The Prompt:
"No."
The owl-headed being tilted X head. "No?"
"No." X repeated firmly. "Really, it's flattering to be considered, but no thank you. I'm not interested in anyone's holy wars."
Directions: This is a creative writing response. Students may respond to the prompt any way they choose. This short snippet is just to get them thinking and get their creative juices flowing. The "x" is meant to be a blank where the students can fill in the gap for the characters.
Rationale: This warm-up is meant to help the students get thinking. They may even take this prompt further and use it for any creative writing project and expand on their ideas.
Contributor: Joni Saunders, Weber High School 2018
The Prompt: Where do you see yourself in fifteen years? How has the world changed by the year 2033?
Directions: As students walk in, play Of Monsters And Men, "Little Talks" video to start off the class with a beat and vivid imagery. Next students look at question then close their eyes. Teachers elicits language that provokes image, smell, touch, taste, and hearing. Students imagine what the world may look like in fifteen years in regards to their personal life as well as what the outside (society/nature) may look like. Students write quietly for five to seven minutes. Have students stop. Reflect on their writing and circle all adjectives they can identify in their paragraph(s). Teacher then shows short clip of what the experts think our world will look like in fifteen years (have students notice how many adjectives are used in the clip.) End with peer share, then class share of a few. Teachers mentions the power of language and how what we write fuels the reality of our future lives.
Rationale: The rationale is to have students create imagery, using adjectives (grammar targeted writing), and predictive writing. The intended purpose for this quick write is to set up exposition (first setting) for a flashback narrative piece that they will be writing later in class. This warm up activity is specific for increasing writing skills in fictional and autobiographical writing.
Contributor: Jenn Whitesides, Rocky Mountain JH 2018
The Prompt: Imagine you are walking through a garden. It can be lush, green, full of plants with the soft humming of insects and birds. Perhaps it could be dying, with dead twigs cracking underneath you feet and brown saplings being everywhere. Suddenly, you hear tiny voices in the garden and you decide to follow it. What happens next?
Directions: Please use your imagination to finish the story.
Rationale: This is a creative writing and a free writing experience. This allows the students to use their imagination to get the writing process started. I use this one because it is exciting to 2nd graders and it allows them to think outside of the box. I allow the students to work on this for about 5 to 10 minutes.
Contributor: Melissa Brunke, Bonneville Elementary School, 2018
The Prompt: Write to express how this made you feel or memories it brought to your mind.
Directions: Listen to Flight of the Bumble Bee, or other song of your choice (preferably without lyrics). Start to write thoughts, emotions, or memories as you listen.
Rationale: This can be used as a part of music therapy. Start with a chaotic song such as Flight of the Bumble Bee. Slowly deescalate the music to get them to the emotion you would like them to feel/be at.
Contributor: Collette Coon, Shadow Valley Elementary, 2018
The Prompt: I looked through the blinds and couldn't believe what I saw.....
Directions: Students must have an individual piece of paper. They have 5 minutes to free write on the prompt. As the teacher, you can change the prompt to do this multiple times throughout the year. After the first 5 minutes are up, students must pass their paper to another student and will have a couple of minutes to read over what was written. The students will have 5 minutes again to continue the story. I like to repeat this one more time. Afterwards, I give the students time to share. They surprisingly have a very fun time doing this.
Rationale:
My students have a very difficult time with creativity and getting started on writing. The first time I do this activity, my students tend to freak out. After the first 5 minutes, though, they start to have fun with it. I love this because it gives them an outlet to be creative, free write, and write with a specific time limit. I do this many times throughout the year either as a warm-up or if I happen to have extra time.
Contributor: Grace Nielsen, Roy High School, 2018
The Prompt:
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