Prior to beginning our writing unit on narrative text, I like to get the creative juices flowing!
My students use a composition book for their year long journal. Mini-writing prompts, debates of the week, and any other informal writing is done in their journal. The purpose of the journal and the activities I choose are to get the students comfortable with writing. I’m not grading for spelling and/or grammar. I have found that when the students are worried about spelling, they won’t make the attempt to spell a challenging word. They’ll opt to write “sad” instead of “depressed”.
The idea is the more they write (more meaning frequently, not the amount required for a writing task), the less they dread it. BUT, as a teacher, it is our job to make it relevant, new, and exciting for them. They cannot just respond to “google-like-journal-prompt-lists” all year long. Gotta keep it interesting.
The “Funny Pic Prompt” (that’s what I call it in my lesson plans) is an activity that the kids LOVE! When I tell them I have a picture for them to glue in their journals, I immediately hear the hushed “Yes!” from the group. I find interesting pictures on the computer by typing things like “funny animals”, “awkward family photos”, and “scary animal encounters”. The chosen image is then copied and pasted onto a word doc to be printed in color. Tip: Don’t make pictures too large. I try to fit 6-10 on a page so I’m not wasting ink.
After pictures are glued in, I set my timer for 10 minutes. Students are NOT allowed to stop writing for 10 minutes! I like to give them timed task to practice time management skills. Once the timer beeps, the students do a round robin share of their stories. During this time, students are NOT reading what they wrote verbatim. That would take forever. They must sum up their story in one summary statements (another skill we practice in class).
I cannot explain how this one weekly activity has greatly improved my students’ attitudes towards writing. They don’t even realize that I’m prepping their minds for the upcoming narrative unit.
It’s the perfect segue to writing a short story.
Click below for the pictures to use in class. Have fun!
Cortez Corner 