Introduction to Creative Writing



Creative Writing

Grades 11-12 Elective

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Michele Schmidt Moore David Arbogast

Supervisor, English/Language Arts Specialist, English/Language Arts

Sharon Ackerman Timothy J. Flynn

Assistant Superintendent, Instruction Director, Instructional Services

Dr. Edgar B. Hatrick

Superintendent

Curriculum Development Committee

Steve Bills Katherine Littel

Terry Milton Dan Vojcik

2008 Curriculum Revision Committee

Lisa Fiorilli Julie Hildbold

Donna Pomponio In Sim

Syllabus

Creative Writing offers a supportive environment in which students may engage in writing prose, poetry, and drama as well as reading published samples. This course is dedicated to the development of the creative process. This one-semester course focuses on the study of the fundamental elements of creative writing. Students will collaborate to critique and improve their work for final review.

A positive, congenial classroom atmosphere is established so that students feel safe to explore and improve their creative writing skills. The emphasis of the course is on developing students’ writing skills and promoting student growth toward their individual writing goals. Grading is based on individual student growth toward literacy goals and the effort each student makes to achieve his or her goals.

|STRAND |EMPHASIS |

|Reading |Read for the purpose of understanding an author’s craft. Analyze and evaluate models of effective writing in prose,|

| |poetry, and drama. |

|Writing |Write to communicate ideas with an emphasis on creative writing. Engage in real world writing. Revise for |

| |organization, elaboration, sentence variety, descriptive word choice. Edit for usage and mechanics. |

|Listening |Practice active listening in a workshop setting to understand, analyze, evaluate, and respond to the opinions of |

| |others. |

OBJECTIVES

|Writing: The student will… |

|examine the fundamental elements of|Identify key elements of poetry, prose, and drama. |

|creative literary genres. |Define and identify the literary terms associated with the various genres. |

| |Read genre selections to understand established authors’ methods and style. |

| |Write drafts to demonstrate student understanding of the elements of the various genres. |

|critique others’ work. |Follow the established guidelines for constructive criticism. |

| |Utilize a workshop environment to discuss others’ writing. |

| |Critically review others’ writing for required features. |

| |Edit drafts. |

| |Assess others’ work using literary terms. |

|experiment with and write |Generate ideas in a variety of ways. |

|selections of poetry, prose, and |Create and revise drafts for each genre. |

|drama. |Write and/or critique during every block. |

| |Practice the steps of the revision process. |

| |Utilize peer and teacher input to revise and improve writing. |

| |Share revised drafts in an appropriate forum (e.g. portfolio, class book, coffeehouse) at the end of the |

| |course. |

|experiment with rhetorical devices |Identify the effects of rhetorical devices used by established authors. |

|through reading and writing. |Establish tone appropriate to his or her own writings. |

| |Write drafts examining the effects of varying points of view and voice. |

| |Vary language appropriately to achieve desired effect (e.g., diction, figures of speech). |

| | |

|avoid plagiarism. |Define plagiarism. |

| |Explain the consequences of plagiarism. |

|use technology to support his or |Use various word processing features in writing, formatting, and revising. |

|her writing. |Collaborate in forums on the Internet. |

WORKSHOP

This course is designed to help students attain individual creative writing goals. In addition, the course focuses on developing students’ expertise in writing texts in prose, poetry, and drama.

The teacher is responsible for working with the student to determine what objectives the student should have for the semester. The teacher will need to conduct an initial assessment to set a plan for each student. Once objectives have been set, the teacher should then contract with each student to plan his or her activities for the quarter (see the Appendix). The rest of the activity in the class should proceed in a workshop format.

A workshop is a setting that allows students to learn and practice literacy skills with more independence than is typically seen in a traditional classroom setting. Students practice their literacy skills for many purposes, making many of their own choices regarding genre, topic, process, form, style, etc. The teacher provides formal instruction through mini-lessons targeted to identified needs.

In the workshop, the teacher’s role is to

• use literature to stimulate student work;

• circulate and assist students in their learning efforts;

• model reading, writing, and oral communication skills;

• use observations of common needs to focus mini-lessons on particular skills;

• hold conferences with students about their progress; and

• provide students with various means of sharing their progress with each other.

In the workshop, the student’s role is to

• learn from mini-lessons and from his or her own practice;

• work individually, with peers, and in small groups;

• participate in conferences with the teacher about progress;

• share feedback with peers, small groups, or the whole class;

• evaluate his or her own progress during the workshop; and

• maintain a folder, portfolio, or log of his or her work.

Essential components of a workshop include the following:

• a safe place for students to feel comfortable with their literacy strengths and weaknesses so that they are able to share opinions with each other, can be “wrong” without being teased, and can celebrate growth;

• a literacy-rich environment that includes materials and spaces for pursuing growth in literacy skills and student choice in what they read, write, and view.

• formative and summative literacy assessments, including teacher observations, student-maintained portfolios, student self-assessments;

• time for reading aloud, including books and non-fiction articles for students to read and use as models for their own writing;

• time for invested discussions, which focus on discussing ideas, sharing interpretations, and negotiating meaning from various texts, including books, film, and student writings;

• explicit instruction based on identified needs, embedded in authentic literacy activities, through mini-lessons or conferences.

These components are described in detail below.

A safe place…

The nature of this course requires that the teacher establish and build a close rapport with students as well as develop trust among the students in the class.

One of the ways to make the Creative Writing a safe place is for the teacher to model the expected behaviors and allow time for students to practice them. Even behaviors such as getting seated before the bell rings or gathering for a mini lesson on a writing convention should be modeled so that students know what is expected of them in this particular classroom. As teachers model behaviors and actually provide time for students to practice these behaviors, the students will learn what is expected for each part of the workshop and will be able to play their roles appropriately. Eventually, students know how to run the class even if the teacher is not present.

A literacy-rich environment…

The Creative Writing course provides students with high-interest, high-quality, authentic literacy materials, including (but not limited to):

|Fiction |Media |

|young adult novels |Internet access |

|classic novels |visual arts |

|comic books/graphic novels |music (CDs, radio) |

|contemporary fiction |television/film |

| | |

|Nonfiction and Informational Texts |Other literature |

|magazines |poetry |

|newspapers |drama |

|biographies |screenplays |

|content books |environmental text |

The classroom should be saturated with literacy, providing students with multiple opportunities to read, write, and critique.

Student choice is a critical factor of this component. The teacher should NOT make most writing format decisions for the students; the workshop provides an array of choices which the teacher structures to support the development of students’ creative writing skills. However, a focus on prose, poetry, and drama texts should be emphasized. Helping students to explore each of these genres aids students in finding their literary niche. In addition, it exposes student to a variety of modes of writing, enabling them to experiment with different modes of writing. Students may need to be guided to select appropriate reading materials or writing topics and formats.

Authenticity is also a key. Students should be encouraged to write for publication. Anthologies, basals, and other traditional classroom materials are not as effective as the kinds of texts students are likely to encounter outside of school. The use of real-world materials for discussion and modeling will prove to be helpful in engaging students in their writing.

Formative and summative literacy assessments…

As this course is not standards-driven, the teacher is responsible for assessing each student’s growth from his or her initial skill levels. Assessment in this course should be based on the day-to-day interactions and experiences with the student. Teachers are encouraged to keep logs, portfolios, or other collections of student work and progress to help define grades for each quarter.

Assessment should be clear to students; contracts are recommended as a way for both the student and teacher to identify areas of weakness, set objectives, define tasks to pursue during each semester, and evaluate the student’s progress toward the objectives. Rubrics for writing assignments help students analyze their writing. Rubrics can be created in conjunction with the class as well as tailored to each student’s individual needs.

Time for reading aloud…

Reading aloud is not just for elementary students. Almost all people of all ages like having books and other texts read to them. Even better, the research clearly indicates that there are significant benefits when the teacher devotes instructional time to reading aloud to the students.

Reading aloud does the following:

• Creates a community of learners

• Helps students self-select reading materials

• Models the joy of reading and learning from text

• Builds fluency

• Models complexity of thinking required for reading.

When should text be read aloud?

• To emphasize the language of a text

• To introduce challenging texts and new concepts

• To grab students’ attention at the beginning of a lesson

• To hook students into a longer text

• To tell an entire story

• To focus on a difficult part of a longer text

• To provide a common forum for discussing a text

• To review material students are learning

• To expose students to new material above their independent reading levels

A read-aloud can also provide a venue in which students can share their written work. The reader should practice the text prior to reading aloud. It is seldom recommended that students be asked to read new text aloud without having time to practice it. This practice time helps the reader build fluency so that listeners can better understand the text.

Time for invested discussions…

One of the goals of the Creative Writing is to take students beyond “I liked it” in response to a text.

Conversation allows the writers to explore their personal reactions to a text and learn from others’ understandings. Discussions of the author’s craft, writing conventions, usage, and mechanics in a variety of pieces including prose, poetry, and drama can aid students in the development of their own expository writing. Taking time to model and “think-aloud” during the discussion of texts, be it professional or student created texts, can help students to understand the thinking process that supports analyzing and critiquing another’s work.

Explicit instruction…

The research is clear that the most effective way for students to develop their writing is to read, write, and revise, read, write, and revise. However, sometimes students have difficulty with a writing piece simply because a critical piece of information that would help transform their writing has not been made explicitly clear to them. Therefore, the astute teacher looks for signs of these missing pieces and attempts to intervene to help the students make the connections.

There is no one best way to teach a student how to develop a plot, revise a poem, or evaluate dialogue. Often, instructional techniques have to be matched to the text, the student, and the context. That is the beauty, as well as the frustration, of teaching literacy skills.

The various professional texts provided to the teachers of this course also offer a variety of skills, and teachers often bring some tried and true methods of their own.

Mini-lessons are a powerful tool for explicit instruction. Mini-lessons usually last 15 to 30 minutes and can be extended over a series of days as students apply the practice to the literacy projects in which they are currently involved. Teachers can present mini-lessons to small groups or to the entire class, based on needs.

The steps for conducting a mini-lesson are:

1. Introduce the concept, strategy, or skill.

2. Share examples using books students are reading or students’ own writing.

3. Provide opportunities for practice – in small groups and individually.

4. Have students take notes – in notebooks, on butcher paper, etc.

5. Have students reflect on the lesson.

Conferences are another powerful tool for providing students with explicit instruction in problem areas. Teachers can use conferences to keep track of students’ progress on their contracted goals as well as to work on areas of weakness. Conferences may be as short as two minutes or as long as twenty. They can be spontaneous or planned. In any case, the teacher should keep clear notes of when the conference was held and what was accomplished, as conference notes can be very useful in supporting a grade at the end of the quarter.

Material in the Appendix provides some support for organizing class time to allow for both explicit instruction and workshop.

MANAGING THE WORKSHOP

One key to making the Creative Writing course function well is to provide routine. The alternating day block schedule can be problematic for some students. Anything the teacher can do to provide structure and routine is welcome.

One method for achieving structure is to post an agenda on the board each day. Another way to provide students with structure is to organize the class into 2-week divisions, having some standard activities on each Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Tuesday, and Thursday – and then starting the next series. For instance, every Monday could be “conference day”; every Thursday could be “portfolio review” day. Thus, the teacher could build a five-day plan that looks something like this:

|MONDAY |WEDNESDAY |FRIDAY |TUESDAY |THURSDAY |

|Bell-ringer |

|Status of the class |

|Read-aloud from model or |Mini-lesson |Read-aloud from model or |Mini-lesson |Read-aloud from model or |

|student writing | |student writing | |student writing |

|Conferences/ Reading & Writing Workshop |

|On-line search for |Creative Writing Stations |Creative Writing Stations |Creative Writing Stations |Work on class anthology |

|publishing opportunities | | | | |

A student who understands that this is the regular schedule also knows that missing class on a Wednesday means missing a mini-lesson. With some modeling at the beginning of the year, the teacher can help students know exactly where to go to pick up the notes on the mini-lesson for each week.

Within the 90-minute block period, the teacher should be sure to schedule ample variety to keep students engaged, but not so much variety that the students become confused or disengaged. Here are a few models for scheduling a single 90-minute period.

Sample 1

1. Teacher read-aloud 10 minutes

2. Mini-Lesson 20 minutes

3. Status of the Class 10 minutes

4. Workshop 45 minutes

5. Closure 5 minutes

Sample 2

1. Bell ringer 10 minutes

2. Workshop 20 minutes

3. Creative Writing Stations 10 minutes

4. Teacher Read-Aloud 45 minutes

5. Closure 5 minutes

Creative Writing

Grades 11-12 Elective

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Appendix

Student Literacy Inventory …………………………………………… 8

Creative Writing Contract …………………………………………… 9

Literary Terms …………………………………………………… 10

Internet Safety …………………………………………………… 11

Resources …………………………………………………………… 12

Suggested Activities …………………………………………………… 16

STUDENT LITERACY INVENTORY: Writing and Reading

Name: _________________________________________

Indicator Levels: Beginning (B) Developing (D) Advanced (A)

|The student is able to… |Quarter A |Quarter B |

|Writing | | |

|Establish goals for writing | | |

|Generate ideas in a variety of ways | | |

|Develop and organize ideas | | |

|Create and make meaningful revisions to works of poetry | | |

|Create and make meaningful revisions to works of prose | | |

|Create and make meaningful revisions to dramatic works | | |

|Establish tone appropriate for writing | | |

|Creatively use of rhetorical devices and diction for effect | | |

|Explain the differences between quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing | | |

|Define and avoid plagiarism | | |

|Give constructive feedback to peers | | |

|Use peer feedback to revise | | |

|Work independently on own writing | | |

|Publish own writing (in-class or outside of class) | | |

|Reading | | |

|Identify rhetorical devices used by established authors | | |

|Critique peer and establish authors’ work using appropriate literary | | |

|terms | | |

|Identify key elements of poetry, prose, and drama used by established | | |

|authors | | |

Creative Writing Contract

Name Quarter

|Strand |Measurable Student Goal |Methods to Attain Goal |

|Reading | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

|Writing | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

Student Signature:______________________________________________________

End of Quarter Assessment

|Informal Writing Inventory |Informal Reading Inventory |Other |

| | | |

Teacher Observations/Comments:

The following list of literary terms can be emphasized when instructing about reading, writing, or evaluating poetry, prose, and dramatic texts.

LITERARY TERMS: POETRY, PROSE, DRAMA

|Literary Term |Literary Term |Literary Term |

|Poetry |Prose |Drama |

|Alliteration |Allegory |Aside |

|Assonance |Allusion |Character sketch |

|Ballad |Anecdote |Dramatic monologue |

|Blank verse |Antagonist |Farce |

|Caesura |Autobiography/Biography |Foil |

|Canto |Caricature |Hubris |

|Consonance |Characterization |Melodrama |

|Couplet |Climax |Monologue |

|End rhyme |Comedy/Tragedy |One-act play |

|Enjambment |Conflict |Soliloquy |

|Foot |Denouement |Screenplay |

|Free verse |Dialogue | |

|Haiku |Diction | |

|Heroic couplet |Empathy | |

|Internal rhyme |Epigram | |

|Lyric |Epiphany | |

|Meter |Essay | |

|Onomatopoeia |Exaggeration | |

|Refrain |Falling action | |

|Repetition |Figurative language | |

|Rhyme |Figure of speech | |

|Rhythm |Flashback | |

|Sonnet |Foreshadowing | |

|Stanza |Genre | |

|Verse |Imagery | |

| |Irony | |

| |Local color | |

| |Memoir | |

| |Mood/Tone | |

| |Motif | |

| |Narration | |

| |Naturalism | |

| |Novel/novella | |

| |Paradox | |

| |Parody | |

| |Plot | |

| |Plot line | |

| |Point of view | |

| |Protagonist | |

| |Realism | |

| |Rising action | |

| |Romanticism | |

| |Satire | |

| |Setting | |

| |Short story | |

| |Stereotype | |

| |Stream of consciousness | |

| |Style | |

| |Theme | |

INTERNET SAFETY

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) has directed school districts to develop Internet safety guidelines and procedures for students. Currently, VDOE Computer/Technology Standards 9-12.3, 4, 5 specify technology use behaviors students must practice. These standards have been integrated into the English/Language Arts Information Literacy Framework. The safety and security of our students is our responsibility. As you establish and develop the learning community in your classroom, integrate lessons about internet safety that address personal safety on the Internet, accessing information on the Internet, and activities on the Internet. Please be sure to incorporate the following Guidelines and Resources for Internet Safety in Schools established by the Virginia Department of Education into your instruction.

Personal safety on the Internet.

• Students must understand that people are not always who they say they are. They should never give out personal information without an adult’s permission, especially if it conveys where they can be found at a particular time. They should understand that predators are always present on the Internet.

• Students should recognize the various forms of cyberbullying and know what steps to take if confronted with that behavior.

Information on the Internet.

• Students and their families should discuss how to identify acceptable sites to visit and what to do if an inappropriate site is accessed.

• Students should be informed about various Web advertising techniques and realize that not all sites provide truthful information.

Activities on the Internet.

• Students and their families should discuss acceptable social networking and communication methods and appropriate steps to take when encountering a problem.

• Students should know the potential dangers of e-mailing, gaming, downloading files, and peer-to-peer computing (e.g., viruses, legal issues, harassment, sexual predators, identity theft).

VDOE’s Guidelines and Resources for Internet Safety in Schools (2007)

RESOURCES

Instructional Texts

Anstandig, Beth, and Eric Killough. An Anthology for Creative Writers: A Garden of Forking Paths. Prentice Hall, 2006. (class set)

Brewer, Robert Lee, ed.. Writer’s Market 2007. Writer’s Digest Books, 2006. (one per teacher)

Everyday Creative Writing. McGraw Hill, 1996. (class set)

Suggested Reading for Teachers (may be ordered through the English department chair)

King, Stephen. On Writing. New York: Pocket Books, 2000.

Lamott, Anne. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. New York: Anchor Books, 1994.

Tharp, Twyla. The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2003.

Teacher Resources (may be ordered through English department chair)

Hills, Rust. Writing in General and the Short Story in Particular. New York: Mariner Books, 2000.

Jason and Lefcowitz. Creative Writer’s Handbook. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1994.

Minot, Stephen. Three Genres. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1998.

Novakovich, Josip. Fiction Writer’s Workshop. Cincinnati: Story Press, 1995.

ADDITIONAL TEACHER RESOURCES

Recommended by the 2008 Curriculum Revision Committee

These are for teacher use only and should not be used with students without prior teacher review.

FICTION

|A Dash of Style: The Art and Mastery of |A short, practical book filled with original exercises, A Dash of Style teaches writers the benefits|

|Punctuation |that can be reaped from mastering punctuation, in addition to other style elements such as word |

|by Noah Lukeman |economy, enhanced style, clarity, progression, and intention. Along with the major marks (the |

| |period, comma, semicolon, colon, quotation marks, the dash and parentheses) the book examines |

| |little-scrutinized marks such as the paragraph break and section break, and finally considers how |

| |they all might be used together in “The Symphony of Punctuation." |

|How Not to Write a Novel |In this book, authors Howard Mittelmark and Sandra Newman combine their 30 years of experience in |

|by Sandra Newman |teaching, editing, writing, and reviewing fiction to bring you real advice. |

|Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for |The book is a humorous tour of the tools and strategies of the masters of writing. Francine Prose |

|People Who Love Books and for Those Who |uses humor and lively discussion to fully describe how authors of masterpieces advance plot, use |

|Want to Write Them |dialog, and portray detail. |

|by Francine Prose | |

|Semantics Antics: How and Why Words |Many common English words started out with an entirely different meaning than the one we know today.|

|Change Meaning |For example: |

|by Sol Steinmetz |The word adamant came into English around 1200 as a synonym for 'diamond,' very different from |

| |today's meaning of the word: "utterly unyielding in attitude or opinion." |

| |Before the year 1200, the word silly meant "blessed," and was derived from Old English saelig, |

| |meaning "happy." This word went through several incarnations before adopting today's meaning: |

| |"stupid or foolish." |

|Story Structure Architect: |Dense and detailed but a well organized and excellent book about the structural details of story |

|A Writer’s Guide to Building Dramatic & |writing. This book can provide a strong basis for a course. |

|Compelling Character by Victoria Lynn | |

|Schmidt | |

|The Art of Fiction |Written by one of the most famous fiction writers, this book teaches the serious beginning writer |

|by John Gardner |the art of fiction. There is also an appendix of exercises which can be used in the classroom. |

|The Artful Edit |A lively guide to the magic and mechanics of editing by a veteran editor and writer. |

|by Susan Bell | |

| |The Artful Edit explores the many-faceted and often misunderstood—or simply overlooked—art of |

| |editing. Brimming with examples, quotes, and case studies that include an illuminating discussion of|

| |Max Perkins's editorial collaboration with F. Scott Fitzgerald on The Great Gatsby, this book proves|

| |how fundamental editing is to great writing. |

|The Virginia Woolf Writers' Workshop: |In this brilliantly imagined book, author Danell Jones mines the diaries, essays, correspondence, |

|Seven Lessons to Inspire Great Writing |and fiction of a literary legend to create an unforgettable master class in the art of writing. |

|by Danell Jones |Using Virginia Woolf’s own words, this inspiring, instructive, and entertaining guide will delight |

| |fans, students, and teachers alike—and at last give Woolf a classroom of her own. |

|The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure |Vogler connects myth and modern storytelling in this book. |

|for Writers | |

|by Christopher Vogler | |

|Word Fugitives: In Pursuit of Wanted |From “empty-fest syndrome” to “ringchronicity,” this is the ultimate gathering of recreational word |

|Words |coinages -- celebrating those words and phrases that should be in the dictionary but have eluded |

|by Barbara Wallraff |popular usage. |

|Zen in the Art of Writing by |Ray Bradbury’s personal reflections on writing. He shares a lifetime of wisdom in an entertaining |

|Ray Bradbury |way. |

POETRY

|The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology |Each form is explained and then followed by a collection of poems that illustrate the history and |

|of Poetic Forms |evolution of the form. |

|by Mark Strand and Evan Boland | |

|The Ode Less Traveled: Unlocking the Poet|The elements of poetry (specifically meter, rhyme, form, and diction) are explained and reinforced |

|Within |with exercises that lead to a sonnet, an ode, a villanelle, a ballad, and a haiku, among others. |

|by Stephen Fry |Also included are poems by well-known poets. |

|The Poetry Dictionary (2nd ed.) |An essential for the classroom so that students can access definitions to key terms that should be |

|by John Drury |in the vocabulary of every poet. This dictionary also includes over 250 illustrative poems. |

DRAMA: PLAYS AND SCRIPTS

|Screenwriting for Teens |This book offers teenagers the tools to begin screenwriting. It is easy to read and is immediately |

|by Christina Hamlett |applicable to the classroom. |

|The TV Writer's Workbook |In this unique hands-on guide, television writer and producer Ellen Sandler shares the trade |

|by Ellen Sandler |secrets she learned while writing for hit shows like Everybody Loves Raymond and Coach. |

|Writing Movies: The Practical Guide to |A how-to book that is well organized for the novice screenwriter. |

|Creating Stellar Screenplays | |

|published by Gotham Writers’ Workshop | |

CREATIVE NONFICTION

|A Writer’s Coach |From one of the most acclaimed writing coaches in America—a man who has coached reporters to Pulitzer|

|by Jack Hart |Prize-winning success—comes his guide to making your nonfiction writing more coherent, precise, and |

| |powerful. |

|Creative Nonfiction |This is a series of essays that can be ordered via Creative Nonfiction Foundation at creative |

| |. The cost is $45 for 8 issues. |

|On Writing Well |A guide to nonfiction which includes a section on the memoir and business writing. |

|by William Zinsser | |

COMPUTER RESOURCES

|BBC Get Writing Site |Offers mini-courses in the craft of writing. |

|Gotham Writers’ Workshop Courses and |Offers resources and classes from New York’s famous writing school. |

|Resources | |

| |Wide variety of writing contests sponsored by universities and small presses. |

| |Offers teens opportunity to publish their work on issues that affect their lives. |

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES

|Characterization Exercise |Place two to three pairs of shoes of differing styles (i.e. black high heels, worn-out tennis |

|(for narratives) |shoes) on a table in front of the room and have the students create a history for each character |

| |(including name, age, background, psychological makeup, physical description, family connections, |

| |occupation, appropriate setting, and anything else that seems important). Students can then form |

| |pairs and write a scene in which the characters interact. |

|Constructing an Anthology |In order to help students read more actively have them gather poems from a variety of sources |

|(for poetry) |(online, anthologies, etc.) that they would anthologize. Students will need to consider what |

| |criteria they would use for inclusion in their particular anthology; for example, would selection |

| |be based on gender, cultural background, or historical time period? Once the students have |

| |selected the poems for their anthologies, have them write an introduction to the work. |

|Kill This Poem |This exercise focuses on getting students to appreciate the impact precise language has in the |

|(for poetry) |construction of a poem. Choose a poem built on a strong, consistent image like Elizabeth Bishop’s |

| |The Fish. “Ruin” the poem by making the concrete words abstract and specific words more general. |

| |Discuss how the new version compares with the original. |

|Photo Exercise |After looking at several images, students select one photograph to base a story scene upon. The |

|(for narratives) |goal is to reveal character, so the emphasis is not on plot. This could also be used for creating |

| |scenes. |

|Stepping Stones and Stepping Stones |Have students make a list of at least twelve of the most significant events in their lives. |

|Elaboration |(“Significant” is neither good nor bad—it is neutral and includes both good and bad.) Students |

|(for Creative Nonfiction) |should be specific and avoid large amounts of time—make it a one liner. Students then choose one |

| |of the stepping stones they listed and place it in the context of their lives. They then write |

| |about the people, what they were doing, and how they were feeling. Teachers should provide an |

| |opening such as, “That was a time when,” for slow writers. |

|The “Bad” Poem Exercise |To help students identify the various levels that weaken a poem’s power or purpose have the |

|(for poetry) |students brainstorm ten everyday objects. Have students choose any of the brainstormed objects and|

| |write the cheesiest poem they can think of. |

| | |

|The America Project |The America Project – this assignment provides students with the opportunity to explore three |

|(for narratives) |different aspects of what it means to be an American. Each response should be a minimum of 1-2 |

| |pages. |

| |Choose either one photograph, painting, or sculpture that represents some definable aspect of |

| |American culture. Photographer Gordon Parks has a stunning collection of work that speaks to |

| |everything from civil rights to simple portraits. |

| |Choose one piece of music that speaks to a second aspect of American Culture (for example – The |

| |Guess Who’s American Woman). Provide a copy of the lyrics. |

| |Choose a film that represents a third divergent view of America (Grapes of Wrath has multiple |

| |applications for this section of the assignment). |

| |A variation on this assignment is to have students write from a descriptive, narrative, and |

| |analytical mode for each of the three sections. |

|The Sensuous Orange |This exercise not only helps students practice sensual awareness and selection of sensory detail |

|(for poetry or narratives) |but also helps them to develop language that is rich in sensory detail. Have students give a piece|

| |of fruit their entire sensory attention (oranges work well). Allow a fixed period of time – 20 |

| |minutes. |

|The Tabloid Ballad |Students find a tabloid article and then write a ballad (at least four stanzas) about the event or|

|(for poetry) |the person in the tabloid article, using either the standard ballad stanza (alternating 4-beat and|

| |3-beat lines, rhyming ABCB) or some variation. Adapted from . |

|Writing “Off the Subject” |Students select a subject they feel passionate about and then they develop an original and fitting|

|(for poetry or narratives) |metaphor for their subject. The metaphor should be an unusual one. Finally have students write a |

| |poem about the metaphor keeping in mind when they write the poem that they are secretly writing |

| |about the original subject. |

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