Ways to add VARIETY TO WRITING TASKS BY CODY SMITH

Go outside! A CHANGE OF SCENERY CAN BE JUST WHAT YOUR STUDENTS NEED TO BECOME INSPIRED!

Unique Writing prompts Use varied prompts to keep the students’ attention and get them thinking! Check out Writingprompts.tumblr.com for more unique prompts!

ASK THEM! Opinion based responses give the students the opportunity to explore their beliefs and feel like his or her voice is being heard!

Make it personal Personal writing prompts can give students an outlet, just be sure to not share the responses to these types of prompts with other students without permission! You want your students to be honest in their writing, and they most likely won’t be if there is a larger audience of their peers.

CHANGE PERSPECTIVE Give the students a character prompt. Have them write as one of their favorite characters or a character from the current class reading. A change of perspective can open up their eyes to see other peoples’ viewpoints!

REAL LIFE ISSUES Give the students a prompt like this one to have them think about real world issues that can affect them. This prompt also isn’t a bad way to show students how much times have changed.

PICTURE PROMPTS! Give students a picture prompt. This allows them to create their own story from what they see. Give them absolutely no context, let it come from their imagination. Use this prompt and see how many students write about them as a couple. (They weren’t! This was the first time they met. He was so happy the War was over, he grabbed the first girl he saw and kissed her!)

Classroom story time Use this chart and put the students in four groups. Give each group one section and have them come up with the characters, problem, setting and time. Then have the groups say what they have come up with! This allows their creativity to flow. To take it an extra step, write a beginning sentence of a story on a piece of paper. Then, send the paper around the classroom. Each student will add on a sentence until the story is complete!