8 Ways to Stimulate Creative Writing

1. Three Minute Writing:  Students are given a topic (or title) with the understanding that they only have three minutes in which to write on the topic.
2. You're Not Yourself Today:  In this writing activity students are told they are not themselves today, they will become someone else. Prepare index cards with different roles. Example: "You're not yourself today.... you are a pirate looking for treasure on a deserted island."
3. Pass A Story:  Pass a piece of paper with an opening sentence or paragraph on it. Students add a few more sentences in the time allotted and then pass it on to another student. Students continue adding to the story until everyone has had an opportunity to write a part of the story. Read the final story aloud.
4. Dear Teacher:  Give students the opportunity to develop letter-writing skills. Assign a topic for them to write a letter to the teacher, such as classroom suggestions, something  they like about you, etc.
5. Roll a Story:  A numbered die is used to correspond with titles of possible stories to write. Students roll the die to determine which title they will be using for their creative story.
6. Grab Bags:  Three paper lunch bags will be needed for this activity. Label each with the following: setting, character and conflict. Fill each paper bag with index cards, each containing an example of the above mentioned items. Put these cards into the corresponding bags. Students must choose a setting card, a character card and a conflict card.
7. Did you Know?:  This activity allows students to become the experts about a specific topic. Students should choose something they are knowledgeable about. The purpose in this exercise is to inform classmates through their writing.
8. Comment Please:  This activity can be implemented after students have had time to polish their stories beyond the first draft stage. Students will read their work aloud and classmates will be given the opportunity to give positive comments about the work. Only positive comments and questions for clarification of what was written may be stated.
   
   Read about these activities here.

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