Extension Activity of the Week - 5

This week: Creative writing

An esteemed colleague commented this week that writing was not considered a fun activity anymore. I couldn't help but wonder - is it because, so often, it isn't? I'm certainly guilty of doling out writing tasks that consist chiefly of formulaic exam answers and essays, with only the odd bit of creative writing thrown in here and there as a homework.

However, pupils of all abilities and ages enjoy the opportunity to write stories, as evidenced by the three page American West tale an often difficult pupil lovingly crafted for me one lesson.

Set pupils an extension task of writing a short story in which all the main characters are key words from the lesson. For example, in science, Mr Red Blood Cell might get in his car and drive down the Vena Cava for a meeting in the Atrium....evidently my creative writing skills are as strong as my knowledge of the circulatory system, but hopefully you get the idea.

The "stories" can be displayed in your classroom, or photocopied and distributed, or placed on the school webpage. You could offer a small, sugar-based prize for the most creative, or the best use of key words or connectives. And perhaps, the more "fun" writing they complete, the less onerous they will find writing in general.