For many kids, the only writing they do is what's assigned in school: essays, structured poems, and responses to literature. Step outside of the box and allow kids a chance to be creative with their words.
Story Building
Children often have trouble coming up with ideas for their writing. With this activity, they literally "build" the idea from blocks and write a story about their creation.
Place a handful of Legos or other small blocks in sealable bags. If it's for class, make sure each student gets a bag of the blocks, and then tell them to build something with them. Once they are finished, have students write a story about their creation. The creation can be the main focus or just a part of the story. The writing should include a beginning, middle, and ending.
Describe an Experience
Kids all have experiences they can share. Instead of having them write a story about it, put a twist on the activity and tell them not to use obvious words related to the topic.
For example, if a child is writing about the experience of eating an ice cream cone, he cannot use words like ice cream, delicious, vanilla, cone, creamy, cold, look, and bite.
Name That Headline
Headlines from some of the newspaper tabloids can be far fetched. However, they are catchy and certainly conjure up vivid images. This activity allows students to write their own headlines. Using each letter of their name, they are to write a word that is part of the headline.
Example: The name Matt could have a headline along the lines of "Monsters Attack Terrified Teens."
Take this a step further and have children write an article to go along with the headline.
Word Jar Writing
To encourage kids to develop a love for words, have them go on a word scavenger hunt. As they read, have kids write down words that are appealing to them, either by their spelling or their sounds. Write them down on small slips of paper and place them in a jar.
Once there are enough collected words, have kids randomly draw out five words. Their task is to then write a story using all of those words. This can be especially entertaining if the words have no connection to each other.
Writing does not have to be limited to the classroom or to the usual assignments. Making up fun activities will keep kids interested; while at the same time allow them to practice certain writing skills. Whether they write about something they've built, an experience they've had or make up headlines or stories from lists of words, kids will get the practice they need to develop skills and confidence in their writing abilities.
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Doris Keeler - Doris is an 8th grade language arts teacher who specializes in teaching students the art of writing. Under her direction, the writing plan ...
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