By Natalie Elschlager
Sometime in March this school year, the Creative Writing kiddos were comfortable enough to stretch their abilities even further. Out of the blue one day, several students began to express an interest in developing their own writing prompts/activities for the class. I had to let go of the reins. Honestly, it was easy to do. Their confidence in their writing was palpable. We decided to start with developing student-designed prompts.
The Lesson
Each student generated 2-5 of their own writing prompts-- any style, any format, and length, etc. Then, the class was divided into small groups where they shared their prompt ideas. It took about 15-20 minutes to provide and receive feedback from peers. From there, students returned to their seats. Based upon what they learned from their classmates and their personal judgement, they narrowed their focus on one prompt from their list.
Meanwhile, I had already posted a blank Google Doc to our Google Classroom. When they felt totally ready, each student typed their prompt in the document. In order to avoid a feeling of being overwhelmed by too many options yet maintain a certain amount of flexibility, we voted on 5 prompts to tackle straight away-- just 5 from our master list. Here are our top five:
- Write a poem about your feelings towards a close family member. Make sure there are at least two stanzas.
- Write a poem about someone in the class--it doesn’t matter who--but don’t say their name.
- Six word horror story (write 3-5 of these).
- Design a shaped poem specific to the subject of your poem.
- Everyone has their expiration date on their arm when they’re born. You’re past your due date. Write a short story.
(Author’s note: I really love the variety here! Look at #2...big time relationship builder.)
As for the remaining prompts, we were able to revisit them in a variety of ways: bell ringers/warm-ups, journaling, and for those moments when we had additional time to fill in the period. With this, each student felt the value in their contribution.
Big Take-Ways
- Equal contribution from all students
- Community Building: collaboration; discussion, peer-editing
- Each student is recognized for their idea
- Flexibility and choice for the writer
- Assortment of writing prompts
- Promotes creativity!
Final Word
If you can sense your students are ready for this challenge, essentially designing their own writing lesson (wow!), I say go for it...let loose. What I found most interesting and rewarding is how this simple “flipping the switch” recharged my writers at a time of the year where I think we all needed a little reboot, helping enhance our resilience and stamina in our writing journey together.
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