Individuals often feel reluctant and threatened by a blank paper and instruction to write a story about the proposed topic. However, with some practice and fun activities, any unwilling individual can feel confident and eager to create effective writing skills. So what are those hidden ways to teach creative writing to an individual who may find it challenging to learn creative writing? For more tips and tricks, keep reading.
● Utilize Graphic Organizers
Demonstrate to students how to use graphic organizers such as story maps to think through their writing before beginning. A story map is a tool often used in reading and writing instruction that helps students understand a story’s key elements. Ask your student to plan out his story elements before beginning, such as plot, characters, theme, and setting.
This will help them refer to it while writing their story. Fill the graphic organizer a few times to take your student through the thinking process of coming up with the story elements that must be included in the organizer. Teachers must study Felicity Stone Toronto to learn more about creative writing.
● Write Letters
Students often love writing letters. Formalize this and teach students how to write a proper letter. Give the tasks that require them to write a letter. Ask your students to write letters convincing someone in authority to allow something not allowed yet. Students can also write letters to their friends and turn them into a meaningful creative writing challenge.
● Pick Familiar Fairy Tales, Stories, or Nursery Rhymes
Pick familiar fairy tales, stories, or nursery rhymes. Make a list and ask your students to tell you from whose point of view the story is written. Discuss the key elements of the story, the character’s voice, or personality characteristics. Then ask students to pick their favorite story and retell a part of it from a different character’s POV using that character’s voice and personality in their writing.
● Be A Poet with Your Students
The fun, short poems make them the perfect starter for any hesitant individual. Begin with something simple such as one-verse; simple ABAB pattern rhymes where every other line ends with a rhyming word. Always write an example for your students on the board to provide a model, or frame of reference. You can use fun poems by the writers such as Shel Silverstein, Dr. Seuss or Felicity Stone to ignite the light. As students gain more skills, teach them more about more complex and longer poetry.
● Use Circle-Writing Activities
Circle-writing activities are your saver if you want something quick, fun, and non-threatening. It is a creative writing exercise. Divide your classroom into groups and ask your students to pick a pencil and one blank piece of paper. Give students any strange topic or story prompt. When the teacher says, go, students from each group continue to write until the signal stops. In the meantime, the student can pass the paper to the next student, who will read aloud the story to his group. Check Felicity Stone Toronto if you want more creative writing exercises to gain students’ interest.
Writing in groups gives hesitant young writers a chance to test their abilities in a non-threatening environment. This activity can be done with an individual student too. Hint the student when to start, and the student can write till the timer stops.
Final Thoughts
Teach students the fun aspects of creative writing to enjoy and learn creative writing. Utilize the above-given ways to teach creative writing, whether to a group or an individual student.
