creative writing lessons for high school students

Teach Creative Writing In High School With 10 Fun Activities

Creative writing is a meaningful aspect of literature that mandates you to utilize your expertise, ingenuity, and story to depict a critical message, emotion, or plot. It defies the traditional bounds of other forms of writing and is completely subjective to our preferences and experiences. In creative writing, it’s all about imaginativeness!

Using creative imagination and originality to convey feelings and concepts in a unique way is at the heart of creative writing. Simply stated, it’s about infusing your own ‘flair’ into your writing, moving beyond academic or other technical kinds of literature. 

In this post, we will explore the various activities which would be advantageous for a high schooler who wishes to indulge in creative writing!

What Happens When Creative Writing Is Put To Use?

Creative writing is any form of writing that deviates from traditional professional, investigative journalism, educational, or technological forms of literature. It is typically distinguished by emphasizing narrative craft, character development, literary tropes, or various poetic traditions.

Here are the few ways how high schoolers can benefit from creative writing –

1. Imagination

When you write creatively, you expand your imagination by creating new environments, scenarios, and characters. This way, you are also boosting and stretching your imagination, as well as “thinking out of the box.” This allows you to concentrate your energy on many other things and improve your ability to find fresh ideas and alternatives to problems you’re having. Whether you’re a researcher or a businessman, creative writing will increase your imagination and help you think more creatively, and push the boundaries.

2. Empathy and Communications skills

When you create characters, you’ll be constructing emotions, personalities, behaviors, and world views that are distinct from your own. Writers must conceive personalities, emotions, places, and walks of life outside of their own lives while creating universes with fictional characters and settings.

This can give children a good dose of empathy and understanding for those who aren’t like them, who don’t live where they do or go through the same things they do daily. Writers are better equipped to communicate when they have a greater understanding of other points of view. They can come up with creative ways to explain and debate subjects from multiple perspectives. This ability is crucial in both professional and personal situations. 

3. Clarification of Thoughts 

Creating structures in creative writing allows you to organize your impressions and emotions into a logical procedure. You may express both your thoughts and your sentiments through creative writing. For example, if you’re a marketing executive, you could create a short tale in which your clientele reads your promotional emails. You can guess what they’re up to, where they’re seated, what’s around them, and so on.

This enables you to focus on the language and strategies you employ. Alternatively, if you’re a technical writer writing on a new desktop platform, you could create a creative scenario in which a user encounters a problem. 

4. Broadens Vocabulary and gets a better understanding of reading and writing

You’ll learn a larger vocabulary and a better understanding of the mechanics of reading and writing as you begin to practice writing exercises regularly. Even if you’re writing a budget report, you’ll know when rigid grammar standards work and when they don’t, and you’ll know what will make your writing flow better for your readers. Exploring different ways of expressing yourself when writing creatively allows you to extend your vocabulary.

You’ll notice a change in your use and range of language as you improve your writing over time, which will be useful in any professional route and social scenario. You’ll be able to bend and break the rules when you need to, to utilize your voice and make what you’re writing engaging without coming off as an amateur, dull, or inauthentic once you’ve grasped the fundamentals of writing professionally and creatively.

5. Building Self-Belief 

When you write creatively, you’re actively involved in an activity that allows you to fully develop your voice and point of view without being constrained. You have a better chance to investigate and express your feelings about various issues, opinions, ideas, and characters. And you’ll feel more at ease and secure stating your thoughts and perspectives in other things you write as a result of this.

Writers who don’t write creatively may be concerned about appearing authoritative or trustworthy. They accidentally lose their voice and sound like drones spouting statistics by omitting to include their perspective on the topics they’re writing about. As a result, they miss out on using their distinct voice and presenting themselves as an expert with real-world expertise.

Creative Writing Activities That Will Strengthen Your Writing Skills  

Short spurts of spontaneous writing make up creative writing activities. These writing exercises push a writer to tackle a familiar topic in a new way, ranging from one line to a lengthy tale. Short, spontaneous projects are common in creative writing programs, but any writer should make them a regular practice to extend their abilities and learn new tactics to approach a series of stories.

These activities must be performed for ten minutes at a time, several times a week – by creative writers. They’re designed to help you improve your writing abilities, generate fresh story ideas, and become a better writer.

1. Free Writing

Writing is the first and foremost activity that is going to give your creative writing a boost. Start with a blank page and let your stream of thoughts and emotions flow. Then simply begin writing. Don’t pause to think or alter what you’re expressing. This is known as “free writing.” This writing activity is referred to as “morning pages” by Julia Cameron, the author of ‘The Artist’s Way.’ She recommends that authors do this every day when they first wake up. Stream of consciousness writing can provide some intriguing concepts.

Allow your intellect to take the lead as your fingers type. Or write a letter to your younger self.  Consider a topic you’d like to discuss, such as a noteworthy event, and write it down. Give guidance or convey a message that you wish you had heard as a youngster or a young adult.

2. Modify a Storyline – Read

Most of us like to read. However, just reading won’t really help augment your creative writing skills. While reading bestows insight into the deeper meanings of numerous things, you need a more concrete approach to better your aptitude. To do this, you can modify any storyline. Take an episode from a chapter, if you’re feeling brave—from one of your favorite books and recreate it. Write it from the perspective of a different character. Swap out the main character in this exercise to examine how the story may be conveyed differently.

Take Percy Jackson’s thrilling conclusion, for instance, and rework it with Annabeth as the primary character. Another way to approach this creative activity is to keep the primary character but switch viewpoints. Rewrite a scene in the third person if the writer has told a story in the first person. 

3. Add Creative Writing Prompts or Create Flash Fiction

Use writing prompts, often known as narrative starters, to produce writing ideas. A writing prompt is a sentence or short excerpt that a writer uses to start composing a story on the spot. You can look up writing prompts online, pick a sentence out of a magazine at random, or use a brilliant line from a well-known work as the start of your short scene.

Another thing you can do to accentuate your writing is to create flash fiction. Sit down at your desktop or pick up a pen and paper and write a 500-word story on the spur of the moment. This isn’t the same as just writing whatever comes to mind. With no fixed guidelines, free writing generates a stream of consciousness. All of the basic components of a story arc, such as plot, conflict, and character development, are required in flash fiction, albeit in a shortened form.

4. Create a Fictitious Advertisement

Pick a random word from a nearby book or newspaper and create a fictitious commercial for it. Write one ad in a formal, abbreviated newspaper classified format to require you to pay special attention to your word choice to sell the item. Then write one for an online marketplace that allows for longer, more casual text, such as Craigslist. Describe the item and persuade the reader to purchase it in each one.

5. Engage in Conversations 

Engaging in conversations with your friends/family – or simply communicating can help brush up your writing skills. Talk to your loved ones about their hobbies, career, views on societal issues – any suitable topic for that matter. This helps implement others’ points of view and expands your mental ability. Another useful thing that you can do is – make another person’s tale and create it by implementing your own thoughts. Then talk about it in an impeccable manner. Also, talk in complete sentences. This goes to show your Linguistic intelligence proficiency – and helps augment your creative writing skills.

6. Create Your Own Website/Blog

Start your search for blogging. There are a million writing suggestions out there, but they all boil down to the same thing: write. Blogging is excellent writing practice because it gives you a place to write regularly.

To keep your fingers and mind nimble, write a post every day. Like most bloggers, you’ll want to restrict your subject—perhaps you’ll focus on parenting or start a how-to site where you can tell stories from your point of view.

7. Participate in Debates/Extempores  

Participating in debates, extempores – anchoring for your school function, giving a speech, all of these activities help boost your creative spirit. These group events make you understand what other people are envisioning, which in turn helps you generate new ideas, approaches, and methods. Not only do they improve your articulation and research skills, but they also develop critical thinking and emotional control abilities. All of these promote a better creative writing aptitude.

8. Start a YouTube Channel or Podcast 

Starting a YouTube channel or podcast will definitely level up your creative game. YouTube is a never-ending platform, covering myriads of topics. Choose a particular niche for your channel.

Then do your topic research, create content, manage SEO, approach brands, talk to clients and influencers – do all the good stuff. Communicating with other influencers and creating content will take your creative writing skills to another level. Starting a podcast will have a similar impact. 

9. Love them? Say it with your words!

We have many festivals, occasions, birthdays, parties, anniversaries and whatnot! You can employ these special days and boost your creative writing skills. You can make a token of love for them – writing about your feelings. You can also make gift cards, birthday cards, dinner menus, and so on. So let’s say, it’s your mother’s birthday, you can write her a token of love, elucidating your feelings and letting her know what all she’s done for you and that you’re grateful. Do this for all your near and dear ones. This not only spreads positivity and love but helps you develop your creative aptitude.

10. The What-if Game

The What-If game is an incredible way to upgrade your creative abilities. You can play this game with your friends, cousins, relatives, or solo. Here, you need to find links to many interesting hypothetical questions. For instance, what if the sun doesn’t rise for a week? What if there’s no oxygen for one minute? Play it with your peeps, or ask these questions to yourself. It can be anything random but concrete. If you don’t know the answers to the questions, look them up on Google. This way, you’re training your mind to learn new concepts all the while enhancing your visualization process. 

We can conclude that creative writing encourages students to think creatively, use their imaginations, imply alternatives, expand their thinking processes, and improve their problem-solving skills. It also allows the child to express themselves and grow their voice. Besides, it enhances reasoning abilities. The principle behind the creative writing concept is that everyone can gain the qualities that are needed to become a successful writer or, rather become good at writing. Creative writing is all about using language in new and innovative ways.

Sananda Bhattacharya, Chief Editor of TheHighSchooler, is dedicated to enhancing operations and growth. With degrees in Literature and Asian Studies from Presidency University, Kolkata, she leverages her educational and innovative background to shape TheHighSchooler into a pivotal resource hub. Providing valuable insights, practical activities, and guidance on school life, graduation, scholarships, and more, Sananda’s leadership enriches the journey of high school students.

Explore a plethora of invaluable resources and insights tailored for high schoolers at TheHighSchooler, under the guidance of Sananda Bhattacharya’s expertise. You can follow her on Linkedin

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10 Creative Writing Activities That Help Students Tell Their Stories

Lower the stakes and help them get started.

“I don’t have a story. There’s nothing interesting about my life!” Sound familiar? I don’t know a teacher who hasn’t heard students say this. When we ask our students to write about themselves, they get stuck. We know how important it is for them to tell their own stories. It’s how we explore our identities and keep our histories and cultures alive. It can even be dangerous when we don’t tell our stories (check out this Ted Talk given by novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and share it with your students for more on that). Storytelling is essential for every subject, not just English Language Arts; students dive deeper and engage when they practice thinking about how their own stories intersect with historical events, civic engagement, and the real-world implications of STEM. These 10 creative writing activities can work in every subject you teach:

Here are 10 of our favorite story telling activities that inspire students:

1. write an “i am from” poem.

Students read the poem “I am From” by George Ella Lyon. Then, they draft a poem about their own identity in the same format Lyon used. Finally, students create a video to publish their poems. We love this one because the mentor text gives a clear structure and example that students can follow. But the end result is truly unique, just like their story.

2. Design a social media post to share an important memory

How can you use your unique perspective to tell a story? We want our students to learn that they are truly unique and have stories that only they can tell that other people want to hear or could relate to or learn from. In this activity, students watch two Pixar-in-a-Box videos on Khan Academy to learn about storytelling and perspective. Then, they identify an interesting or poignant memory and design a social media post.

3. Create an image using a line to chart an emotional journey

How do you show emotion using a single line? In this activity, students watch a Pixar in a Box video on Khan Academy to learn about how lines communicate character, emotion, and tension. Then they experiment with these aspects as they write their story. We love using this for pre-writing and to help students explore their story arc. Also, for students who love to draw or learn visually, this can help them get started telling their story and show them that there are many different ways to tell a story.

4. Tell the story behind your name

Sharing the story behind our name is a way to tell a story about ourselves, our culture, and our family history. And if there isn’t a story behind it, we can talk about how we feel about it and describe what it sounds like. In this activity, students use video to introduce themselves to their classmates by discussing the origin of their name. This project asks students to connect their names (and identities) to their personal and familial histories and to larger historical forces. If you’re looking for a mentor text that pairs well with this one, try “My Name” by Sandra Cisneros .

5. Develop a visual character sketch

Give students the time to create a character sketch of themselves. This will help them see how they fit into their story. In this lesson, students create a visual character sketch. They’ll treat themselves like a character and learn to see themselves objectively.

6. Create a webpage to outline the story of your movie

Building a story spine is a great way to show students how to put the parts of their story in an order that makes sense. It’s an exercise in making choices about structure. We like this activity because it gives students a chance to see different examples of structure in storytelling. Then, they consider the question: how can you use structure to set your story up for success? Finally, they design and illustrate an outline for their story.

7. Respond to a variety of writing prompts

Sometimes our students get stuck because they aren’t inspired or need a different entry point into telling their story. Give them a lot of writing prompts that they can choose from. Pass out paper and pencils. Set a timer for fifteen minutes. Then, write 3-4 writing prompts on the board. Encourage students to free-write and not worry about whether their ideas are good or right. Some of our favorite prompts to encourage students to tell their story are:

• I don’t know why I remember…
• What’s your favorite place and why?
• What objects tell the story of your life?
• What might surprise someone to learn about you?

8. Create a self-portrait exploring identity and self-expression

Part of what makes writing your own story so difficult for students is that they are just building their identity. In this activity, students explore how they and others define their identity. What role does identity play in determining how they are perceived and treated by others? What remains hidden and what is shown publicly?

9. Film a video to share an important story from your life

Encourage students to think about how to tell the story of a day they faced their fears. Students consider the question: How can you use different shot types to tell your story? They watch a video from Pixar in a Box on Khan Academy to learn about different camera shots and their use in storytelling. Then, they use Adobe Spark Post or Photoshop and choose three moments from their story to make into shots. We love using this to help students think about pace and perspective. Sometimes what we leave out of our story is just as important as what we include.

10. Try wild writing

Laurie Powers created a process where you read a poem and then select two lines from it. Students start their own writing with one of those lines. Anytime that they get stuck, they repeat their jump-off line again. This is a standalone activity or a daily writing warm-up, and it works with any poem. We love how it lowers the stakes. Can’t think of anything to write? Repeat the jump-off line and start again. Here are some of our favorite jump-off lines:

• The truth is…
• Some people say…
• Here’s what I forgot to tell you…
• Some questions have no answers…
• Here’s what I’m afraid to write about…

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55 Creative Writing Activities and Exercises

Have you ever heard these questions or statements from your students?

• I don’t know where to begin.
• How can I make my story interesting?
• I’m just not creative.
• What should my story be about?

If so, you won’t want to miss these creative writing activities. 

What Are Creative Writing Activities?

Activities that teach creative writing serve as drills to exercise your student’s writing muscle. When used effectively, they help reluctant writers get past that intimidating blank paper and encourage the words to flow. 

When I think of creative writing exercises , writing prompts immediately come to mind. And, yes, writing from a prompt is certainly an example of a creative writing activity (a highly effective one). 

However, writing prompts are only one way to teach creative writing. Other types of activities include games, collaboration with others, sensory activities, and comic strip creation to name a few.

Unlike writing assignments, creative writing activities aren’t necessarily meant to create a perfectly polished finished project. 

Instead, they serve as more of a warmup and imagination boost.

Picture-based writing exercises are especially fun. You can download one for free below!

get this picture prompt printable for free!

How to use creative writing exercises effectively.

When teaching creative writing , the most effective exercises inspire and engage the student. 

Remember that worn-out prompt your teacher probably hauled out every year? 

“What I Did This Summer…” 

Cue the groaning. 

Instead of presenting your student with lackluster topics like that one, let’s talk about ways to engage and excite them. 

For Kids or Beginners

Early writers tend to possess misconceptions about writing. Many picture sitting down for hours straight, polishing a story from beginning to end. 

Even for experienced writers, this is next-to-impossible to do. It’s preconceived ideas like these that overwhelm and discourage students before they’ve even started. 

Instead of assigning an essay to complete, start with simple, short writing exercises for elementary students such as:

• Creating comic strips using a template
• Talking out loud about a recent dream
• Writing a poem using rhyming words you provide
• Creating an acrostic from a special word

Creative writing exercises don’t have to end in a finished piece of work. If the exercise encouraged creative thinking and helped the student put pen to paper, it’s done its job. 

For Middle School

Creative writing activities for middle school can be a little more inventive. They now have the fundamental reading and writing skills to wield their words properly. 

Here are some ideas for middle school writing exercises you can try at home:

• Creating Mad Lib-style stories by changing out nouns, verbs, and adjectives in their favorite tales
• Storyboarding a short film
• Writing a family newsletter
• Creating crossword puzzles

For High School 

Your high school student may be starting to prepare for college essays and other important creative writing assignments. 

It’s more critical than ever for her to exercise her writing skills on a regular basis. 

One great way to keep your high schooler’s mind thinking creatively is to have her make “listicles” of tips or facts about something she’s interested in already. 

Another fun and effective creative writing exercise for high school is to have your student retell classic stories with a twist. 

List of 55 Creative Writing Activities for Students of All Ages

No matter what age range your students may be, I think you’ll find something that suits their personality and interests in this list of creative writing ideas. Enjoy! 

• Using only the sense of hearing, describe your surroundings. 
• Write a paragraph from your shoes’ point of view. How do they view the world? What does a “day in the life of a shoe” look like?
• Imagine what the world will be like in 200 years. Describe it. 
• Write a letter to someone you know who moved away. What has he or she missed? Should he or she move back? Why? 
• Make up an imaginary friend. What does he or she look like? What does he or she like to do?
• Create a story about a person you know. Use as many details as possible.
• Write a poem that describes a place you have been.
• Soak up the season you’re in with seasonal creative writing prompts. Here are some ideas for fall and winter .
• Write a song where each line starts with the next letter in the alphabet. 
• Create a list of words related to something you love.
• Write a short story based on a true event in your life.
• Rewrite a chapter of your favorite book from the antagonist’s point of view. 
• Write a letter to your future self. What do you want to make sure you remember?
• Go on a five-senses scavenger hunt. Find three items for each sense. Create a story using the items you found. 
• Create a story around an interesting picture ( try these fun picture writing prompts! )
• Find an ad in a magazine or elsewhere and rewrite the description to convince people NOT to buy the advertised item.
• Write a story using the last word of each sentence as the first word of the next.
• Describe everything you’re sensing right now, using all five senses.
• Write a list of animals A to Z with a one-sentence description of each one. Feel free to include imaginary animals.
• Design your dream room in detail.
• Write a script of yourself interviewing a famous person. Include his or her answers.
• Describe what high school would be like if you lived on the moon. What would you be learning about? How would you be learning it?
• Describe a day in the life of a famous person in history. Include both mundane and exciting details of things they may have experienced on a normal day.
• Pick up something on a bookshelf or end table nearby. Now write a commercial script for it to convince your audience that they absolutely must own this thing.
• Plan a birthday party for your best friend. Describe the decorations, food, and everything else.
• Write a very short story about three siblings fighting over a toy. Now rewrite it twice, each time from a different character’s perspective.
• Tell a story from the point of view of a pigeon on a city street.
• Create a menu for a deli you’ll be opening soon. Name each sandwich after something or someone in real life and list the fillings and type of bread.
• Pretend you just became famous for something. Write 3 exciting newspaper headlines about the topic or reason behind your newfound fame.
• Keep a one-line-a-day journal. Every day, write down one thought or sentence about something that happened that day or how you felt about the day.
• Have you ever had a nightmare? Write what happened but with a new ending where everything turns out okay (perhaps the monster was your dad in a costume, preparing to surprise you at your birthday party).
• Write a “tweet” about something that happened to you recently, using only 140 characters. 
• Take an important event in your life or the life of someone in your family. Write one sentence answering each of the 6 journalistic questions: Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How.
• Set a timer for 5 minutes and write nonstop, starting with the words “I remember.” If you get stuck, write “I remember” again until you get unstuck.
• Pick something you use often (a toothbrush, your desk, etc). Then tell the story of how it was invented. If you don’t know, make something up.
• Choose a princess or hero and write a one-paragraph story about him or her traveling to a distant land.
• Pretend you are a tour guide for a local attraction. It can be a library, a park, or a museum, but it could also be a place that wouldn’t normally hold tours (such as an arcade). Write a speech about what you tell your tour group as you walk around the attraction.
• Create a marketing brochure for your favorite activity or fun place to go.
• Make a list of 10 future story settings. Write one sentence describing each. For example, “ in the dark, musty cellar of my grandmother’s house, surrounded by dried-up jars of canned peaches… ”
• Make a list of foods included in a dinner party catered by the world’s worst cook, describing how each course looks, smells, and tastes. Include your reactions while eating it.
• Write out your own version of instructions for playing your favorite game.
• Pretend you’ve lost your sight for one night. Describe going out to eat at a restaurant, using smells, textures, and sounds to tell your story.
• Write a script for an interesting phone conversation in which the reader can only hear one side. 
• Tell the story of an object someone threw away from the perspective of the person who tossed it out. Then tell the story of that same object from the perspective of a person who finds it and deems it a treasure.
• List your 3 least favorite chores. Pick one and write a one paragraph detailing why you can’t possibly complete that chore ever again.
• Write an excerpt from your dog’s diary (pretend he keeps one).
• Write the script for a movie trailer—real or imagined.
• Create an acrostic for a holiday of your choice. 
• Pretend you’re the master of a role-playing game, describing a sticky situation in which the other players now find themselves. Describe the scenario in writing.
• Compose a funny or dramatic caption for a photo.
• Parents, place a textured object in a box without letting your student see it. Have him or her reach in, touch the object, and then describe how it feels.
• Write lyrics for a parody of a song.
• Make a list of 10-20 songs that would be played if a movie was made about your life.
• Describe the sounds, smells, sights, and textures you’d experience if you went to the beach for the day.
• Write an election speech with ludicrous and impossible campaign promises.

One of the best ways to encourage students to write regularly is by providing fun creative writing activities . 

They serve to encourage both the habit and mindset of writing with imagination. If you need extra help with that, check out Creative Freewriting Adventure :

bring excitement into your student’s writing – no prep required!

About the author.

Jordan Mitchell

Poetry Center

Five Creative Writing Lesson Plans for Middle & High School Students

A Poem About Joy:

In this lesson plan, inspired by Ross Gay's "Sorrow Is Not My Name," Teré Fowler-Chapman asks young poets to come up with a list of things that bring them joy and then write a poem inspired by one of the items on that list. The writing exercise, which is a fantastic way to bring social-emotional learning into the classroom, is preceded by a conversation on Gay's poetics and on how joy can exist even in times of sorrow.

Personal Migrations:

Saraiya Kanning, inspired by Wang Ping's "Things We Carry on the Sea," asks young writers to, "contemplate how migration has played out in their own lives, including the lives of their families." This multi-part lesson plan includes a word association game, a discussion of Ping's poem, and a group poem in which students answer the question, "What sort of things have been carried across land, sea, or even across time?" collaboratively. After this, they write their own individual poems, using a series of questions to jump start their creativity, and then craft art pieces using popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners and/or puff paint to trace paths across the surface of their chosen canvas (Kanning used cake board!). This lesson can be shortened or spread out over class periods as part of a unit on immigration and migration.

Rare Bird Erasure:

"Erasure poems use words from another source to create a new poem," Saraiya Kanning writes in this lesson plan, which uses the field guide Rare and Elusive Birds of North America as a source text from which young writers create their own pieces (although you're welcome to use any book you'd like!). Each student receives a photocopied page from the book and goes on a "treasure hunt," selecting 5-10 words that in some way connect to one another. After creating their erasure poem, students can decorate the page with art materials to "create images, patterns, or designs around the words." This lesson plan includes a note on modifications for student with visual impairments.

Titles: Art on their Own:

So often in creative writing, the titling process is overlooked but important: as Sophie Daws says, "Writing a title can feel like putting the cherry on top of your great poem or it can feel like walking on eggshells, where the wrong title could ruin the whole poem and you just can’t come up with the right one!" This lesson plan, drawn from her high school zine residency, uses six prompts to offer a guided approach to coming up with a title for a finished project, from one that asks students to write down their favorite line to another that encourages them to think of how a title can add another tone or angle to their work.

Found Art Handmade Books:

Taylor Johnson bridges creative writing and visual art in this lesson plan, which focuses on crafting handmade books from recycled materials. Johnson suggests using everything from old postcards to yarn to insect wings to create a publication that's truly one of a kind. As far as words go, students can either add something they've previously written to their books whole cloth or cut up bits of their old writing and "remix" it. After the books are done, Johnson suggests creating a classroom library or exhibit for students to browse one another's books.

Image from the Boston Public Library.

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12 Lesson Plans for Teaching Writing to Secondary Students

Blog category: Education Date: 21 September 2017

It can be tough to think of ways to keep things interesting when teaching writing to high school students. Fortunately, there are so many great lesson plans out there to give you a starting point. We’ve compiled a list of 12 great lesson plans for teaching different writing techniques and styles to high school students.

1.  News stories

It’s important for students to learn that different types of writing require different styles. For example, the structure and tone of a newspaper article differs greatly from a creative narrative. This news story writing lesson is a great way to help students produce writing with more lexical variation, complex sentences and passive structures.

2.  Calling all characters

Writing fictional narratives can be daunting to many students who feel uncomfortable sharing their ideas, so breaking down the creative writing process is a good way to help students get the ball rolling. This lesson plan requires students to brainstorm character traits, behaviours and actions, then write scenes about that character. Although this lesson plan was designed for primary students, it can be adapted for secondary-level creative writing by removing the simpler games.

3.  Drafting your essay

Essay writing is a major part of high school so it’s important to find different ways of engaging students to reinforce their learning of this type of text. This activity has students deconstruct other essays to learn about essay structure, which will help them when they go to write their own essays. Again, because this is a lesson plan for primary school students, it should be adapted to suit the grade of high school you’re teaching, for example, substitute the picture book for a secondary school novel.

4.  Object creative writing

Rather than starting with characters, another way to prompt students to write stories is the object creative writing lesson plan. By giving students an object to describe, they learn to think creatively in response to a stimulus and develop their descriptive writing skills. Thinking on their feet will help them develop the skills to formulate their own creative ideas in the future.

5.  Letter of complaint

Letters are a common text type that your students will be familiar with. The purpose of this lesson plan is to encourage students to use phrases that express attitude and emotion, which are found in letters of complaint.

6.  Advertising

Advertising uses persuasive language, so practicing this type of writing can help students in forming arguments in essays and debates. Learning how to sell something can also help develop confidence in students.

7.  Peer editing

This lesson plan involves students editing the writing of their peers. Marking the work of others can help a student develop an understanding of their own writing skills by analysing what they would do differently. Responding to feedback from peers also encourages students to develop a positive attitude towards criticism and learning.

8.  Self-reflection

Writing about writing is one of the best ways to help students reduce the number of errors in their work. This lesson plan requires students to read over their work and identify one error that occurs frequently, then rewrite the piece without the error. This activity helps students learn how to correct their work and address habits so that they occur less frequently in the future.

9.  Writing for a real purpose

Writing for a hypothetical purpose can leave students feeling unmotivated to produce their best work. For this lesson plan, students respond to real life scenarios that they’re personally interested in. This way, students adopt an authentic voice, based on real life experience, making their work more engaging.

10.  The 100-word challenge

Being able to write clearly and succinctly is an important writing skill for students in high school and beyond. This lesson idea teaches students how to get to the point in a small number of words, by asking student to respond to a prompt in 100 words or less.

11.  Start a pseudonym project

If you have a students who are particularly shy about sharing their writing with others, you can introduce an anonymous system. Allow students to choose a pseudonym they will use for handing in work. The idea is that students will feel less conscious about being personal or passionate in their work, and therefore produce higher quality work.

12.  Copy cat

Some types of writing, like poetry and creative writing, are harder for students than structured essays and short responses. To help students adopt more creative tones in their writing, this lesson asks students to bring in a piece of writing (poetry or novel) and write their own original piece using the same style and tone.

Get creative

Learning to write different text types, from essays and letters, to creative stories and poetry, can be challenging for students. To help them along the way, it’s important to introduce lesson plans that encourage imagination and help develop lifelong skills that will improve their writing.

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Extracurriculars.

Creative Writing Opportunities for High School Students

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If you’re a high school student interested in creative writing, you may or may not have a number of broad extracurricular options to pursue during the school year, depending on your school. You might be a part of your school’s literary magazine, or participate in creative writing workshops. Maybe you are lucky enough to attend a school with dedicated creative writing classes or poetry electives.

But what if your school doesn’t seem to offer much for students who want to pursue creative writing? Or what if you don’t even know where to begin looking? How can you keep your momentum headed towards your goal or otherwise use your time productively if you passionate about creative writing?

There are many activities available to high school students who enjoy creative writing. Some might be available through your school, but many are out there waiting for you to pursue them independently.

In this post, we’ll outline how you can take the initiative to pursue multiple creative writing opportunities both in and out of school. Keep reading to learn more about what opportunities are out there for high school-aged creative writers.

Why Pursue Creative Writing?

There are many reasons to pursue extracurriculars in general. They can serve to strengthen your academic profile, they allow you to pursue interests not otherwise available through traditional classwork, and they can provide valuable, real-world experience.

Creative writing is an extracurricular that is closely tied with your academic coursework in English and Language Arts and in fact is probably a partial requirement of at least some of your English classes. Pursuing it further exemplifies your commitment to the craft and gives you some insight into writing as a possible career path.

It might be easy to think of creative writing as nothing more than a hobby, but in reality many careers exist in which strong writing skills are coveted. By pursuing creative writing, you become well equipped for a career as not only an author or poet, but also in many other fields. We’ll discuss these more in depth at the end of this post.

Opportunities to Pursue Creative Writing

Literary magazine:.

This is the most obvious and most common way to study and produce creative writing in a formal setting at school. Many schools already have a literary magazine established and likely have regular meetings and a faculty adviser equipped to lend insight and advice.

You can usually join your school’s literary magazine at the beginning of a new school year, though you may also be able to join mid-year in some circumstances. Contact the editor or faculty advisor if you want to become involved. Over time you may even be able to take on a leadership role yourself. To learn more about the importance of this, check out CollegeVine’s Your Resume, Revamped: Securing Leadership Positions and Perfecting Your Extracurricular Profile . 

Another way to be involved with the literary magazine, even if you aren’t a part of its team, is to become a regular contributor. This isn’t always easy; some schools have highly competitive literary magazines or only produce one printed edition per year. If this is the case at your school, don’t get discouraged. Submit your best work, learn from feedback, and keep trying.

If your school does not have a literary magazine, you might consider starting one. Begin by talking to other students who have expressed interest in creative writing. Once you have a strong group of interested students, approach a member of your school’s faculty who would make a good adviser.

Your faculty adviser should be someone who has worked closely with you in the past and has some level of expertise in creative writing. Be clear what sort of commitment you are asking for from this person. You may need him or her to be present at every meeting, or you might simply need his or her signature and sporadic stamp of approval. Also remember that you will have some associated costs so having a faculty adviser who can help with fundraising could be important.

Literary magazines provide students interested in creative writing with some general insights into a formal writing publication, a glimpse at the process for submitting work and receiving feedback, and the opportunity to have their writing published for all to see.

Creative Writing Club:

If your school does not have a literary magazine or you are interested in pursuing creative writing in a less formal setting, a creative writing club might be a good bet for you.

These clubs generally operate as regular writing workshops during which students respond to prompts or practice free-writing, and then share their work and offer feedback to others. It is often similar to the submissions approval process at a literary magazine without the stress of possible rejection.

In addition, a creative writing club does not generally produce a publication, though some might print a collection of work at the end of the school year. Again, this differs from the traditional literary magazine because work is selected by the author rather than submitted for acceptance or rejection.

If your school does not have a creative writing club, it is easy to start one. Because there is no associated publication as in the case of a literary magazine, the process is generally less formal. You could meet before or after school and sometimes you don’t even need a faculty adviser; you just need a teacher who’s willing to share classroom space outside of school hours.

Alternatively, you could form a writing club that is completely independent of your school by meeting at the library or a friend’s house. Simply gather creative writing exercises from books or online searches and then gather on a regular basis to respond to them, share work, and offer constructive criticism.

A creative writing club can also be an important accountability tool for students who are working on independent creative writing projects. If you’re writing a longer piece or even a novel, or working on a collection of poetry, meeting regularly with like-minded writers can help to keep you on track and provide outside feedback that might otherwise be unavailable.

Creative Writing Tutor:

If creative writing is your passion and you want to share it with others, you might consider becoming a creative writing tutor for younger students.

Contact a local elementary school and ask if you might be able to volunteer. If so, arrive prepared to lead a small writer’s workshop. Bring any handouts you might need and practice your oral presentation ahead of time. If you need some inspiration for activities, check out the Creative Writing for Children page at PBS parents or the Story Starters page at Scholastic . These kid-friendly writing prompts are sure to inspire even the youngest authors.

If you can’t find a volunteer position at an elementary school, you could try reaching out to other local organizations. Girl or boy scout troops, community centers, or the local library are all possibilities.

Leading a creative writing group for younger students is a great way to hone your own thinking about creative writing, to practice your teaching and leadership skills, and to give back to your community.

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Writing Contests:

If you’re looking for more direction for your writing, and the idea of fame and fortune intrigues you, you should consider entering some writing contests. There are many to choose from, and most offer either cash prizes or scholarship money. Some are also quite prestigious.

For a list of some of the most respected writing contests open to high schoolers, check out The CollegeVine Ultimate Guide to High School Writing Contests .

Summer Programs:

As is now the case for most extracurriculars, there are many strong summer programs to choose from if you’d like to pursue creative writing during your school break. These programs can be competitive to get into and you will usually be required to submit a writing portfolio as a part of your application.

Programs such as these also strengthen your college application and reinforce your commitment to writing. A few of the strongest are:

• Interlochen
• Kenyon Review Young Writer’s Workshop
• California State Summer School for the Arts (Primarily for California residents, but a small number of non-residents are accepted each year.)

Many of these programs have scholarships available, so if finances are a concern, be sure to research a few options before ruling anything out.

In addition, many colleges offer summer programs in creative writing as well. These are usually similar in format to any of the aforementioned summer programs, with the added bonus of allowing you to build connections at colleges or universities that you might wish to attend. 

See if any schools on your list of potential colleges or universities offer summer programs and look into attending those. Otherwise, consider one of the following, which are known for their high quality instruction:

• Duke Young Writer’s Camp
• Carleton College Summer Writing Program
• Stanford Summer Institutes
• Lewis and Clark Fir Acres Workshop
• University of Iowa Young Writer’s Studio

Start a Blog

If you find that you are writing often but have nowhere to showcase your work or have trouble holding yourself accountable for producing work on a regular basis, starting your own blog might be a good fit. A blog is a great way to share your writing on a public platform, it can act as an informal portfolio of your work, and it helps to hold you accountable to a larger audience.

Many blogs are easily set up and hosted for free on websites such as WordPress , Blogger , LiveJournal , or Weebly . Share a link to your blog on your social media accounts or send out a group email to let friends and family know about it. As is the case any time you add to your online presence, be sure to discuss your plans with a parent or guardian ahead of time. 

Get Published Elsewhere

A blog isn’t the only platform for publishing your work. Many magazines and periodicals accept submissions from high school students. A long list of publications reviewing high school submissions can be found in the NewPages Young Authors’ Guide . 

You can also check with local publications like newspapers, smaller regional magazines, or even blogs you follow that might accept a guest post.

There are a myriad of ways to get your work to a bigger audience, and if that’s something you’re interested in doing, don’t be shy about asking or even sending unsolicited submissions. All it takes is one person to take a chance on you before you can call yourself a published author.

Career Aspirations for the Creative Writer

It’s easy to think of creative writing as the entry point to becoming a novelist or poet. You might even think that these are your only long-term career options should you choose to pursue creative writing seriously.

This is definitely not the case. Many, many career paths incorporate writing, and while you may not be writing fictional works the entire time, that does not mean that you won’t be incorporating your background in creative writing. All strong writing benefits from creativity.

Writers are especially valued in the fields of:

• Advertising
• American Literature
• Digital Media
• Educational and Instructional Technology
• Media Studies
• Public Relations
• Radio and Television
• Sports Communications
• Technical and Business Writing
• Webpage and Multimedia Design    

Remember, pursuing creative writing doesn’t necessarily mean you have to write a novel or publish a collection of poetry. Writers have valuable skills that can be applied broadly depending on their others skills and interests.

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10 Best Creative Writing Programs for High School Students

Creative writing has a wide range of applications and benefits. It not only helps you structure and write in different ways but also makes you a better reader and communicator!

In this post, we have compiled a list of great creative writing programs for high school students. We’ve also thrown in some journalism programs for good measure!

10 Great Creative Writing Programs

1. iowa young writers’ studio – residential program.

Location: Online and in-person versions available

Fee/stipend: $575 for the online version, $2,500 for the in-person version

Financial assistance: Several full tuition and partial tuition grants are available.

Application deadline: February 5, 2023

Program dates: Session 1 from June 11, 2023, to June 24, 2023, Session 2 from July 9, 2023, to July 22, 2023

Eligibility: 10th, 11th and 12th graders are eligible to apply

The Iowa Young Writers’ Studio is one of the most prestigious writing programs in the country, with an estimated acceptance rate between 15-20%. You get to choose one course from poetry, fiction, creative writing, playwriting, or TV writing. The course structure contains a mix of seminars and workshops. The mentors are graduates of the University of Iowa, which holds the most prestigious creative writing program in the country (strange but true)! This is a great program if you’re looking for an immersive experience in a single style of writing.

2. Princeton’s Summer Journalism Program

Location: Online and in-person versions available throughout the year culminating in a 10-day residential program at the end of July

Fee/stipend: Free

Financial assistance: NA

Application deadline: February 27, 2023

Program dates: Year-long

Eligibility: Students must be in the 11th grade, have a minimum GPA of 3.5, and must qualify for one of these socioeconomic conditions .

You will get a taste of life as a journalist in this year-long course. You will participate in a range of activities, including attending online workshops and lectures with renowned journalists from all over the country.

Apart from the usual workshops and lectures, you will have access to a number of exciting opportunities such as visiting newsrooms, making a documentary, and working on the Princeton Summer Journal which is published at the end of the program. Fair warning - this is a highly selective program including a three-round application process and a final cohort of up to 40 students .

3. NYU Tisch’s Future Dramatic Writers Workshop

Location: Commuter program at NYU's New York City campus

Application deadline: Closed for 2023

Program dates: February 4, 2023 - May 13, 2023

Program Selectivity: Highly selective

Eligibility: Open to 9th, 10th and 11th graders

If accepted to this program, you get the opportunity to study and practice writing for theatre, film, and television. The program takes place every Saturday for 14 weeks , where you will be spending 8 hours in lectures and workshops. It culminates in a yearly showcase where students can present what they’ve worked on. It is an intensive course equivalent to Tisch’s undergraduate curriculum . This has an in-person component, so it may be easiest if you are in New York City.

4. Telluride Association Summer Seminars

Location: Cornell University, University of Maryland, and University of Michigan

Program dates: June 25, 2023 – August 5, 2023

Eligibility: 10th and 11th graders

Primarily rooted in humanities and social studies, TASS looks at systems of power and oppression. While its main agenda is to exercise students’ critical thinking skills , reading and writing essays is a crucial part of the curriculum. You will find the opportunity to hone your writing skills in fields such as history, politics, culture, and more . This is a highly selective program with an estimated acceptance rate of 3-5% . While this may not fit the bill for traditional ‘creative writing’, the way in which it weaves a connection between critical thinking and impeccable writing is likely to enhance your creative writing projects.

5. Yale Young Writers’ Workshop

Location: Online

Fee/stipend: $900

Application deadline: April 3, 2023

Program dates: July 9, 2023 – July 14, 2023

Eligibility: Open to 10th, 11th and 12th graders

Yale Young Writers’ Workshop will give you an in-depth look at one of the following genres — fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or graphic storytelling. With only 12 students per workshop, the highly selective, one-week program ensures each person gets an immersive experience in developing the craft of writing, experimenting with their work, and finding their own voice .

6. Asian American Journalists Association’s JCAMP

Location: On campus at American University, Washington D.C.

Application deadline: March 17, 2023

Program dates: July 15, 2023 – July 21, 2023

Known for its multicultural diversity and unique hands-on training, this renowned program aims to prepare you for a career in journalism. Not only will you get workshops with veteran industry leaders and go on field trips, but you’ll also have the chance to produce news packages for the program’s news site ! You will also have some published work to your credit. This is a highly selective program with about 30 students chosen from hundreds of applicants.

7. Kenyon Review Young Writer’s Summer Residential Workshop

Location: On campus at Kenyon College

Fee/stipend: $2,575

Financial assistance: Need-based financial aid is available.

Application deadline: March 1, 2023

Program dates: Session 1 from June 25, 2023, to July 8, 2023, Session 2 from July 16, 2023, to July 29, 2023

Eligibility: Open to 16–18-year-old students

This program offers a combination of individual conferences with your instructor and peer-led group discussion and exercises. The coursework is ungraded and focuses on students recognizing and working on their writing skills. You will also have the opportunity to sign up for a genre session where one genre or element of writing will be explored in-depth . This is highly selective with 12-14 students per workshop.

8. Bard College at Simon’s Rock Young Writers Workshop

Location: On campus

Fee/stipend: $3,500

Financial assistance: Moderate

Application deadline: None. Applicants are reviewed until the program is full, usually in mid-April or May

Program dates: July 9, 2023 – July 29, 2023

Eligibility: Open to students from grades 9-11

Instead of focusing only on the writing style, this three-week workshop focuses on enhancing language and thinking skills that are key for effective writing. The program consists of three 90-minute sessions every day with each having a different area of research. You will engage in writing activities and reading discussions within small groups of 12, so every student gets individual attention. Writings are shared by the workshop leaders as well as peers. While building a portfolio, you will be encouraged to focus on the process and finding your voice rather than the end product. This program is a good fit if you’re looking for informal coursework with a heavy emphasis on critical thinking.

9. Sarah Lawrence Writer’s Week – A Creative Writing and Performance Art Workshop

Location: Commuter program

Fee/stipend: $1,125

Financial assistance: Limited scholarships available to Yonkers Public School students

Application deadline: Registrations open in February.

Program dates: Virtual program from July 10, 2023 – July 14, 2023, On campus program from August 7, 2023 – August 11, 2023

Eligibility: Students must be 14 years of age or older

Writing (workshops and collaborative discussions) and theatre (workshops on improvisation, solo performance, character comedy, and the like) come together in this program with students learning components of each as well as their relation to each other. While this is a highly selective program, once in, you’ll find yourself in an interactive and supportive environment in a class of 18 students.

10. The Adroit Journal’s Summer Mentorship Program

Fee/stipend: $450

Financial assistance: Available

Application deadline: March 12, 2023

Program dates: June 19, 2023 – July 31, 2023

Eligibility: Open to students from the 9th to 12th grades

Hosted by a literary and art non-profit organization, this program pairs budding writers with established ones , making this a highly individualized program. While peer activities are also offered, you will get personalized support and guidance from your mentor. You can choose from poetry, fiction and non-fiction/memoir writing. However, the program’s acceptance rate has been approximately 8-9% in the past so keep in mind that it is highly selective.

If you’re interested in going beyond creative writing and want to explore research in fields you’re interested in (e.g., research in literature!) , consider applying to the Lumiere Research Scholar Program , a selective online high school program for students that I founded with researchers at Harvard and Oxford. Last year, we had over 2100 students apply for 500 spots in the program! You can find the application form here.

Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a PhD student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.

When it comes to writing essays, it can be difficult to know where to start write an essay for you https://essayshark.com . That's why I turned to a website that offered essay writing services. Their team of writers provided me with essays that were well-structured and easy to follow, making it easier for me to achieve my academic goals.

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Six Writing Mini-Lessons for Secondary Students

Writing mini-lessons? Today, I’m reflecting on the larger writing process that I teach with freshmen and sophomores. I’ve realized that within my writing units, I primarily teach six writing mini-lessons.

I teach writing throughout the entire semester with various projects after reading or an important discussion. Sure, we complete formal, researched papers. I do front-load information and provide expectations ahead of assignments. Still, as I encourage my writers, I’ve realized that I use min-writing lessons at different times throughout the semester.

I don’t present these lessons in a particular order, but by the end of the semester, we’ve worked through these smaller lessons. With high school writing lesson plans, flexibility is key.

My writing bundle contains various mini-writing lessons. Below, I’ve detailed my ideas so that you can make them your own. Writing mini-lessons (for high school students) can work in most writing curriculums, with writing workshop, and alongside mentor texts.

Not only do the writing mini-lessons boost student understanding allow me to differentiate, but they also ease my grading. Classes experience targeted practice and therefore, polished products. My grading is easier especially when we move to larger papers.

Overall, these writing mini-lessons benefit everyone.

How do you structure a successful writing mini lesson?

A successful writing mini-lesson should follow a clear structure: start with a hook to engage students, introduce the writing concept or skill, provide examples and explanations, allow for guided practice and independent writing time, and end with a wrap-up and reflection on what was learned.

Here are six.

Writing Process Mini-lessons

Cover expectations, definitions , and the writing process with a presentation and digital note sheets. Show characteristics of effective writing.

Boring? Nope: when I cover basics, I emphasize with students that I want us all to know expectations. Students arrive in my classroom with different experiences and domain-specific vocabulary. Instead of assuming that classes know my expectations, I clarify ideas with a quick presentation that outlines the basis of the writing curriculum.

After reviewing the writing process, implement paragraph writing to familiarize your classes with your expectations and manner of feedback. Plus, short assignments are a great way to implement the writing process quickly.

“One” Focus

Writing can overwhelm students, and one of my mini writing lessons is a focus on “one” idea students can accomplish. Since I provide feedback ahead of the final draft, I take into consideration the “overwhelm” that some writers can face. Since writing is a personal endeavor, students can easily become defensive about corrections. I feel that one of my jobs is to support the writer while showing the writer ways to improve the message.

With the “one” focus, everyone can easily tackle one area for improvement, see success, get excited, and move to working on more areas. As I work with a anyone, I give one piece of feedback and ask the student to return. You can read more ideas about feedback , but basically, I ask students to look at one area for improvement. For instance:

• Sentence variety.
• Transition words.
• Topic sentences.
• Integration of sources.
• Word choice.

And on! If I feel that a students is particularly overwhelmed, I will focus that student on one sentence. I keep the power of one in mind, and when students sense accomplishment, they almost always begin working on other areas. My conference cards align with the goal of one, and allow for private feedback.

Verb Focus, Grammar

Another writing mini-lesson focuses on verbs. With rough drafts, classes typically fill their papers with linking verbs and basic verbs (have, does). A rough draft shouldn’t be perfect, so I always emphasize that these verbs are perfect for the rough draft. After students work through their papers a few times, focus on verbs.

Teach young writers to leverage the power of verbs. Verbs drive a sentence, and verbs can provide an image that adjectives and adverbs can’t. Start by showing students linking verbs . (Sometimes, they don’t realize all of the linking verbs.) Then, we look at predicate adjectives and decide if there is a verb form. Finally, we dive deep into the sentence and find the meaning. Together, we find a verb that portrays the message of the sentence.

Students might not be aware that linking verbs actually lead to simple sentences such as subject, linking verb, predicate adjective. Lightbulbs normally go off when they realize that the predicate adjective often has a verb form (vocabulary lesson!) that can easily improve the sentence.

Another approach for improving verbs is simpler: ask classes to highlight every verb in the paper. Force them to resist plugging the verbs into the thesaurus and replacing the verb. Encourage everyone to brainstorm and work; they can recall verbs that will fit appropriately into their papers. When we work on verbs this way, I typically create a large web and encourage students to add to it.

After we improve verbs, we move to sentence structure.

Sentence Structure Focus

Connecting grammar and writing may take different forms, but sentence structure absolutely connects the two ideas. Sentence structure and all that it encompasses (punctuation, clauses, conjunctions) can overwhelm students. When I begin these writing mini-lessons, I have provided direct instruction over simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences.

When we directly connect this grammar concept to writing, I review different sentence types and then ask writers to look at one paragraph of their paper. I’ve found that looking at the entire paper overwhelms them. When we look at one paragraph, students find success, and then they are able to transfer the idea to the rest of their paper.

Often, simple and compound sentences fill the paragraph. Would the addition of a conjunctive adverb or subordinating conjunction show more meaning, and in the process, provide a natural transition? Sometimes, combining sentences can add emphasis to a simple but little-known fact. Other times, using certain types of sentences can convey a larger meaning.

A simple exercise to illustrate the power of connecting grammar to writing is to ask students to provide you with a simple sentence. Model the different approaches students can take with such a sentence. For example: Plastics are harmful to the ocean.

That is a simple sentence, and it is a complete sentence! As a simple sentence, could you change it? The linking verb “are” could become “harm.” Plastics harm the ocean. Then, model how to turn the sentence into other types of sentences:

Compound: Plastics harm the ocean, and the public must become aware of the sad situation.

Complex: Although the situation is dire, humans must combat the harm of plastics in the ocean. 

Compound-complex: Plastics harm the ocean; however, when the public reuses containers and bags, people produce less plastic waste.

Playing with types of sentences is a powerful grammar and writing lesson. There is no correct answer, but many correct answers. Showing students sentence structures and their possibilities empowers young writers.

Overused Words Focus

Things, stuff, a lot, many: vague words can ruin a paper.

Again, I start by recognizing that overused words are common in a rough draft, but these words rarely poitively add to a paper. I complete a vocabulary lesson to support students and provide examples. Often, classes possess words that will improve their papers, but they need help drawing out those words.

The vocabulary lesson can be anything, really. . . but most often, I use a list of words associated with their papers. For instance, if students are writing about teenagers and sleep, we might look into words that they already know and branch from there. Students can brainstorm: naps, bedtime, exhaustion, focus, deprivation, chronic, difficulty, tiredness, fatigue, and moods.

That’s ten words, and everyone can use those words in a variety of forms. So, empower students by tapping into their prior knowledge. Then, show students how to branch those words into other ideas. Is a lack of sleep harmful? Do teenagers resist bedtime? Can sleepiness contribute to chronic conditions?

Create an anchor chart with classes based on the assignment. Another option is to brainstorm words that will help students cite information and incorporate it seamlessly into their papers. “The author said. . . ” Start a list with students, and show what they already know. What did the author do? Illustrated, demonstrated, proved, expounded, outlined, showcased, clarified: Teenagers know those words, and they can choose which verb best fits into their paper.

With a bit of help and brainstorming, you can eliminate overused words from student papers. Working on overused words and building vocabulary through modeling proper thesaurus use and activating prior knowledge are great mini-writing lessons.

Organization Focus

Focus in a paper begins before students write their first draft . Students might have dozens of ideas about a topic! They get excited and want to put all of those ideas in a paper, or they might not realize that numerous ideas won’t work in a paper.

Pre-Writing

Help writers focus by working with them before they write. Narrowing a focus before writing alleviates many focus problems before they even exist.

Students and I use a graphic organizer for mapping out their ideas. Allow individuals to choose the graphic organizer that makes sense to them. With graphic organizers, I provide images to utilize the benefits of metaphors from brain-based learning. To emphasize the meaning, I carry those metaphors into conferencing sessions. (Student conferences are also mini-writing lessons.)

For instance, if students look at their creation process as a road, I will tell them that I need more directions, that I need a yield sign or green light. Sometimes when I ask students to add transitions, they simply stick standard transitions into sentences. Instead, I want them to give me alerts ahead of the half-mile turn; I want to know in advance where their point is turning.

Drafting & Organizing

Other students might need a more abstract graphic organizer that prompts them to consider the color of their message or the graduation song for their conclusion. (I really will do anything to help students analyze their papers!) These silly techniques get students talking and brainstorming, and when we are finalizing papers, I am sure to return to the graphic organizer that shaped their organization at the beginning of the process. Using a metaphor, goofy and different ways, a bigger picture that students already understand, provides a starting point with students for focus.

As you conference and work with students, you will develop your own method of talking about papers. I am comfortable with using a road or a song as a talking point, but I’m confident you’ll develop an idea that works for you and your students.

Referencing the graphic organizer that meant something to them at the start of the writing process helps with organization throughout the paper. Plus, students can think of every idea for that paper at the start of the process. They can look back and realize why they eliminated certain points when they ultimately narrowed their focus.

High school English mini-lessons often support writing, and such activities are easy to connect to other lessons. My writing bundle contains various lessons with ample tools to support student writers. That bundle carries over the messages that I wrote in this post concerning mini-lessons.

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Are you interested in more mini writing lessons? My Pinterest board for writing contains ideas for m ini lessons for writing from around the web.

writing activities writing lessons