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Using a random emoji generator, students are tasked with crafting a paragraph sentence by sentence, inspired by random emojis.

Directions:

1. You will be given 5 random emojis (one at a time)

2. For each emoji, write a sentence

3. Each sentence should connect with the previous sentence.

Optional: invite students to share their paragraphs with the whole class.

Adapted from:
https://www.socrative.com/blog/instructional-content/random-emoji-generator-power-paragraph/

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This is a national writing challenge to write a novel in a month. It’s a challenge to simply write as much as possible - quantity over quality! This is a low stakes way to encourage students to finish a novel from start to finish. It isn’t for the faint of heart, but it allows students get their thoughts and ideas down.

The challenge: write 50,000 words of a story in a month.

Although the contest officially runs from November 1st to November 30th, this could be an exercise used any time of the year. Maybe the challenge is to write 10,000 words in a month. The point is simply practice and persistence.

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Summary and Context for Strategies

The Textual Lineage Project is an activity for students to share a text (novel, poem, essay, etc) that resonated with them in a significant way and in turn, influenced the student to seek out literature that continues a theme or relevance to the student. That literature then goes on to influence a subsequent piece of literature. This was a project that our cohort completed at the start of U of M – TC course CI 5451.

Rationale for Strategies

This project can illuminate the subjects/themes/identities that are important to students which can help direct an instructor towards personalized learning strategies. Building relationships and identifying the things that students care about is essential for creating a reading list. I also see this project as an opportunity to see unexplored ideas or themes.

Applications for Strategies

This project could be used at the very start of the year (or semester, depending on class duration) to identify who’s read what and identify themes. An instructor could apply this project in a number of ways:

- Book groups that allow students to pick which book they would like to read

- Identifying co-teachers (students who have already read a class text and want to lead a discussion)

- When choosing a book for full group discussion, determining how it might (or might not) resonate with students based on their Textual Lineages. Is it doesn’t fit in with most of the group’s interests, is this book more appropriate for small groups?

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Summary and Context for Strategies

In this activity, the teacher reads from a text whether it be a paragraph, a passage, or a chapter from a book. This is a strategy I learned from a high school teacher who read my 10th grade English class for a few minutes at the end of each class.

Rationale for Strategies

Teachers reading aloud for students is an exercise in fluency in lieu of “popcorning” and having the students read the text aloud in front of the general class. Students who are developing fluency or reading skills in English have the opportunity to read along with the teacher without the anxiety of performing in front of the whole class. This is also an activity appropriate for modeling reading strategies. Also, it’s fun, and older students do not usually have the joy of someone reading to them when they reach high school.

Applications for Strategies

This could be used when starting a new novel. Potentially a teacher could simply read a text aloud as an oral storytelling exercise.

https://www.edutopia.org/article/reading-aloud-middle-school-students

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Summary and Context for Strategies

The RAFT strategy is a post-reading technique in which students write from a perspective other than their own in a creative way. This strategy encourages students to view a topic from a different lens and consider the audience they are addressing. A partner and I demonstrated this strategy during a microteach lesson for our colleagues and turned the activity into preparation for a mock trial of King Claudius in Hamlet.

RAFT stands for Role of the Writer, Audience, Format, Topic

Rationale for Strategies

RAFT accomplishes many things – one, it reinforces reading comprehension, but two, it also gives students the opportunity to engage critically with the text.

Applications for Strategies

Post-reading strategy

Prompt students to write from a particular point of view on a specific topic addressed to a specific audience – this can be done with most or any texts

Would be fun to do with Shakespeare!

https://www.adlit.org/in-the-classroom/strategies/raft-writing

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Summary and Context for Strategies

This is a strategy for learning vocabulary. Students each receive a notecard with a vocabulary word and definition. The student studies the vocabulary word in order to teach another student. The student teaches the next student their word, the other student teaches their word, and then the students trade words. This activity continues until all students have encountered each word. This was a strategy that I came across in Best practices in adolescent literacy instruction and couldn’t get out of my head.

Rationale for Strategies

This strategy gives students ownership over their words, and they have the opportunity to be the expert and teach others, sharing their mastery.

Applications for Strategies

This is a great strategy for learning new content words or even exercises on syntax!

Bromley, K. (2014). Active engagement with words. In K.A. Hinchman & H. K. Sheridan-Thomas (Ed.).  Best practices in adolescent literacy instruction (2nd ed., p. 125). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

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Summary and Context for Strategies

Use this strategy to help students to understand how words are formed. For example, a teacher of any content area could demonstrate how root words can help us determine the meaning of unfamiliar words. Understanding how prefixes and suffixes can change meaning of words and transform them into different parts of speech is also valuable in vocabulary instruction. This was another strategy that sparked my curiosity from Best practices in adolescent literacy instruction.

Rationale for Strategies

This explicit instruction on how words are created give students a better idea of how to surmise the meaning of a word by understanding how a new word was constructed.

Applications for Strategies

Identify roots and have students find other words with that root and draw connections between words

An instructor could introduce various prefixes and suffixes and challenge the students to generate as many words as they can out of a root word

This instruction can be used across content areas

Flanigan, Templeton, Hayes.  (Links to an external site.)What’s in a Word: Using Content Vocabulary to Generate Growth in General Academic Vocabulary Knowledge.

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Summary and Context for Strategies

When reading in large group, an instructor might choose to have the entire class and the teacher read together instead of popcorning or doing a round-robin style. This was a strategy that I had heard of somewhere but couldn’t recall exactly where. My partner for our second microteach lesson featured this strategy during a reading of a poem.

Rationale for Strategies

Choral readings are helpful to encourage students to read aloud and practice fluency without having the spotlight on them. It can also be beneficial to students who need more practice reading aloud to listen and read with students with higher fluency.

Applications for Strategies

As an instructor, choose appropriate passages or poems to read aloud. Be careful not to pick anything too long – it can be a jarring experience (often it sounds like eerie chanting), but beneficial if done well!

https://sk.sagepub.com/books/promoting-literacy-development/n12.xml

https://www.edutopia.org/article/6-elementary-reading-strategies-really-work

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Summary and Context for Strategies

Students choose the book/text they would prefer to read and form groups around these texts. These texts should be appropriate for students’ reading levels but also provide voice/choice. Students change roles each week and are assigned different tasks – summarizing, gathering quotes, and generating discussion questions. These are to prepare students for discussion in their small groups. I came across this strategy from a 5th grade elementary school teacher who found it helpful in getting students to read more books throughout the year.

Rationale for Strategies

Instead of large group reads, small group reads allow for more freedom which can lead to higher engagement. These small groups also give students the opportunity to work independently and collaboratively. A teacher could easily provide differentiation by providing and suggesting books to students who have similar reading strengths and challenges.

Applications for Strategies

Book clubs are a good way to have students read entire books outside of large group. This could be done in tandem with a writing unit.

https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/one-book-book-club/book-club-in-the-classroom-10-tips-for-success

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Summary and Context for Strategies

The Frayer Model is a graphic organizer that requires students to define the meaning of a word or concept and then generate examples and non-examples to show their understanding. This was an instructional strategy demonstrated for the class by two colleagues.

Rationale for Strategies

This activity helps students to define unfamiliar terms but also apply their understanding. This also draws on students’ existing knowledge about particular concepts or words.

Applications for Strategies

Vocabulary instruction – use this model when introducing new vocabulary or have students find unfamiliar words in texts

https://www.adlit.org/in-the-classroom/strategies/frayer-model

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Summary and Context for Strategies

Students chart out in three columns and title the first column K(now), the second W(ant to know), and the last L(earned). Instructors present a theme or idea and prompt students to come up with words or ideas that they associate with that theme in the K column. While reading, students write down the questions they have while reading the text into the W column. Following their read of the text, students write in the L column the answers they found to the questions in the W column. They can also write whatever they found interesting in this column as well. This was demonstrated for me and my colleagues during a microteach lesson, but I also read about its application in Best practices in adolescent literacy instruction.

Rationale for Strategies

This is a great way to tap into what students already know. It is also a way to introduce “talking to the text” while reading and help students develop the habit of making notes while they read.

Applications for Strategies

An instructor could use this strategy for pre-reading, during reading, and post-reading almost any text

Birr Moje, E., & Speyer, J. (2014). Reading challenging texts in high school. In K.A. Hinchman & H. K. Sheridan-Thomas (Ed.).  Best practices in adolescent literacy instruction (2nd ed., pp. 219-227). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

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Summary and Context for Strategies

This pre-reading activity asks several tasks of students – identify vocabulary words, make predictions based on vocabulary what they believe will happen in the story, and write a very short story using those words.

1. Students categorize vocabulary words

2. Using these words, students make predictions about the story

3. Finally, students use the vocabulary words to construct a short story

This strategy was modeled for CI 5451 by Anna McNulty Taylor.

Rationale for Strategies

The Probable Passage activity is a great pre-reading strategy that introduces vocabulary and encourages students to be creative in preparation for a text. This can generate motivation to read the text and see if their predictions come true. Also, it is fun!

Applications for Strategies

Pre-reading strategy for novel or short story

https://projects.esc20.net/upload/page/0300/docs/Probable%20Passage%20TEA%20Approved%2012.16.pdf

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This is a type of essay based on Edward R. Murrow's 1950's radio program of the same name. It is a type of essay that asks the writer to name a specific belief and narrate a story or events in their life to explain the writer's values or how those values came to be. This can be a short essay that allows the writer to use a conversational voice or use language that is comfortable to them.

The included link has a step-by-step instruction guide on how to write a "This I Believe" essay. It includes the following steps:
1) Analyze Others' Statements
2) Compose Your Own Statement
3) Freewrite

There are also a number of fantastic sample student essays!

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by Tanya Matthews

This I Believe is an exciting media project that invites individuals from all walks of life to write about and discuss the core beliefs that guide their daily lives. They share these statements in weekly broadcasts on NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered.

The series is based on the 1950's radio program This I Believe, hosted by acclaimed journalist Edward R. Murrow. Each day, some 39-million Americans gathered by their radios to hear compelling essays from the likes of Eleanor Roosevelt, Jackie Robinson, Helen Keller and Harry Truman as well as corporate leaders, cab drivers, scientists and secretaries - anyone able to distill into a few minutes the guiding principles by which they lived. Their words brought comfort and inspiration to a country worried about the Cold War, McCarthyism and racial division.

Eventually, the radio series became a cultural phenomenon. Eighty-five leading newspapers printed a weekly column based on This I Believe. A collection of essays published in 1952 sold 300,000 copies - second only to the Bible that year. The series was translated and broadcast around the globe on the Voice of America. A book of essays translated into Arabic sold 30,000 copies in just three days.

[The NPR series This I Believe can be read and heard here. In addition, the website and organization This I Believe houses thousands of essays written by famous people, such as the ones mentioned above, and everyday people like you and me.]

As a college student in 2020, you are faced with turbulent politics, socioeconomic issues, and ethical dilemmas that will challenge you to take a stand and contribute to the local, national, and global conversation around you. The purpose of this writing task is not to persuade you to agree on the same beliefs. Rather, it is to encourage you to begin the much more difficult task of developing respect for beliefs different from your own. Fifty years ago, Edward R. Murrow's project struck such a chord with millions of Americans. It can do so again today...with you.

Dan Gediman on Writing a "This I Believe Essay"

Read Cecelia Munoz's essay "Getting Angry Can Be a Good Thing" referred to in the previous video here.

"This I Believe" Essay with Animation

"This I Believe" Essay Ideas

1) Analyze Others' Statements

Consider the following statements, written in response to the question What Have You Learned About Life? Highlight any sentences that resonate with you. Talk about them with a partner or group, explaining why.
1. I've learned that when I wave to people in the country, they stop what they are doing and wave back. - Age 9
2. I've learned that if you want to cheer yourself up, you should try cheering someone else up. - Age 14
3. I've learned that although it's hard to admit it, I'm secretly glad my parents are strict with me. - Age 15
4. I've learned that if someone says something unkind about me, I must live so that no one will believe it. - Age 39
5. I've learned that there are people who love you dearly but just don't know how to show it. - Age 42
6. I've learned that you can make someone's day by simply sending them a little note. - Age 44
7. I've learned that the greater a person's sense of guilt, the greater his or her need to cast blame on others. - Age 46
8. I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. - Age 48
9. I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you miss them terribly after they die. - Age 53
10. I've learned that making a living is not the same thing as making a life. - Age 58
11. I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. - Age 62
12. I've learned that whenever I decide something with kindness, I usually make the right decision. - Age 66
13. I've learned that it pays to believe in miracles. And to tell the truth, I've seen several. - Age 75
14. I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one. - Age 82
15. I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love that human touch-holding hands, a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. - Age 85
16. I've learned that I still have a lot to learn. - Age 92

2) Compose Your Own Statement

Write down a sentence that expresses what YOU have learned about life. Maybe it is similar to one of the statements above; maybe it's completely different. Whatever it is, write it down.

3) Freewrite

Now free-write about your sentence. Include at least two examples / experiences that you have had that support why you think this way.

Personal Statement/Philosophy: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Why do you believe in this statement? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Name two experiences that you had that would support the statement:
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What does this say about yourself or your personality? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
After your life experience, how have you come to the conclusion that this should be your statement? How have your beliefs changed, if at all? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
How has the event effected your relationship with a person, place, or object? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
How does your statement apply to you today? (How you view yourself & society)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sample #1: America's Beauty Is in Its Diversity

written by Alaa El-Saad, high school student, as heard on NPR's Tell Me More (2009)

America is built on the idea of freedom, and there is no exception for Muslim women. I believe in the freedom of religion and speech. But mostly, I believe it's OK to be different, and to stand up for who and what you are. So I believe in wearing the hijab.

The hijab is a religious head covering, like a scarf. I am Muslim and keeping my head covered is a sign of maturity and respect toward my religion and to Allah's will. To be honest, I also like to wear it to be different. I don't usually like to do what everyone else is doing. I want to be an individual, not just part of the crowd. But when I first wore it, I was also afraid of the reaction that I'd get at school.

I decided on my own that sixth grade was the time I should start wearing the hijab. I was scared about what the kids would say or even do to me. I thought they might make fun of me, or even be scared of me and pull off my headscarf. Kids at that age usually like to be all the same, and there's little or no acceptance for being different.

On the first day of school, I put all those negative thoughts behind my back and walked in with my head held high. I was holding my breath a little, but inside I was also proud to be a Muslim, proud to be wearing the hijab, proud to be different.

I was wrong about everything I thought the kids would say or even do to me. I actually met a lot of people because of wearing my head covering. Most of the kids would come and ask me questions-respectfully-about the hijab, and why I wore it.

I did hear some kid was making fun of me, but there was one girl-she wasn't even in my class, we never really talked much-and she stood up for me, and I wasn't even there! I made a lot of new friends that year, friends that I still have until this very day, five years later.

Yes, I'm different, but everyone is different here, in one way or another. This is the beauty of America. I believe in what America is built on: all different religions, races and beliefs. Different everything.

Sample #2: The Essentials to Happiness

written by Alexxandra Schuman, high school student, as heard on The Bob Edwards Show (2013)

As a child, I was generally happy; singing and dancing to my favorite songs; smiling and laughing with my friends and family. But as far back as second grade, I noticed a "darkness," about me. I didn't enjoy engaging in many things. I didn't relate to my peers in elementary school because they appeared so happy, and I didn't have that ability to achieve happiness so easily.

In middle school things in my life began to get even worse. I began withdrawing from everything I once enjoyed; swimming, tennis, family. I hated going to sleep knowing I had to wake up to another day. I was always tired. Everything was horrible. Finally, midway through eighth grade, I was told I had a chemical imbalance; diagnosed with clinical depression and put on medication. It took months for me to feel the effects of the medication.

When I began to feel happy again, is when I realized that I had to take the responsibility for getting better myself, rather than relying on medication and therapy alone. Aristotle said, "To live happily is an inward power of the soul," and I believe that this quote describes what I had to do to achieve happiness. Happiness is a journey. Everyone seems to need different things to be happy. But I believe people are blinded from what truly makes one happy.

Growing up, we're encouraged to be successful in life; but how is success defined? Success and happiness are imagined now as having a lot of money. It is so untrue. Recently I went to Costa Rica and visited the small town of El Roble. I spent the day with a nine-year old girl named Marilyn. She took me to her house to meet her parents. It was obvious that they were not rich; living in a small house with seven children. The house was cluttered but full of life. Those who have decided that success and happiness comes from having money and a big house would be appalled at how utterly happy this family from El Roble is. People say that seeing things like that make you appreciate what you have, but for me, it made me envy them for being so happy without all the things I have.

"The essentials to happiness are something to love, something to do, and something to hope for," a quote from William Blake sums up what I believe people need to realize to be truly happy in life. People need love; I feel they need their family and their friends more than anything in the world. People need work to do, something to make them feel they are making a difference in the world. People need to know that more good is to come in the future, so they continue to live for "now" instead of constantly worrying about the bad that could come. And most importantly people need to know that happiness is not something that happens overnight. Love and hope is happiness.

Sample #3: Find a Good Frog

written by Delia Motavalli, high school student, as heard on The Bob Edwards Show (2013)

I believe in finding a good frog. It seems that all throughout childhood, we are taught to look for a happily ever after. "And they all lived happily ever after"; isn't that the conclusion to many children's films? When I was a kid I always thought of that as magical; but now really it just seems unrealistic. And it teaches us that what we want is a fairytale like they have in the storybooks. We all want to be Cinderella who gets swept off her feet by the hot prince; we want to live in the royal castle, right? But I don't think that's necessarily a good thing for us to seek. Now I'm not saying I believe in being pessimistic, but I do believe in being realistic; it's something I got from my mom.

My mother and I always have our best conversations in the rain. We sit in the car, neither of us wanting to brave the rain to get to the house. So we sit. We watch droplets race down the windshield, listen to the rain strike the roof of her little blue Honda, and feel the heater on full-blast rushing at our feet (just the way we like it). I don't know why, but sitting in the car, we always talk more than normal. There was one rainy day when my mom told me something that is going to stick with me forever. Earlier that day she and my dad had been arguing about something; I can't remember what. So she said, "Don't spend your life looking for Prince Charming. Instead, find yourself a really good frog."

At the time, I found this thought really disheartening. Who wants to think that you'll never find Prince Charming? You'll never get to be Cinderella? Another thought that struck my mind: if my mom says there's no Prince Charming, then what's my dad? A frog? I asked her, and she replied with, "Of course! If he were Prince Charming, he wouldn't snore, would be able to cook, and we would never argue. But you know what? He's a damn good frog." Of course, being young, I didn't think of the meaning behind what she was saying. I was too busy thinking of it literally, visualizing my mom as a princess and my dad in frog form.

But a few years later, I understand the value of my mom's words. You can't expect everything to be perfect. Let's be completely honest; if you wait your whole life for your prince with flowing hair, statuesque features, and a white horse, you're going to be lonely. I think that the point of finding a good frog is you accept something that's great, flaws and all. It's so easy to be picky. You can find the one tiny thing that's wrong, and that one tiny thing is what you can't get your mind off of. But in life, we can't afford to wait years in vain for perfection. So I think that a good frog, an amazing frog, the best frog you can find is what we're really looking for in this world. Don't laze through life waiting for a happily ever after, because I don't think you'll be very happy with the outcome.

Be Cool to the Pizza Dude by Sarah Adams

They Lived Their Faith by Charles Henry Parrish

Returning to What's Natural by Amelia Baxter-Stoltzfus

The Birthright of Human Dignity by Will Thomas

Remembering All The Boys by Elvia Bautista

I Am Still The Greatest by Muhammad Ali

A Goal Of Service To Humankind by Anthony Fauci

My Life Is Better by Abraham

Give Me a Waffle by Brenda

The Little Things by Sophie Crossley

You can also browse thousands more This I Believe essays by theme.

Check out This I Believe's Podcast Series

Assignment Guidelines + Suggestions and Tips for Drafting

1. While the examples you've been given can serve as a model, it is essential that each of you write about a personal belief or philosophy that you feel strongly about.
2. Tell a story. Personal experiences are the corner stone of a good essay. Your story doesn't have to be a heart breaker or even a major event, but it must be something that has affected how you think, feel, and act.
List your personal experiences that you intend to use as evidence below:
3. Be concise. Avoid repetition. This essay should be between 500 - 650 words. When read aloud, it should take roughly four minutes.
4. Name your belief. It is essential that you can name your belief in a sentence or two. Focus on one belief only.
This is your thesis. Write it here:
5. Be positive. Avoid preaching or persuading. You aren't trying to change the way others think or act. Write about what you believe, not what you don't believe.
6. Use the first person. Speak for yourself. Avoid using we or you.
7. Let your voice shine. Use language that sounds like you. Read it aloud as your revise. Keep making changes until your essay sounds like you and captures the essence of your belief.

Once you have written your first draft, arrange for your essay to be edited by a peer, using the following Peer-Editing Checklist:
Writer's Name: ________________________________________________
Peer Editor's Name: ________________________________________________
Use your PENCIL or PEN (NOT red or green) to make corrections. Remember, this essay is a work in progress. You are not done writing! Look for ways to improve what you've already written.
Tick each step if it has been completed.
_____ 1. Read the paper backwards, one sentence at a time. Check for spelling errors.
Use a dictionary, a friend, or a spell checker to find the correct spelling.
_____ 2. Check for capitalized proper nouns and the first word of each sentence.
_____ 3. Skip a line between each paragraph.
_____ 4. Every sentence should have end punctuation.
_____ 5. Check commas. Are they only used for compound sentences, a list of items, an introductory word or phrase, direct address, setting off interruptions, separating adjectives, or in dates? Do you need to add commas? Make sure you do not have commas separating complete sentences (i.e. comma splice errors that create run-on sentences).
_____ 6. Apostrophes are used only for contractions and to show ownership.
_____ 7. The use of more complex punctuation (dashes, hyphens, semi-colons, parentheses, etc.) is done correctly.
_____ 8. Have you used commonly mixed pairs of words correctly? Check these: they're/their/there, your/you're, it's/its, a/an, to/too/two, are/our/hour, and others.
_____ 9. Read the paper backwards one sentence at a time. Check for sentence fragments and run-ons and correct them.
_____ 10. Did you stay in present tense (such as is, am, do, take, know, etc.) or past tense (such as was, were, did, took, knew, etc.) throughout the entire essay?
_____ 11. Did you stay in first person (I, me, my, we, us, our) or third person (he, him, she, her, they, them, their) throughout the entire essay?
_____ 12. Was there adequate use of specific details and sensory details? Were the details clear and relevant to the statement?
_____ 13. Is the overall purpose/philosophy clear?
_____ 14. Does the conclusion make you go, "Wow!" "Cool!" "I never thought about it that way," or any other similar reaction?
Other suggestions for the overall content of the piece:
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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by Tanya Matthews This I Believe is an exciting media project that invites individuals from all walks of life to write about and discuss the core beliefs that guide their daily lives. They share these statements in weekly broadcasts on NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered.

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Neighborhood writing is an activity that draws on a writer’s memories of a place that is significant to them. It demonstrates that stories are everywhere, even places that seem exceptionally ordinary to us.

Steps:

Invite students to draw a map of their chosen neighborhood, drawing Xs in places where they have memories/stories

Students will take turns telling a partner these stories

Instructor invites students to really try and remember the specific details of that story

Students then write down their story as quickly as possible, inserting as much detail as they can remember

This activity can be modified to be a longer assignment or it can be a simple warm-up activity. A great activity for before a break or interrupted class period.

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Collective Writing is an activity that uses creative writing in a large group setting to utilize vocabulary words and demonstrate mastery of vocabulary words. In this activity, students write a sentence based on a vocabulary word intended to be the first sentence of the story. This then gets passed on to the next group who add to the story, thus continuing the narrative.

Divide students into groups. Groups each receive a sheet of construction paper and a marker.

Display the first vocabulary word and invite groups to write a sentence

Instruct students to pass the paper to another group. Display a new word and instruct students to write a new sentence to continue the sentence that came before

Continue until the papers return to original groups

Groups will designate someone to read the collective writing in a round robin

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This is a type of poem that draws on the writer’s personal experience and invites reflection based off of Margaret Walker’s poem “For My People”

Instruct students to think about their “people” - is it your ancestors? A friend or group of friends? People who have the same neurodivergence as you? People who share your hobby?

Invite students to think or write down a specific question they have for this community.

Considering the poem “For My People,” students write a poem to their community

If time allows, students can share with each other or the whole group

Potential uses: identity units, a precursor to personal narrative units, poetry writing/reading units

What I particularly like about this activity is that it can be whatever a student needs it to be. It can address a student's traumas or it can be a humorous exploration of the student's communities.

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Students are instructed to write a scene that involves two or more characters. Formatting is up to the student or instructor.

This activity is a strategy to offer practice writing dialogue and demonstrate understanding of characterization. Within this activity, students will write a story or scene using only dialogue.

Writing dialogue is a skill, and writing dialogue that moves the plot along is one that can be difficult to master. This also challenges students to think about what each person in the story is thinking when they respond to what the other character is saying, inviting them to roleplay via writing. It’s also a great perspective-taking exercise!

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This is an exercise that invites writers to consider themselves in connection to their ancestors or descendants. Depending on the students' knowledge of their family (whether it is clear, murky, or painful), students can choose to engage with the past or think about their connection to the future. This exercise asks students to consider a perspective other than their own and consider themselves from the lens of the past or future.

Potential Questions:

Think about what things you would have wanted to know about your ancestors. What do you think they liked to do?

What would you want to tell your descendants 200 years from now? What do you want them to know about you?

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This is a highly adaptable activity that can be used as a brainstorming technique for a short story unit, or it could be used as a lighthearted, creative warmup activity.

This activity could be used two ways - as a whole class activity where everyone writes a story based on the same randomly generated plot OR students can find their own randomized plot.

In any case, this activity challenges writers to write about characters they might not consider creating themselves. For example, a sixteen-year-old writer might not think to make their protagonist a 70-year-old woman. It's an exercise in perspective-taking that challenges writers to empathize with people who do not seem to have anything in common with them.

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The aim of this writing prompt is to help you develop a story-line. When you click the buttons, they will generate two characters, a setting, a situation and a theme. Your job is to put the elements together and come up with an idea for a story.

You can change an element by clicking the button again.

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The aim of this writing prompt is to help you develop a story-line. When you click the buttons, they will generate two characters, a setting, a situation and a theme. Your job is to put the elements together and come up with an idea for a story.

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This is an exercise that my creative writing teacher had us do when I was in 11th grade. The prompt was to write a letter to ourselves in five years. The effect of this was fairly interesting because it tasked the students with imagining their own futures--optimistically or not--and speak with their future selves. It is a reflective and prospective exercise, and it asked us to think about our goals and wonder how we might change as people.

As promised, my teacher sent out the letters five years after we wrote them. It was astounding to receive my letter just after I finished college, and I was surprised at how well my high school self had predicted my future.

My teacher had us stuff our letters into envelopes, address them to our homes and paste a forever stamp to the envelope. Frankly, I was lucky my mom didn't move house until *after* I received the letter, so I wonder how many letters actually made it to the original writesr. I imagine this activity might work best with a very small class or, potentially, the teacher could hold onto the letters and reach out five years later to ask for a new address.