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Creative Writing
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Cover to Cover
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A seminar to teach very creative
writing in early primary school
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10/16/2012
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created by and assembled with
sources freely available on the web

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Activities for Writing
• Worksheets
• Story books
• Copying
• Gap-fill exercises
• Practice, Practice, Practice!!!

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What you will find in this volume

An introduction, which is the rationale behind the activities that I have

included, which I hope you find useful in developing students who become
very creative in using language. By asking students to create language, which
they couldn't do without your help, we are moving away from memorized
phrases, to developing skills that will help the students to generate their own
language forms. Teachers need to build a tool kit of materials, writing and
drawing implements, and have a considerable amount of:

Patience
• Basics need to be taught
• Praise students for letters and words
written well, have them erase and rewrite
those that are not understandable
• Choose reasonable objectives but let ‘em
use all the creativity they can muster
• Value creativity over perfection.
• Don’t sweat the little mistakes and errors
that are necessary for learning

Introduce self: Write a letter to someone. Tell them what you like to do.

Introduce others: Students create and write-up a new friend from a far away,
using paper dolls.

Creating Stories: Using imagination and learning about genre

Bring language to their ideas through posters, ads and other tasks
Uniting all skills for whole language development
Attending to the process as an important part of learning,
not only the product
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Using chants and poetry.

Have children write up the Jazz chants they are composing after you
model a few different ones.

Helping verb song:

Be, being, been, am,
is, are, was, were, ringing tone
have, has, had,
do, does, did
can, could, shall, should, will, would,
may, might, must are helping verbs
helping verbs, helping verbs.
sentence patterns in English:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=F03w-vOV-xw

Develop a list of sentences that they can use to create their chant.
using : I am You are He/She/ It is
You can combine action verbs, or any other forms that go with
the theme.

Writing is developmental. Many skills are involved – physical coordination with pens and
pencils and crayons; putting the letters onto lines on pages; mental processes to bring
ideas out, attention to focus for long periods of time, and of course the vocabulary to be
able to translate their ideas from one language into another.

Children develop as writers when they use writing to carry out activities that are
meaningful to them. Teachers need to provide time for writing on a regular basis;
encourage EFL children to write from day one, in year one; and consistently promote
writing by responding to the content of the text rather than to the form; students need to be
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provided with multiple opportunities for writing to engage in writing for reasons that are real
and important to them, no matter what their age or level.

Children need to first understand the functions of writing. That it is used to share ideas
and to communicate something over time. Teachers need to understand genre and that
different purposes for writing requires knowledge of different rules or conventions.

Children love to communicate with their family

and friends. Have them make cards for different
occasions, write or dictate notes and letters, and
draw pictures to show what is important to them.
Encourage them to share their work with their
family.

We encourage invented writing—can you read

and understand the child's writing here →

We don’t correct for spelling until later years, well past

level two. In fact, we encourage invented writing,
where spelling maybe incorrect, but shows the students
understanding of phonemic awareness. There will be
lots of opportunity to learn more specifically about
language correctness later on, but in the beginning we
focus on skills building. We want them to become as creative as they can, as early as they can. We
don’t discourage them by pointing out what is not correct, but attend to what we are able to
understand from their expressions. We help them develop awareness of sentence structure, as we
move from controlled writing to guided writing, with free writing as the desired ultimate destination.

We focus on creativity and also on meaning—what is being communicated, not the errors
that we see. We try to understand what the student wants to express. We take the time to
read what the student has written out loud. If we focus on their mistakes it can be
negatively at the cost of their creativity, confidence and motivation. Correcting errors is
part of an editing process. It comes after a number of drafts are completed, and is
separate from the constructive process.
If you can read their writing, and it makes sense, then their early writing is a success.
Having them add pictures to their writing makes interpretation easier for you The purpose
of writing is for communication. When you can read back to the child what he/her wrote it
is a tremendous feat they accomplished and your reading it back to them is important in
their education because they are beginning to understand that writing is something they
can do that others can read. To focus on spelling can ruin that creative process. By
focusing on spelling you are demonstrating that you have the correct answers and they
may not want to take a risk to give you something that is incorrect. The result I witness is
that many times children will look to the teacher to give them the correct answer, because
they don’t want to displease the teacher.
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Make a competitive and yet sharing environment, where students can practice their writing
to develop creativity skills at the same time—after they have read their writing to you, have
the students read it to each other. Use writing exercises as a means to integrate other
skills development. In addition to language, children are learning how to take turns in
reading their sentences to each other. They are learning more about communication. If
we don’t over-correct their errors, then they will be more free to take a risk at saying and
writing something. Even if the form is not perfect, if you can get meaning together with
them, then communication has been accomplished.
Maximize the enthusiasm students have for writing. Support their literacy development by
providing writing opportunities every day, whenever you can. Be patient and prepared to
invest a tremendous amount of energy into the classroom to encourage them. Learn how
to notice things about their writing. For this we develop a kind of language of the
classroom.
Do not focus on their errors.
What are some things we can do when we experience their writing and we don’t
understand what it is saying or what they mean?

There are a number of reasons why we want students to create their own writing. The
process of creating language is what learning a second language is all about. We really
don’t want them to overuse memorized formulaic expressions. We want them to be able
to create new expressions from the vocabulary they are learning. We can accomplish this
with ingenious writing exercises that stimulates their creative impulses.

All teachers confront the challenge of motivating their students to want to write. There
really isn’t any single "correct" way to teach writing. You will find that success is only
limited by your own creativity at developing materials. Writing in English does not have to
end at the classroom door, if you help develop their curiosity to learn.

There are a variety of ways to get your students to notice English outside the classroom.
In fact, they are probably bombarded with it from advertizing, TV, newspapers and
magazines, and of course, the loan words in the language, such as computer terms as just
one example. Advertizing is a great source for reduced language—getting them to make an
ad is another way to start-up their creative engines. They can even invent the product that
they will need to advertise. Think of the other things they are learning—entrepreneurship.

5
We can get our students to write down English they find outside the classroom. I suggest
giving them a little book for them to do so. These meaning of these discovered words can
be learned in class as a group.

With their little books, we can have students write a daily diary-- something that they did
each day. We can think of EFL writing as somewhat sheltered in the first steps, with the
ultimate goal their being able to try their hand at free writing. With free writing the student
involvement and authenticity is high. The focus is on understanding not correctness; nor
do we consider mistakes or errors as more important than the ideas they are
communicating.

Learning the structure of sentences and about

Free Writing grammar complexities, style and genre

Applying conventions, reinforcing phonemic

Guided Writing awareness

Learning letters, words, and basic conventions,

Controlled writing developing phonemic awareness as it relates to
print

What do you think should we do with students who don’t make any mistakes or errors?

Students enjoy it when their work is published and others can read it.
Make a place to post the best of your examples, and have them create a place to store safely good
examples of their work such as a plastic case, their own file, or an envelope to eventually give to
parents at the end of the year.

Writing to me is one of the most fun of activities in a class. It makes for easier assessment of
students and can really summarize where they are on a learning curve. I see it as the concrete, in
the building of their second language learning—the structure difficult to build without it.
6
 Prewriting Activities These are materials
that you can use for
absolute beginners.
Students can read
the letters out loud
and then they can
write them on one
Adapted by a plan created by Valerie Young, who has other free
materials at: of the recording
and ones you can purchase at: sheet templates.

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 name: __

name: _______________________________________________________
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 DLTK's Custom Writing Paper http://www.dltk-cards.com/writingpaper/cpaper1.asp
STEP 1: Choose the Type of Writing Paper
With Image Without Image
Themed image and bottom border. Themed bottom border only.
Click on next step: Next step choose theme
STEP 2: Choose your theme.
CARTOON AND BOOK CHARACTERS HOLIDAYS

Arthur Christmas

Blue's Clues Christmas (Nativity)

Card Captors Earth Day

Curious George Easter (Religious)

Dragon Tales Easter (Secular)

Hamtaro Father's Day

Powerpuff Girls Fourth of July (USA)

Sponge Bob Grandparents' Day

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Halloween

Thomas the Tank Engine Mother's Day

Yu-Gi-Oh Remembrance Day

ANIMALS Saint Patrick's Day

Birds Thanksgiving

Cats Valentine's Day

Cuddle Buddies

Dinosaurs OTHER THEMES

Dogs Angels

Teddy Bears Candy and Desserts

SEASONS Fantasy and Medieval

Autumn Music

Spring School

Summer Transportation

Winter Next step choose format

STEP 3: Color or Black and White?

Black and White Choose black and white if you do not have a color printer or wish to color the
picture on your writing paper yourself.
Color Choose color if you have a color printer
Next step choose image

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STEP 4: Choose an image for your paper:

Bell preview Singer preview Trumpet preview

Drum preview Tamborine preview Violin preview

Girl Playing preview Treble Clef preview Note preview

Guitar preview Triangle preview Piano preview

Follow the steps above at the DLTK website to produce an original writing paper, that
students be given after they complete a pre-writing activity that includes learning some of
the target language.

Students need to understand that there is variation in writing among individuals. In some
genres there are not the conventions that are found in other genres.

Giving students a choice in their writing paper is an instant and easy way to stimulate
motivation. We can use it as a reward for students who say:

I want to write about………….. naming their choice, or more generally:

I want to write about that one.
We model the sentences they can construct for their animal or other noun category.
In an exercise like this we can distinguish 3 basic grammar terms: noun, adjective and
verb. Questions such as "What is your tiger / elephant / ______ doing (in your story?"
or "What does he look like?" If the children are introduced to the grammar word
categories, while they may not understand them at first, it will become apparent to
them later on. Remember—it’s the process we are teaching, really, and not the
finished product. Notice on the page with the elephant there is a box at the top. This
is where they can create a title, to give their story an original name, they create. You
can have them write something like: A Story About A Tiger, by ____________
(students name)
You can have them add adjectives later or at the same time—such as:
A Story About A HUNGRY Tiger, ANGRY, HAPPY, SAD, KIND, QUIET, etc.
You can give them ideas, but let them generate the story line or plot. How about:
A Story About a Lion That Didn't Roar? Be prepared to answer a LOT of questions, and
to make translations of their ideas into English. It will be helpful to have a dictionary on
hand. Often you can direct a question to the class, by asking "Who knows how to say '
______' in English? Children can be great inventors and it takes a special and talented
teacher to bring their inventions alive. After you have read their story back to them, have
them read their stories to each other.

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Lets have a Party ! !
Prewriting Activity: in groups of four – six students:

First, chose a theme : students choose an event or

reason to celebrate. This is a brainstorming (pre-writing) stage.

Where will we have the party? Then students decide a

location, depending on the theme of their event.

What will we eat?

After that: Students plan a menu.
Make a Shopping List

Who will we invite?

Then, Students create a guest list.

When will we have the party?

Finally, students choose a time of day and in what
month to host their party.

After finishing all the planning stage, they can

create an invitation they will send.
The prewriting activity is designed to show the order of events they need to
complete for their finished product. Writing is similar—there is a process and
order for many different kinds of genre. When we write, we make a plan.
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 Draw the location of your party.
What will it look like?

Menu:
Plan a
menu
to say what
you will have
to eat at
the party.

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 Guest List

Name all the

people you will
invite to your
party.

Design an
invitation,
make a card.

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Post card Project:
Students learn meaningful English with an authentic activity. Have students create their ideas and then help them
find the language to express them with the language you are currently teaching. Bring a collection of local post
cards to class and have students speak to a topic in the card that they can send to another student.
It's great for the language of introduction, and for communicating with another English student. Ambitious teachers
may even find another teacher in a different school to exchange the cards with, and this really gets students interested when
they know their work will be shared with another student.

Create your own plan for making a post card project cover your standards. Here are a few ideas:

1. Tell the students they are writing to another English student and to introduce themselves.

Here are some sample questions they can answer:

Who Who are you? What is your name?

Where Where were you born? Where are you from?

Where did you live?
Where do you live?

What
What What do you like? What do you like to do?
What don’t you like? What don’t you like to do?
When When were you born? When is your birthday?
Why do you want to study English?
Why
How How can you be a better English learner?
How can we make the world a better place?
How
What can we do (visit or see) in your area?
Students introduce themselves and tell about one thing where they live -- optimally you will get many different
ideas from them-- not just a copy from the board--they work in groups to list their ideas and then write a post card
with a few of the different ideas they have made.

The teacher can create some post cards, with pictures of different people the children could be writing to.
next to the picture of the person could be a place, perhaps where the person is from.

If you want to get real post cards send to you in advance, you can go to the face-book page of a group of post card
swappers – by posting your own cards to swap, you will get some sent by real people. Sometimes even young children
can recognize an authentic material such a s post card with a stamp and postmark. Knowing their work will be sent to
someone is an incredible motivator. It can also help the project you design have an enduring impact, as students will
continue to exchange cards and letters in the future, many more times, beyond your original exercise.

Other ideas: write a card or letter to family or friends. Tell them something new, about something you learned in
school, or about anything that you are interested in.

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In order to write a sentence, in years one to three students need to understand 3 different word categories:

Verb -- action word, I can do it ! I can run, jump, skip, walk backwards, sing, dance, etc.

Noun – People, places, and things I can sense: I can touch it, taste it, smell it, see it, hear it, feel it.
It has a name.
Adjective – describing noun words – color, size, shape

Monkeys ___
bananas.

Birds ___.

Fish ____
in the sea.

Frogs ___
in a pond.

Dogs ___.

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Color the nouns, circle the verbs. Make a sentence to
say what you can do that the animals can do. I can
_____ like a ______ .

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Writing with question words
Notice English does not have a future tense, we use modal verb (helpers) to talk about the future. In this exercise they
actually start writing and form their ideas then you can use drill techniques to bring out their answers, as they learn to
generate questions such as Where did you go? Who did you go with? etc. One student or a group stands at the front
while the other students ask the questions you have drilled.

Where?
I went ( I will go)
near by
far away
Who? with

my family
my sister my brother
my friend
When?
yesterday (tomorrow/today)
evening morning afternoon
last ----day, week, month
What?
I saw We ate It was (will see, will eat, will be)
Why? because ……………… we ……

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This is appropriate for year three, and they can design and create their time machine as part of
the project. Make sure they use a rich amount of English to label their diagram. By year three
students should be more familiar with the English modal verbs. After all, there is about a
dozen models, depending on which grammarian you follow. I like to include CAN and DO as
modals—and any that do the job of a modal.
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Draw a face picture and give 2 sentences about each word given below

happy

sad

tired

angry

crying

laughing

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 Name _________________________________________ date _____________________________ Class ___________
What I Like To Do
I like to do a number of different things. First of all, I like to ______________________________ with my friends.
It is fun because we ________________________________________
The second thing I like to do with my friends is ____________________________________
This is fun because we always ____________________________________.
With my family I like to _________________________ and ___________________________
We have fun together. I also like to do things by myself. When I am by myself, I like to
________________________________ I enjoy it because ____________________________
In conclusion there are many things I like to do with my friends, family and alone.

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Fill in the blanks with your ideas, then draw pictures about things you like to do with friends, family and by yourself.

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 Students make a fortune teller and
learn how we create future in English
using a modal verb.

Then they are given a blank

template, (next page) with which
they design their own game.

They can make sentences in the

future as a fortune teller, or they can
make any sentences they want or as
directed by the teacher.

Samples sentences I have seen level

one students create:

You will get an A on the test.

You will become famous.
You will go to a good university.

Teachers need to help students

translate their ideas from their
mother tongue into the target
language—English.

In this way, the idea comes first,

then the language to express it.
It is important to let the students
create the ideas, making only a
couple of suggestions, letting their
imagination kick-in.

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 Students will design and make their own game piece, choosing whatever animals or other nouns they wish, whatever
numbers or sentences they can make. Plan to use this for at least two hours, because it takes time to make it, and then
they need to use it with other students to practice speaking their written expressions. Don’t rush to the next project until
they fully benefit from the previous one. Make sure all students can read and speak their creation. You can design a
contest where two players model their game to the whole class.

Teachers can really encourage student initiated creativity here in so many ways.

33
 Fill in the verb to make a sentence.

After students have completed the worksheet, you can ask them to add their own (simple) sentence to add information
to each one. e.g.: Jared has many pets. He has a cat and a dog. From here you can have them create a compound
sentence and even add in some adjectives: Jared has many pets. He has a tiger cat and a puppy with long ears. These
two sentences can be combined into a compound sentence if appropriate for the level of the student.
The questions you ask them, elicits their answers, sometimes for editing. You could have asked "What kind of dog?"

34
What lives in the sea?
Draw animals and plants that live in or near the sea.
Then write a description about it.

design adapted from worksheet found at: www.education.com/worksheets -- where you will find an extensive collection of freebies

35
ESCAPED!!
The original templates of the next project appear at the end of this volume. I have
adapted the next page so that students can invent their own escaped animal.
It could be an actual animal or a made up animal—let their imaginations go crazy!!
Note 'critter' is another word for animal.

and

PAPER DOLLS PROJECT

A Multi-Cross Cultural and Cross-Curricular Unit
This is a flexible unit in terms of time and number of lessons teachers wish to devote to it, and the extent of
information the teacher wants to cover. It is suitable for all level one students, years one to three, and
complexity can be adjusted for the needs of the individual group of students.
All four skills are engaged as students learn authentic new communicative language they are likely to need if
they encounter an English native speaker. At the same time revision of previously learned vocabulary can be
activated in a creative process. Take a minimum of 5 one-hour lessons to complete, and quite a few more if
you really want to extend it. One color printed page can actually last for more than one week, even two. It’s a
great way to begin a new year, by having students introduce themselves first, in order to choose a paper doll.
I put about 6 different ones on a desk for them to choose from, after they have introduced themselves to the
class. I ask for volunteers after drilling for the questions. If the student gets stage fright or forgets the
language forms, then I elicit the class to ask the questions as a reminder.

Goals: Students will be able to introduce themselves and also a friend.

Aim: Students will gain confidence to speak in front of others and also make and answer questions they will need to
introduce self and others. Students will gain practice for internalizing the BE verb in sentence structure.
Objectives:
Students will be able to respond to 3 different questions, to give their name, age and place they are from using the
correct form of the BE Verb. Students will be able to introduce a friend with the same information and the pronouns
SHE and HE. For higher level one students, teacher can include possessive pronouns, HER and HIS, and a variety of
other expressions at the discretion of the teacher.

KEY WORDS Lesson One

Questions BE verb Language of the classroom

Who age, Ask, answer, choose
What is, am, are I, you from, Optional:
How your, my name tell us
Where about you (can use with How… and What… )

36
Phrases:
Questions: Answers:
What is your name? My name is________.
Who are you? I am _________.
How old are you? I am ___________ years old.
What is your age?
Where are you from? I am from _____________.
Where do you live? I was born in ________.
Where were you born? I live in ____________ .

Students are shown the paper dolls and told they will get to choose one after they have introduced themselves.
The word introductions is broken into syllables that students practice saying choral after teacher
Students are told to write a heading in big letters in an empty page in their exercise book.
They are told to close their books, but we will write the questions later in the lesson. For now they are to listen and
repeat as language forms are modeled with question (rising) tone. Teacher exaggerates the pronunciation so that
students are engaged to try.

After practice students are asked who can introduce themselves for a paper doll paper. When you finish, you can
choose one to color. Each paper doll is from a different country. They are eager to volunteer, even to go first.

Lesson Two
Students finish coloring their doll and also give it a name and an age.
Students can begin the introduction of their friend by saying:
This is my friend. or any other variation you want them to learn, such as: I want to introduce my new friend.
Create the sentences for them, or even with them, if you can.

Phrases:

Questions: Answers:
What is your friend's name? This is my friend ________.
Who is your friend? She/He is _________.
Her/His name is ______.
Where is she/he from? She/He is from _____________.
Where do you live? She/He was born in _____.
Where were you born? She/He lives in _____ .
How old is she/he? She/He is _____ years old.

What does she like to eat? She/He likes to eat ______ .

What color(s) are her/his clothes? She/He is wearing……..

What color is her/his flag?

other things you could teach:

37
age: 8
from Greece; lives in
likes Spanokopita
is wearing
speaks __, studies Eng.
etc. etc. etc.

Grid for recording student created information—can be used for a presentation rubric

Here students record the age of their paper doll friend—for an effective study of
numbers, students choose an age that must be different from the others—once an
age is chosen, then that age is not used by another student.
Other individual information can be recorded for each student, country food, etc.
It is fantastic when a teacher can get the student to do additional research on their
chosen country. The teacher can use this grid like a rubric to grade students.
The teacher can check correctly given expressions for each item, and mark an "X"
where the student did not provide a clear expression. One box has suggested
language to introduce and assess.
38
ESCAPED!!
Beware of the :

Animal name:
__________________

__________________

Type of Animal:
__________________

__________________

Description:

If you see this critter

39
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Take the students outside the classroom to find something .
Catch a bug. Pick a flower. Get them to find something in their group they can draw and write
about. As an alternative, bring an assortment of items into the class they can choose from.

They can label a diagram. They can describe what they found.
Of course they will need your help, but it will be to express something they have found, real to
them. The language will become authentic as they get your assistance to translate their ideas.
Because the ideas are originating in the students, they have a kind of ownership over their
language. And it's always fun to get out of the classroom for a change, even for teachers!

HOW CAN WE GET STUDENTS TO ACTUALLY CREATE and GIVE IDEAS?

Students can create an event that they can write about. First they invent a character. It can be
self, friend, family member, or simply somebody they think up. Then they choose an event.
Then they answer some questions about their character and event.
Some examples follow. You can use the space below to make any notes you might want to.

47
Alia went swimming. PLOT
When did she go?
Where did she go?
Why did she go?
when ? setting
in September (month)
day (Thursday)
yesterday
where ? setting
at home
at school
in town
why ? theme
so he/she, because …….
birthday party, special holiday
just for fun; hot day

They can draw a picture first. To develop character students need to

discover a rich source of adjectives.
From writing a paragraph, all level one students can progress to writing a book. It sounds really
complicated, but it isn't. They may not even understand that they are as a group writing a book,
even though you have carefully explained it to them. But by the end of the project you will notice
that they are actually acquiring quite a number of skills and learning about print in general.
Eventually they know they have made their own original book.

What follows are templates that you can use, or get some ideas to make your own, if you prefer,
to get emergent writers busy into a task that will eventually show them the steps of writing. By
the end of the project they can understand that there is writing for different purposes. This is
what we call genre. It is important for language arts teachers to understand genre so we can
show students a variety of styles that important for them to distinguish.

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Genre What is genre? _______________________________________

think of some examples of different genres of text:

We introduce concepts of genre at a very early age.

There are a variety of different types of writing. We like to get students to try and write in a
variety of genres so that they get exposure to and become familiar with concepts that writing is
done for different readers (audiences). This can become apparent to them when you assign
writing projects for different purposes, such as making a list, giving instructions or writing a report
on something, or even a story of their own making.
Here are a few genres that you can use in your classroom. We can use a cross-curricular
approach, such as teaching numeracy, and also concepts about writing conventions, such as
headings, and where to put the page numbers. Imagine yourself saying: "We are going to write a
book as a class…..What could it be about? " Eventually, once they understand what it is you
want (their ideas) they often are really enthusiastic to volunteer their ideas. They are telling you
what they want to learn about – this is one way to move towards a student centered classroom.
Animals are a great topic. Of course you can encourage them to choose a subject you want them
to learn about—but the best way is to let them develop the idea and topic that they come to
agree on. If you plan ahead, you will introduce the idea in the last 5 minutes of a class, and
sometime before the next class, or the class you want to start the unit they have helped to decide
upon, you can then do some homework to produce quality materials; laminated, these can
endure many years and lessons, for a variety of different levels to begin a language arts unit of
their choosing that will cover many skills and standards. Once you build an inventory of materials,
children can help choose from what is available to them. Teaching choice, you are also teaching
the language of choice—when they use language, they have to choose from the vocabulary they
have—the ability to make choices in English, and knowing the language to do so seems prudent.

Note: 'Interesting Facts' can be a simple sentence or heading, which should be bolder and larger
than the rest. It was not intended for a drawing, but to give them hands-on learning writing
conventions.

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All About
by

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Ta
bl
e
of
Co
nt
en
ts

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 page number goes here

Diagram

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 Interesting Fact :

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 page number goes here

Remember when I said "do not correct for spelling?"

Editing is part of a process, and for your budding authors, self correction or peer correction is the
way to go. Not only does it make for less work for you, but also, it gives way to more learning by
them. There is a time for everything. Don’t sacrifice fluency for accuracy. Correcting for spelling
comes as a final stage in edit.
If you don’t revise and edit, then don’t correct. Demonstrate how to edit for spelling as a final
stage after all revisions are finished.

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Encourage self correction and peer correction. If a final copy is submitted with serious mistakes
or errors, then cirle, use a shorthand symbol that you have taught to identify what kind of error,
and then let the students correct for themselves.

Why make more work for yourself by doing the work of your students ?
It is a poor use of your energy, and it really deprives them of an important part of the
learning/discovery process. We want students who are autonomous learners—we want
to build skills where they learn how to learn. That is what they need most in our
information age. It does take patience, and may take longer to cover material than you
had planned. I believe it will lead to deeper cognitive structures—and what that
amounts to is better learning. All too often I hear teachers complain—I teach it one
week, they forget it the next day or even the moment they walk out of the class. Let
them
use the plan
In this kind of exercise, students can model their
own pages and learn from other students from
skills rought draft
what they wrote into the whole class book.
they are
learning. teacher conference
It something that has an open invitation for
students to use and share.
Word banks are a collection of words that you
Here is a project where students have a class writing journal.
revise and edit
want to include in your target language.

final draft
They can be vocabulary lists, grammar lists, or
anything that you wish to 'bank.'

materials: word banks

The journal belongs to the class, not any individual student. Any
student may write in the class journal. Each journal has a different
topic and word bank. Students can select a journal and make an
entry at any time. Students feel pride of ownership in their writing
and enjoy reading other entries –it promotes shared learning.
Its great for early finishers so they always have something to do
Examples of topics for class writing journals:
If you could have any pet what would it be?
write your name and date at the top of the page
write about the topic
add details: how would you care for it
what would you name it?
why is this animal special?
check your conventions
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My Words for Writing PAPER MACHE PUPPETS
My Words for Writing Journal is for children Ever wonder what you can do with those toilet paper rolls—you
during writing time. Make one for each knew they were good for something? In this project the students
student, for each table, for each writing design a character that they can later write about, and even create
center, etc. When a child wants to spell a
word correctly, he thinks of the letter that a story plot with. Students are asked to think about the what their
it begins with, looks for that letter, finds characters are like and what they can do.
the word, or asks how to spell it and then
writes it on the lined page for that letter. It Bring old pieces of fabric and poster paint (cheap and it goes a long
is there for the next time she needs it. way available at school supply stores). Take your time with this
The book starts off empty and children fill
it with words they learn. one, and protect their work between classes in a special box or
place because they will be able to
invent a story line in even larger groups
that they can act out after they have
finished their writing process.
It's good to have a variety of writing
materials around so they decorate.
You not limited to the real world—
youngest children are excellent at
making monsters and hero figures as
well. And speaking of monsters……stay
tuned.

other paper mache projects:

It’s a great way to have students write directions, give

descriptions of each other's work, and using writing to
wrap a language arts unit. It's also much easier to get
students to use English in the classroom, which they must do to successfully communicate which colors, or materials
they want. You develop your language of the classroom by using words that they need to express themselves, to get
what they want.For example: I need…. yellow paint. I need some paper…. Can I please have ….. I would like …..
etc……………………………. Your students become intrinsically motivated to use the language they are learning as the
expressions become more genuine and goal oriented. Get them to enter their art work in an art show—but first they

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must describe their work or the steps they took to create it. Just another way to introduce Genre and motivate them to
learn.

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 (Who knows where in the world is the River Nile?
What else can we find in Egypt? It can be a Great way to
integrate some geography into your lesson.)

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End of Year Exercise name:
__________________________________
Instructional Creative Writing

It is the last week of school.

In January you will be in year __.
What was the best thing about this year?
What was the worst thing about this year?
What can you tell the next students
starting year __ to help them?
What is something you learned?
Give as many examples as you can.

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 I was walking in the jungle

(when)
and I came across an interesting
looking egg. I thought it was a bird
but when it hatched to my surprise
it was a little monster !!! My

(family member)
asked What will I do now?
Here is my plan :

As I was walking through the jungle, I saw a door

First

Then

After that

I might

Finally

Use prompting questions, such as:

How will you take care of the little monster? Where will it sleep at night?
What will the little monster eat and drink? What will you name it?
What if …………. e.g it gets out…. it grows really big? Be sure to ask questions that helps
direct their thinking, while they are writing---circulate and read their work, be careful not to
correct work at this stage, simply input ideas for them to consider—they are the authors and

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hidden under two huge stones. I found a strange key it's their work and originality.

next to the door. I opened the door and to my surprise …

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