Making a Creative Writing Unit "POP"!!!

[Justin Pedersen]

Hello Friends!!!

 

My name is Justin Pedersen.  I am a student studying English at Aurora University, and I plan to one day teach high school English.  I was asked to construct a unit/theme that correlates with the subject area I wish to teach.  For this unit I wanted to center it on creative writing.  I am writing to ask for some help in gathering ideas about teaching creative writing to a high school classroom.  I need to make this unit POP!  In order to do this, I need sufficient advice/suggestions to make a creative writing unit POP!  Any input on ideas that differentiate poetry, fiction/non-fiction writing, and any other areas of creative writing will be helpful.

 

I want to make my unit not only differentiated, but also want to incorporate media/technology outlets for students to utilize.  I have done some initial research on how to integrate media/technology literacy with a lesson on creative writing, but I am always looking for further suggestions.  Again, I hope to create a very unique and integrated lesson, so please feel free to drop me advice, links, and any other source of information to help me on my journey!

 

Thanks to all, and best wishes:

 

Justin R. Pedersen

[Justin Pedersen]

Everything once again is so helpful! I am so very grateful for everyone's input. I spent my spring break dissecting some good information and was very happy with some beginning results. Thanks again to everyone!!!

JP

[Jeanette Lans]

A creative writing activity I enjoy for the results it produces is to have students write in response to a film extract that is viewed with the sound off. The visual is a strong prompt and students tend to use figurative language to describe the sound they can't hear. A particularly effective film to use is 'Saving Private Ryan' which also generates good empathy writing from students.

[Shawn LaTorre]

Justin,
I always enjoy having students write "personae" pieces where they imagine being a character from a piece of literature and writing about their life. In science, they could become atoms, but in language arts, they could become someone from the book and reveal "inside information" that the author never knew or chose to share. Requires a fair amount of imagination and perhaps research (if you require more background). A funny radio talk show host is Phil Hendriks (not sure if I spelled that correctly), but he does a show where he is not only the host, but he creates one or two of the voices of the people who call in. He is a master of the craft of showing multiple perspectives and personalities on the spot! When folks call in who are NOT aware of his gimmick, the show gets really funny and crazy! Students LOVE to be set loose to imagine alternate perspectives and it is here where you will see humor creeping in from otherwise serious students...