like the sun poem. Choose any word:Use the letters in the topic word to begin each line.All lines of the poem must relate to or describe the topic word.Using a nameI want to beSilent when others are talkingAbsolutely active in my lifeLove is what I hope for allAlways looking to helpMagnetic in my dealing with others.NowIts your turn

You write oneShare your acrostic poemPlease find a way forEveryone to get alongACEPair share againPoems easy to write?Now we are all poets.

Now what?Play and WriteYou dont quit playing because you get old.You get old because you quit playing.A Motivating Creative ActivityGet in groups of 4-5.

We will give you objects and cards.

As a group, create a story, using the objects; plan that each group member will say something. Dont write.

Tell this story to another group, holding up the objects as they play their parts in the story.If this were a real class,

I would break up your groups and have each student write the story individually they could change any details and even big parts, but stick to the main story.GRADING OR NON-GRADINGI cant ask them to write often because it is too hard to grade all those papers.

Does a soccer coach grade every move that a player makes?

Writing is a skill and it needs practice, practice, practice.Why non-graded?An ungraded exercise is valuable:It lets students communicate their thoughts without fear of judgment of any kind.

It says to them that their MESSAGE has value.The assignment does matterLook for topics that they can care about.Topics for Writing What is the most exciting career? The most boring?What do you want to do as a career? Why?Describe a good friend.Write about your main interest: fishing, soccer players, art, the sea, the souk, business, camels, the season you like the best and why. Agriculture?

31Error CorrectionGive many many short assignments for them to increase their fluency.

Without the fear of being graded, they will write more.

Again: Use topics that they are interested in.

Use short papers often, even daily and have them share with a partner. If they really want to, they can give it to youYou dont have toMark every comma or misspelling they make.They will learn through practice.

On a page-long paper, mark one particular error, likeVerb forms or sentence structure.

THEN make a positive comment at the bottom.Dont be negative that will silence their will to write.Shocking ideaYou dont have to read every paper.

Just so someone reads it.

Peer Reading Pair/share.Any Questions

myrtis101@mac.comWallet Talk/WriteA popular activity almost like a warm up.

Look in your wallet/hand bagFind something that has meaning for you.Anything I model something in my bag.. (cell phone) take something out of my bag cell phone?36Now I will model . I choose .

Now I will write about it. Go to the document where I will write right in front of them.

Now you write37Keep writing at least 10 sentences dont worry about grammar, spelling, anything.

Now share with a person next to you.

38Write, then readDiscuss with partner

What did you learn from this exercise?

Writing before sharing. How does it change the talk? GIVE THEM TIME to talk with partner about this.39The endMyrtis MixonSan Francisco, California, USA

myrtis101@mac.comRiomediagroup.com/blanche35now40Why use goals?Helps motivate learningKeeps the learner on taskHelps the learner see the reason for a task.

List one long-term and one short term goal, on your worksheet.Count off to have a partner.

Now: share your goals with a partner.42Back to WritingWhat types of writing do we ask students to do?

What do you ask your students to do?

Share with your partner.Share with your partnerWhat do you ask your students to do?43What does research say?Students studying English as a foreign language spend less than 5% of their time on writing of any kind.

A high percentage (as much as 90%) do no writing in English (except for fill-in-the-blanks).44GoalsWhat is your goal for this session?

My Goals:To share 15 strategies to motivate Ss to write.To learn more strategies from you.To energize you into wanting to let them write.

They write Goals and then share with a partner45What Types of WritingFoursomes: pair up with another pair.

Discuss: WRITE:What kind of writing did you do when you studied English?2. What kind of writing do you ask your students to do? I ask for their ideas and write on big easel board.I list what they shout out46What types of writing do I teach?I have been a writing teacher for longer than 30 years.university, high school, elementary, both to native speakers, second language learners and English as a foreign language47Journal WritingWhat is that?

Self-talk?Can be about what you readCan be about what you thinkCan be about any subject

Journal writing can be creative.In one of my classes, I ask them to journal about every reading assignment. Sometimes it is a preparation for a bigger writing assignment.PERHAPS I ASK THEM to journal right now about their own personal attitude about writing in EL classes.Some of you may be skeptical about whether it is worthwhile to do this.48Now you journalWrite about what you think about writing, what you think about your having to write, about having your students write. Will it be difficult to do this? What will the problems be.

This is all about your thinking

Keep going. This is free writing but with a focus.Summary WritingWhen do we summarize?

What do we summarize?

Is it a simple skill?When we answer: what was the book about? What was the movie about?What did you do yesterday?Some students think this is really simple. It is not50When do you use summaries?When is the last time you were asked to summarize something?

What did you do last night?Have you seen any good films or TV shows lately? What was it about?Have you read any good books lately? Tell me about it.How did you make that?How did you do that?

Every day. People ask each other these questions all the time.We do this verbally every day.Include: a general statement answering the question: I saw a thrilling movie last night. It was about . The hero did this and then that.51Essay WritingDo your students write essays?

What is an essay?A short composition on a single subject, usually presenting the personal view of the author.An essay does need support for the opinion.Support can be examples, details, statisticsFrench for try.Opinion but supported 52Research WritingWhen are we expected to do this?

Why do we research anything?

Do you ask your students to do any research?What do they research?Can you make it more interesting?

How do they do research?What sort of subjects do they researchWould it be a good idea to make it interesting to students?... Surveys? Interviews?Could they do personal research? Online research?53What else?Is there another type of writing that we havent mentioned?

CREATIVE WRITING

54Lets compare: How are they different?Journal Writing (self talk) When is this creative?Summary Writing (telling any story; summing up)Essay Writing (persuasion about a subject, idea)Research Writing (supporting our ideas)

Creative Writing ???Have these fly in when I touch.Journal self talk can be about anything55Types of Creative WritingWhat kinds of creative writing have you written?

What kinds of creative writing have you asked students to do.Share with a partner or in a foursomeTalk with partner/s in pair or foursome again?56Reading and Writing are linked1. You have to read what you write

2. Also, often, we want someone to read what we write.

Do we learn how to write better by reading what others write?Writing and reading are two sides of a coin

How could #3 be true?.57So?We know what it is

But how to get started?Think/observe then free write?Or, choose a model to imitate?Slowly from one to the next58Non-Stop WritingA reading.Read and then answer:WHAT DO YOU THINK? (for one minute)

NOW: NON-STOP WRITEYou write on a topic without stopping, similar to free writing. In class, non-graded, timed writing on an assigned topic---without stopping.Use think-three rule: support the statement with at least three reasons, all explained in narrative form Why do a writing assignment that is non-graded?

WritebackAssociated with Nonstop WritingStudent could write a letter to the author of a reading or to some other person connected with the reading past, present or future, real or fictional. (Write-back to the author of a story, poem, non-fiction piece)

Nonstop Writing gives students practice in timed writing.Observation or RememberingMemoir or Anecdote Read an example: An Occasion at the Bus Station

A time when someone else taught you a lesson about sharing?61Can you think of a time when you learned something from an occasion?For example:A time when you were wrong about something? A time when you were not kind. A time when you saw someone being kind to someone who was different? A time when you changed when confronted by circumstances.A time when someone taught you about sharing?

Go to next page62HOW TO DO IT?MEMOIR AnecdoteChoose a focus or start with an observationA. Brainstorm (alone or with partner)B. Spider gramC. FreewriteD. ShareE. Freewrite again

63Anecdote, memoir, short story?How is this anecdote different from a short short story?

An anecdote (memoir) is usually true but it isnt that different from some stories.WRITING FICTIONELEMENTS OF FICTIONCharacterPlotPoint of ViewDescriptionDialogSetting/PacingVoiceLOOK at these elements in relation to the anecdote.65A Simple Reading66In language teachingWhat comes first?

Listening?Speaking?Reading?Writing?

So, one would think that you have to listen, speak, and read before you can write?Is this true?Is this the order in which we learn our first language? Our second language?67Your writingRead what you wrote to your partner.

Who goes first? The person with the brightest clothes? The longest hair? The shortest person? The older person? The person who travelled farther to get here? The person closer to the front door?A way to vary who talks first.. Give them 5 minutes for this. Could you use this in class?

What did you learn from this exercise?68AcrosticsAnother easy type of poetry.Thank YouMyrtis101@mac.comRiomediagroup.com/blanche35now