Creative Writing

Creative Writing
Grades 11-12 Elective

Michele Schmidt Moore David Arbogast

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

Sharon Ackerman Eric Stewart

Assistant Superintendent, Instruction Director, Curriculum & Instruction

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
Creative Writing

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 understand ing 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.

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Creative Writing

OBJECTIVES

Writing: The student will…

examine the • Identify key elements of poetry, prose, and drama.
fundamental elements • Define and identify the literary terms associated with the
of creative literary various genres.
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 • Generate ideas in a variety of ways.

write selections of • Create and revise drafts for each genre.
poetry, prose, and • Write and/or critique during every block.
drama. • 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 • Identify the effects of rhetorical devices used by established

rhetorical devices authors.
through reading and • Establish tone appropriate to his or her own writings.
writing. • 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 • Use various word processing features in writing, formatting,

support his or her and revising.
writing. • Collaborate in forums on the Internet.

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Creative Writing

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 c 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.
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Creative Writing
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 kno w 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
o young adu lt novels
o classic novels
o comic books/graphic novels
o contemporary fiction
• Media
o Internet access
o visual arts
o music (CDs, radio)
o television/film

• Nonfiction and Informational Texts • Other literature

o magazines o poetry
o newspapers o drama
o biographies o screenplays
o content books o 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
writ ing 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. Helpin g 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.

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Creative 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 indepen evels

A read-aloud can also provide a venue in which students can s ritten 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.

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Creative Writing

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.

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Creative Writing

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 Mini-lesson Read-aloud from Mini-lesson Read-aloud from
model or student model or student model or student
writing writing writing
Conferences/ Reading & Writing Workshop
On-line search for Creative Writing Creative Writing Creative Writing Work on class
publishing Stations Stations Stations anthology
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

Creative Writing
Grades 11-12 Elective

Appendix

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

Creative Writing Contract …………………………………………… 9
Literary Terms …………………………………………………… 10
Internet Safety …………………………………………………… 11
Resources …………………………………………………………… 12
Suggested Activities …………………………………………………… 16
Creative Writing

STUDENT LITERACY INVENTORY: Writing and Reading

Name: _________________________________________

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

The student is able to… Quarter Quarter

A B
W riting
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

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Creative Writing

Creative Writing Contract

Name Quarter

Strand Measurable Student Goal Methods to Attain Goal

Reading

Writing

Student Signature:______________________________________________________

End of Quarter Assessment

Informal Writing Informal Reading Other
Inventory Inventory

Teacher Observations/Comments:

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Creative Writing

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

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Creative Writing

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)

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Creative Writing

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 studen thout prior teacher
review.
FICTION
A Dash of Style: The Art A short, practical book filled with original exercises, A Dash of
and Mastery of Style teaches writers the benefits that can be reaped from mastering
Punctuation 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
by Sandra Newman combine their 30 years of experience in teaching, editing, writing,
and reviewing fiction to bring you real advice.

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Creative Writing

Reading Like a Writer: A The book is a humorous tour of the tools and strategies of the
Guide for People Who masters of writing. Francine Prose uses humor and lively discussion
Love Books and for Those to fully describe how authors of masterpieces advance plot, use
Who Want to Write Them dialog, and portray detail.
by Francine Prose
Semantics Antics: How Many common English words started out with an entirely different
and Why Words Change meaning than the one we know today. For example:
Meaning The word adamant came into English around 1200 as a synonym
by Sol Steinmetz 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 ad opting today's meaning:
"stupid or foolish."
Story Structure Architect: Dense and detailed but a well organized and excellent book about
A Writer’s Guide to the structural details of story writing. This book can provide a
Building Dramatic & 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
by John Gardner the serious beginning writer 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
by Susan Bell editor and writer.

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 In this brilliantly imagined book, author Danell Jones mines the
Writers' Workshop: Seven diaries, essays, correspondence, and fiction of a lite legend to
Lessons to Inspire Great create an unforgettable master class in the art of writing. Using
Writing Virginia Woolf’s own words, this inspiring, instructive, and
by Danell Jones entertaining guide will delight fans, students, and teachers alike—
and at last give Woolf a classroom of her own.
The Writer's Journey: Vogler connects myth and modern storytelling in this book.
Mythic Structure for
Writers
by Christopher Vogler
Word Fugitives: In From “empty -fest syndrome” to “ringchronicity,” this is the
Pursuit of Wanted Words ultimate gathering of recreational word coinages -- celebrating those
by Barbara Wallraff words and phrases that should be in the dictionary but have eluded
popular usage.
Zen in the Art of Writing Ray Bradbury’s personal reflections on writing. He shares a lifetime
by Ray Bradbury of wisdom in an entertaining way.

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Creative Writing

POETRY

The Making of a Poem: A Each form is explained and then followed by a collection of poems
Norton Anthology of that illustrate the history and evolution of the form.
Poetic Forms
by Mark Strand and Evan
Boland
The Ode Less Traveled: The elements of poetry (specifically meter, rhyme, form, and
Unlocking the Poet Within diction) are explained and reinforced with exercises that lead to a
by Stephen Fry sonnet, an ode, a villanelle, a ballad, and a haiku, among others.
Also included are poems by well-known poets.
The Poetry Dictionary An essential for the classroom so that students can access
(2n d ed.) definitions to key terms that should be in the vocabulary of every
by John Drury poet. This dictionary also includes over 250 illustrat poems.

DRAMA: PLAYS AND SCRIPTS

Screenwriting for Teens This book offers teenagers the tools to begin screenwriting. It is
by Christina Hamlett easy to read and is immediately applicable to the classroom.
The TV Writer's Workbook In this unique hands-on guide, television writer and producer Ellen
by Ellen Sandler Sandler shares the trade secrets she learned while writing for hit
shows like Everybody Loves Raymond and Coach .
Writing Movies: The A how-to book that is well organized for the novice screenwriter.
Practical Guide to
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
by Jack Hart man who has coached reporters to Pulitzer 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 www.creative nonfiction.org. The cost is $45 for 8
issues.
On Writing Well A guide to nonfiction which includes a section on the memoir and
by William Zinsser business writing.

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Creative Writing

COMPUTER RESOURCES

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

Gotham Writers’ Offers resources and classes from New York’s famous writing
Workshop Courses and school.
Resources www.writingclasses.com
Newpages.com Wide variety of writing contests sponsored by universities and
small presses.
TeenInk.com Offers teens opportunity to publish their work on issues that affect
their lives.

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Creative Writing

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES

Characterization Exercise Place two to three pairs of shoes of differing styles (i.e. black high
(for narratives) heels, worn-out tennis 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 In order to help students read more actively have them gather
Anthology poems from a variety of sources (online, anthologies, etc.) that
(for poetry) 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
(for poetry) precise language has in the 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
(for narratives)
photograph to base a story scene upon. The goal is to
reveal character, so the emphasis is not on plot. This could
also be used for creating scenes.
Stepping Stones and Have students make a list of at least twelve of the most significant
Stepping Stones events in their lives. (“Significant” is neither good nor bad —it is
Elaboration neutral and includes both good and bad.) Students should be
(for Creative Nonfiction) 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
(for poetry) power or purpose have the students brainstorm ten everyday
objects. Have students choose any of the brainstormed objects and
write the cheesiest poem they can think of.

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Creative Writing

The America Project The America Project – this assignment provides students with the
(for narratives) opportunity to explore three 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
(for poetry or narratives) and selection of sensory detail 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
(for poetry) stanzas) about the event or 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
www.poetryoutloud.org.
Writing “Off the Subject” Students select a subject they feel passionate about and then they
(for poetry or narratives) develop an original and fitting 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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