By Leila Tamini Lichaei, CASLS Fellow
Lesson objectives: Learners will be able to
- Identify the characteristics of creative writing and differentiate it from academic writing
- Engage with the language at a deeper level in order to express feelings and emotions
- Use language in a more personalized and creative way
Level: Intermediate High - Advanced Low
Modes: Interpersonal, Interpretive, Presentational
Materials: paper for writing, rubric
Pre-activity
Ask language learners if they know the difference between academic and creative writing and how they might be different/similar. Then write their comments on the board.
- What is the difference between academic and creative writing? And what are their characteristics?
- Do you know any examples of the two styles?
Then briefly explain the differences between creative and academic writing styles with the help of a visual like this, or you can use a short online article to explain about creative short story writing. Such as:
Activity
Explain to learners that they are going to write a short story. Tell them they have the choice to choose their own topics or pick one from the list you will provide. Students can also use the Iinternet for doing research if needed. However, the story should be written in their own words. Learners can work individually and in pairs or groups. Ask them to find a partner/s before starting.
Topics:
- Visiting a planet
- Meeting a celebrity
- Encountering an Alien
- Saving a life
- Helping Mr. or Ms. President
- Going on an adventurous journey
- Time travel
Give students a few minutes to discuss in their pairs or groups and choose a topic. After that explain to them that they can themselves be the heroes of their stories or they can create a new character. The students can use the following -wh- questions to help them create their short stories.
Questions:
- Who did you meet?
- Where did it happen?
- When was it? What year? A long time ago? Or recently?
- How did it happen?
- Was it a happy or sad story?
- What type of story is this? Exciting, drama, tragedy, adventure, inspirational, etc
Explain to learners that they aren't limited to these topics or questions. And that their stories can have some characteristics of short stories, such as:
- Key emotion or feeling
- A hook
- Clear description of the settings and characters
- A strong ending
Explain to learners that since it's creative writing, they don't have to limit themselves to these formats. After that, give learners some time to write their stories. Provide a blank sheet of paper for learners to write their stories on. Students can also illustrate their stories if they are good at drawing.
Follow-up
Then provides some tape and ask students to stick their stories to the walls all around the classroom. Then explain that you are going to have a gallery walk in which you will walk around the classroom, read the short stories, leave comments, and rate the stories from 1 to 5 (5 as the highest point). This activity will provide the peer review students will need. You can also create a story book in the end.
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