Creative Writing
Lesson One: World Views
Lesson Two:
Lesson Three:
Lesson Four:
Lesson Five:
Lesson Six:
Lesson Seven:
Lesson Eight:
Lesson Nine:
Lesson Ten:
- Introduce the sharing circle protocols and have our first one. Sample Questions:
- What is something that has been a positive surprize about this year?
- What are you enjoying most?
- What are you looking forward to the most?
- Begin How Raven Stole the Sun: Raven Tales Video (20mins) (discuss concept of worldview). While watching the movie record three things that wouldn’t happen in the real world. (Printed version)
- Freewrite: Are you an Eagle or a Raven: explain why (free write)
Are you more like the Eagle (cautious, responsible, considers consequences, reliable, less likely to take a risk)
OR
Are you more like the Raven (impulsive, can be irresponsible, creative, not afraid of risks, ambitious, can be selfish, not as concerned about consequences)
In your free write, describe which animal you relate to more strongly and justify your thoughts with specific examples from your life. - Creative activity on the story (comic/chalk/skit). 5-8 key events. Present to me or our CEA
Lesson Two:
- Red/blue exercise
- Half the class puts head down on desk and show the ones watching that they are looking for positives in the story, then get the other half to look for negatives in the family. Discuss
- Read “My Friend Shane”
- Discuss the concept to world view. Show the video "If Britain were Syria" and discuss how the child's World view changes.
- Show three examples from “Where Children Sleep” photographs. Get into groups of four. Ask them to think about what would be important to each child, why do you think that matters to that child? What has influenced their thinking. Think about your own bedroom, what does it say about you and who has influenced your life? Write down 4 things that are important to you.
- To discuss more what influences world view, watch the videos on racism, and other.
- World view Free-write: What influences how you see the world? Complete sentences. Specific examples.
Lesson Three:
- Problem One: I am going to give you a tacks and a candle. I want you to attach the candle to the wall and light it so the wax does not drip on the floor or desk. I will light the candle or if you need any firepower call me over. If you know the solution, don’t tell anyone because it is a contest for which group can do it first.
- Video Clip 1: Piano Stairs
- Video Clip 2: Apollo 13
- GSlides: Explain the definition of functional fixedness (mental block against using an object in a new way that is required to solve a problem.), 80% of people, if isolated in a room cannot figure out the solution to the candle problem. Under age of 5 not a problem, see all objects as equal, but beyond 7 object treated in way they were originally intended to be used.
- Free-write: Make a connection between the problems and the clips. Why do the activities and watch the clips, what point do you think I am trying to illustrate? How does this relate to real life? To English class? Our next unit, (creative writing)?
- Discuss their answers. Write the Einstein quote on the board “Problems cannot be solved on the same level they were created” To solve problems we must think outside of the box, never been more important than now to learn how to solve problems in a creative way because most of you will have jobs that have not even been created yet. Content isn’t the only thing that matters, skills are important too.
- Reflection: What was the common theme between the 2 activities, 2 videos and 2 quotes. How does it relate to this class? To life?
- (If there is extra time) Show the Fun House photos. Pick one and describe in detail what is happening to make them look the way they do. Collect at the end of class.
Lesson Four:
- One of the most important parts of a piece of creative writing is the beginning. It is an important first impression that can make your reader continue, or put your story down.
- -Show them the beginning of Casino Royal and Lion King and Scream:
- How do they meet sections from the list of effective beginnings?
- List
-show, don’t tell
-begin in the middle of the action, not at the literal beginning of the story, you can fill in details as you go along
-Don’t tell the reader everything at the beginning; you can fill in details as you go along
-withhold important details to make your reader want to read on
-ask a question
-say something unusual
-make the reader want to figure out what will happen next
-start with a metaphor or simile or analogy
-start with a striking or controversial statement
-The ending should usually some how tie back to the beginning
- List
- 2. Show the overhead with tips for beginning a short story. Show some of the best beginnings in Literature
- Show them the pictures on the overhead from GSlides. Ask them to pick one and write an effective beginning with vivid description. At least 5 sentences, but don’t worry about writing the whole story.
- Show the Sample beginning about the soccer player (GSlides above) and have them write their own.
- Exchange with a partner and comment on each others beginnings.
- Review Poetic Devices.
Lesson Five:
- Handout food description sheet. Review noun and adjective.
- Explain what foods they can choose from. All of these food, while strange to us, are popular in other cultures. This connects to our theme of different perspectives and trying new things. Have them choose three.
- Write down adjectives for each food, pool together with people they are sitting with at the tables.
- Share best adjectives.
- Go back to individual desks and write a descriptive "food sentence." Must have three strong adjectives and a simile or metaphor
- Now we will use Inuit culture to try some challenging games and come up with some verbs and adverbs. Explain difference between Adverbs and verbs.
- Watch the videos to see the knuckle hop and high kicks. Games One. Games Two.
- Try leg wrestle, knuckle hop and back push
- Brainstorm verbs and adverbs together
- Write "action sentences" and share.
Lesson Six:
- In classroom take attendance and make sure every student has a clipboard and a organizer sheet (Note: teacher brings copies of the poem and the reflection sheets for later)-tell students they need to bring a writing utensil
- Walk to Beach
- Tell students what partners they are with
- Go over the expectations for photos students need to take (give each group a letter they are responsible for)
- At next check point have students describe 2 senses
- Walk to next spot, give students 10 minutes to wander and describe the last 3 senses as well as a simile and a metaphor
- Go to a central spot
- Ask for volunteers to read a line- hand out the poems with highlighted lines to those students- give everyone else a copy of the poem. My Heart Soars
- Perform a choral reading of the poem
- Do a sharing circle: Topic: How do you feel being out in nature compared to the classroom? Or, what was your favourite line in the poem and why?
- Remind students they should just enjoy being outside as they walk back to the bus
- Have students complete reflections on the way back.
Lesson Seven:
- Give an example of a “good photo” (includes lots of action and lots of different elements to work with. (students shouldn’t pick an abstract image or a landscape etc.) Sample Paragraph.
- Grab devices - give students 5-8 minutes max to choose their photo then they need to start writing.
- Collect paragraphs at the end of the day or show how to use the editing sheet to edit their paragraphs.
- paragraphs should be double spaced, document titled appropriately with their name and have a peer review their work
Lesson Eight:
- Mini lesson on sentence variety.
- -Discuss sentence variety by reading an excerpt from Dr. Seuss’s Hop on Pop. Why is that book so annoying? It lacks sentence variety because they are all simple sentences. This may be an over the top example, but it happens on the exams all the time
-Read an excerpt from a provincial exam with no sentence variety
topic sentence is exactly same amount of words, all sentences very similar in number.
-Ask for 10 volunteers and give each student a large card with a word on it. Have students come up and rearrange the words into as many sentences with a different beginning word as possible. This is one way to create sentence variety.
- Show the overhead about sentence variety tips and examples.
- Show some Most Interesting Man commercials, discuss how they use sentence variety. Transcribed version.
- -Discuss sentence variety by reading an excerpt from Dr. Seuss’s Hop on Pop. Why is that book so annoying? It lacks sentence variety because they are all simple sentences. This may be an over the top example, but it happens on the exams all the time
- Editing Paragraphs. Go through the steps to editing together and have students physically write their changes on the sheet. Once done all 10 steps, have them put in the changes and then printout a new copy. Attach the draft and the rubric to the good copy and hand in.
- Other helpful hand outs:
Lesson Nine:
- Quickly review verbs/adverbs/adjectives- remind students of effects of powerful vocabulary- reflect back to food/Inuit games/Beach lessons. Give them an object and have them write one of the following options.
1. Choose One of the Two Options Below.
Option One: Find a beverage, treat or food of your choice (ideas: Tim Bit, lemon juice, hot sauce, candy, Easter chocolate, cookie, pop or whatever you like!)
Option Two: Go outside and find something in nature to complete this assignment - Use your 5 senses to experience your item. Look at it closely, take a whiff of it, touch it. Then, take a small bite (if it is food, if it is not, use the smell to help you imagine). How does it taste? How does it feel in your mouth? Does it make a sound as you eat it? Write down (on your phone or a piece of paper) word, phrases and images that come to your mind as you experience your choice.
- Create the following poetic devices for your item:
1. Simile
2. Metaphor
3. Personification
4. Hyperbole
5. Alliteration
6. Imagery
7. Onomatopoeia
Example: Using Cream Soda
Simile: The cream soda bubbles rose and sunk on the top of the beverage like lava bubbling in an active volcano
Metaphor: Cream soda is a hyperactive three year old springing with vitality from present to present under the tree on Christmas morning
Personification: The carbonation screamed with glee in my mouth as I took a sip
Hyperbole: As I took a sip, the drink rammed down my through and punched my stomach hard. It overwhelmed me from the experience. I will never recover.
Alliteration: Smells of sickly sweet flavours spring from the glass
Imagery: The smooth clear glass was cool against my hand as a glanced at the fuchsia liquid's sugar swirled in stream along the walls of its chalice.
Onomatopoeia: POP! POP! POP! The bubbles burst in quick succession as the beverage lay in waiting before me, eager for me to indulge. - Dialogue
- Story Endings
Lesson Ten:
- Story Endings: Three effective way
- link it back to the beginning
- End with your theme or what you learned
- end with an epiphany
- Show an example from Modern Family and the Breakfast Club.
- One of the First People's Principles of Learning (part of the pedagogy throughout this course) indicates that learning requires the exploration of one's identity. To help us explore that, we will be writing personal narratives as a summative assessment for the creative writing unit. This will allow us to think back on a moment in our life that had some sort of significance to us and helped (even in a small way) make us who we are.
- Please write a personal narrative (any story from your own life, can be big or small, but you should have learned something or took away something from it.). Your story must some how (loosely is fine) relate to one of the themes we have studied in this course:
- Persevering and showing resilience through adversity
- Innovative thinking and new perspectives (for example, have you ever had an experience you thought would be terrible and ended up really liking? Started a new job or sport? traveled somewhere else and learned a new perspectives? Started a new school? Had any new experience that changed your thinking?
- See examples above if you are having trouble getting started. Use the outline to help organize your thoughts and prioritize what should be in there, in what order and how you should begin and end. If you want, fill out the outline, send it to me and I will check it over for you and give you feedback
- Size: 300-500 words minimum (more is fine) multi-paragraph story (meaning don't write just one long paragraph, break up your writing into separate paragraphs).
- Criteria:
1. Engaging beginning
2. Sentence variety (sentence size and beginning)
3. Descriptive writing (use language that appeals to your five sense and use at least one poetic device)
4. Properly formatted dialogue (if you choose to use dialogue, to earn an extending this is required)
5. Memorable ending (bring it back to your beginning and/or explain what you learned)
6. Edited using the editing creative writing sheet