Creative Writing Activities for Students— Whether you’ve been teaching creative writing for years or you’re just embarking upon your first class, it’s essential for teachers to understand the true impact that writing can have on a student’s life.
Fun writing activities help students engage in their writing practice which will not only help them to improve their writing skills but also develop a love of refining their unique creative writing style.
When teaching students about this writing genre, be sure and offer students the opportunity to engage in exciting, fun, and interactive creative writing activities. Also, be sure to support your kids with a safe, creative environment. Lastly, ensure that every student knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that there are no wrong answers when exploring their own creative writing abilities when doing the types of writing activities outlined below.
So read on and learn about six fabulous creative writing activities you can share with your kids. Students may be hesitant at first to participate in some of these activities, but if they join in on the fun there is no doubt that their creative writing juices will flow!
6 Fun Creative Writing Activities
Story Maps
One creative writing activity is to give the students a story map. This is a graphic organizer that includes the important elements of a story such as characters, setting, conflict, event, a solution to the conflict, and the ending.
A story map is a great tool to help kids give the sequence or outline of their story before they begin the actual writing of it. Students must fill in the necessary details into the graphic organizer in order to generate their creative story concept. Story maps may be created on paper, or a story map could be created online.
Group Writing
Another fun creative writing activity that students can do is to separate into small groups of four or five. Each group is given a paper and pencil. The teacher then gives the opening sentence of a story. When the teacher gives the go signal, each member consecutively adds a sentence to the paper. The goal is for the students to use their creative minds and formulate stories on their own all while having fun with their group.
Reading Out Loud
It is important to read to those whom we teach. Unfortunately, this activity is often used with younger students only. That’s a shame because students of all ages are able to hear how good a creative story sounds — and experience how it affects their minds — when it is read out loud.
Challenge your students (especially the older ones) to read their original creative writing pieces out loud to each other. Take this activity a step further and have the kids read their final projects out loud in front of the class. There are sure to be some surprises for all with this activity!
One of the best creative writing activities is to write poems with kids. The poems need not be long. Novice writers can improve their creative writings skills through learning how to write poems.
Students can start with one to two verses at first and may choose to have their poems rhyme if they so desire. To help motivate kids, it is helpful if the teacher writes and/or shares various styles of poetry with the class. Sharing in this way will aid and guide children on how to create their own poetry. Encourage students to write more verses to hone and further develop their poetry writing skills.
Teachers should also encourage students to write letters and notes. With the advent of texting and the shorthand that goes along with it, it has become more important than ever for teachers to instruct students on the art and style of letter-writing.
Encourage kids to write letters to their classmates, family, friends, or to their own selves. Add a creative writing angle to this activity by encouraging fictional letters, or letters from their future self or about their wildest dreams. Teach letter writing basics, and then combine creative imagination to give this activity some extra flair and intrigue!
Fairy Tales
Students may also be encouraged to discuss among themselves a certain fairy tale. During the discussion, they may want to share their opinions on the characters in the story. Make this activity even more creative and encourage kids to retell the story from a different point of view. For example, one student can talk about Snow White from the point of view of the dwarf while another one can discuss the story from the point of view of the Wicked Queen.
Creative writing activities are a wonderful way for students to get in tune with their own thoughts and learn to communicate more effectively and all good teachers know it is unlikely that a blank paper will do very much to inspire a typical student to write. Therefore, something must be done to help kids jump-start their creative juices and get them flowing. Hopefully, these fun and creative writing activities will help your kids release their talents and take their writing skills to the next level!
Until next time, write on…
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