"Take My Word For It!" - creative writing for kids

Summer Camp 2011 - Daily Diary: "The Word Party!"

On Thursday at "The Word Party!" we started out with a free write based on this prompt:

List 6 uses for tissue paper. Then write a story based on one of your ideas.

Here's what Naomi came up with:

"One day a boy was walking down a busy street. Then all of the sudden a bull started charging him. Then he remembered  he had some red tissue paper in his pocket. Then he hung the tissue paper on a pole and the bull charged it and got his horns stuck long enough to let the boy run away."

For the rest of the day we worked on writing within certain restrictions -- according to very specific rhyme structures, rhythm, etc. First I challenged the kids to write a lipogram -- which is a piece of writing in which a specific letter is left out. It was pretty tricky to write a paragraph without using an "a"!

Then we tackled 6-word memoirs and wishes. I asked the students to each capture a wish or a memory by using just six words. Two fun examples:

Ella: "I cut my hair and screamed."

Naomi: "I wish to go to Greece."

Next up was Haiku, a form of poetry that follows a pattern of 5 syllables in the first line, 7 syllables in the second line, and 5 syllables in the last line. Many of us had to rework our original thoughts to fit this specific scheme. Here's a haiku from Kian: 

"A bear climbed a tree

And he fell all the way down

Fell in the water."

Finally, we had some fun writing limericks, which have a tricky pattern and rhyme scheme. Noreen agreed to share her limerick on the blog today:

"There once was a little ducky

Who wasn't very lucky.

He tried to find a 4-leaf clover

He jumped over a dog named Rover

And he fell into mud that was mucky."

Here are more photos from yesterday's Found Poetry project!

Kian

Noreen

Ella

Max

Summer Camp 2011 - Daily Diary: "The Word Party!"

Today we had a lot of fun creating Found Poetry. Found Poems take existing words and phrases and refashion them, reorder them, and present them as poems. Found Poetry is like making a collage with words.

To collect the words we'd use for our poems, we went on a Word Expedition. First, I asked the students to collect words that were already lurking inside our classroom, using the following guidelines:

- 10 words from those written on the bulletin boards, signs, white boards, etc.
- 10 words chosen from three specific pages in the Algebra books
- One "Y", one "Q", and 3 "B" words from the dictionary

After the students had found the words they liked from these sources and written them in their journals, we pored through magazines and cut out words that jumped out at us. I reminded the kids to look for nouns, adjectives and verbs so they could build a strong poem.

After taking a break for snack, we continued our expedition outside. We discovered words on street signs, cars, and bulletins posted at the rec center.

When we went back inside, the challenge really began. Using the words we found from all the different sources, we created poems on construction paper. It was fun to move words around and see what kind of combinations we could come up with. You can see some of the results below!

Sara

Naomi

Alan

Helena

Calla

Kaitlin

Alexandra

Summer Camp 2011 - Daily Diary: "The Word Party!"

Today at The Word Party we talked about where and how writers get their ideas. I read the students part of an interview with JK Rowling (of Harry Potter fame) who admitted that her idea for HP just popped into her head!

To get the ideas flowing, I passed out postcards/greeting cards to the students. These cards showed paintings, photos, and illustrations of different subject matter -- animals, people, dragons, mermaids, abstracts, etc. I asked the kids to choose one image and write a story about it. Sara was inspired by a painting of a crowd of people wearing party attire. Here's an excerpt from her story:

"I was getting off the plane because I was going to a party in Paris . . . when the limo came to get us it had a jacuzzi and a TV in it -- of course no one told me to wear a bathing suit so I am kind of mad. We only got to stick our feet in it. I have a blister from the shoes I wore because they have high heels, but the hot tub felt good on my blister . . . "

Next, we experimented with personification (giving human traits and attributes to things that are not human). I put a mirror, a lipstick, tweezers, a cell phone, and a marker on a chair, and asked the kids to choose one of these objects. Their assignment was to write "A Day in the Life" of the object, using personification.

Here's Naomi's take on "A Day in the Life of a Lipstick":
"OMG! This kid picked me up with her grubby hands and used me! Then she cut off my tip with scissors! Do you know how much time it takes to sharpen my tip? 10 minutes exactly!"

And Max wrote "A Day in the Life of a Cell Phone":
"Hi, I'm a cell phone and I constantly hear the blah blah blah bleep bloop of blabbermouths. And the most disgusting gossip, not to mention the vile wretched meaningless Facebook and Twitter. And don't even get me started with texting!"

Here are some of the students at work:

Sara

Alexandra and Kaitlin

Calla

Alan

Ella

Noreen

Why Not Write Wednesdays? Creative Writing Prompt

Some Wednesdays we challenge you to pick up your pen and indulge your budding author self with our writing activity. See where your imagination takes you, and feel free to share your ideas in the Comment section!

Here's one to try:

Find an interesting article in a newspaper or magazine. Who are the characters? What is the setting? What is the main story?

Now, take all of these elements and expand them into a new story! What happens next? Don't forget the major questions a journalist always asks: Who? What? Where? When? and Why?

Happy writing!

Dear Mom and Dad, I am More than Just a Test Score

Today we read a wonderful piece in the Huffington Post from Timothy D. Slekar, Division Head for Education, Human Development, and Family Studies at Penn State Altoona. In it he writes from the perspective of a student anticipating the new school year. Here are some of our favorite quotes:

I prefer to engage in real learning.

I prefer not to spend the first five months of school preparing for tests...

I prefer to have gym, art, and music classes.

I prefer not to sit and listen all day long...

I prefer to have assignments that are interesting, hands on, help me discover, make me ask questions, and allow me to be proud of my work.

I prefer not to dread going to school...

Is your child ready to go back to school? The bigger question is: Is your child excited to go back to school?

Mr. Slekar is right when he demonstrates just how much focus has been given to testing in education today. True learning comes in many forms, and best when kids are allowed to experiment and make mistakes. They should not be nervous about going back to school, but on the edge of their seats, ready to get their hands dirty and create things they can claim as their own. Not ashamed that they prefer to use their right brain, but lauded for their creative thinking!

We encourage you to check out Mr. Slekar's piece here and let us know your thoughts in the comment section below! What is your child's experience in school? Is he or she excited or dreading the new academic year? 

Summer Camp 2011 - Daily Diary: "The Word Party!"

Today we started The Word Party in Piedmont! We learned all about each other by answering some fun questions, then we collaged the first pages in our journals with words and images cut from magazines. I asked the students to write an "I Remember" poem, which is a way of describing their memories so they come alive for the reader. It's a great way to learn more details about the author's life. Here are a few snippets from some of the students' "I Remember" poems:

Calla:

"I remember my chorus performances . . . I remember my first day of kindergarten . . .I remember moving, and I felt sad we were leaving San Francisco. . ."


Kian:

"I remember my house in Kensington -- it was a big yellow house surrounded by gates because I was only 2 . . . I remember when I first met Alan in kindergarden . . ."

Helena:

"I remember one day I took a fish out of the water and it died . . . I remember Uncle Tony who lives in Canada . . . I remember taking ice skating and karate lessons . . ."

Alexandra:

"I remember the fireplace burning on a cold night . . . I remember my mom's beautiful smile . . .I remember going down a steep slide . . . "

Where would you go with this? Creative writing prompt

Our creative writing challenge to you is to look at the image we post below and see where it may take you and your pen.

Let your imagination wander freely! Please feel free to share the stories, poems, and musings that were spurred on by this week's photo in the Comment section below!

Happy writing!

Summer Camp 2011 - Daily Diary: "Paper & Palette"

Today our campers worked on writing with limitations. They wrote concrete poems, 6 word memoirs, haikus and more!

In the afternoon we made sculptures using recycled materials, glue and hot glue guns- see some of the characters we made in the photos below! The students also had fun putting on a turkey and peacock wedding with stuffed animals and  recycled sculptures of an organ and wedding site that was all their idea including singing "here comes the bride."

Here are their pithy haikus and beautiful artwork! 

 

I like to help out

I want to help out robots

And help elephants.

-Adel

 

Trees are beautiful

Men turn them into paper

I wish they wouldn’t.

-Alice

 

Seeds fall from flowers

Sprinkling on to the soft ground

Waiting for water.

-Athene

 

Something smells awesome

And also looks very good

I love flowers. Yay!

-Ella

 

I like the rumbling

Ducatis motorcycles

Vroom! Away they go!

-Josephine

 

Sparrows chirp softly

Blackbirds sing in the treetops

Music in the air.

-Julia

 

The mango is sweet

Mangoes are my favorite fruit

I really like mango.

-Kai Kai

Notice every leaf

Every stroke in a painting

Notice the details

-Lili

Silky soft silkworm

Spin their fiber into scarves

they’re lovely and fine.

-Megan

All bright in the sky

They flow with the moon dancing

Now it has to go.

-Mirabel

Flow softly along

Falling off a waterfall

Into a big lake.

-Naomi

 

Summer Camp 2011 - Daily Diary: "Paper & Palette"

This morning at our "Paper & Palette" camp we did Found Poetry! Then, in the afternoon, each student wrote a message and put it into a little bottle and  we headed to Piedmont Park.  We went into the canyon to  draw in our sketchbooks while Megan and Lili hid the bottles for a scavenger hunt. Everyone had fun looking high and low for a message in a bottle. Back in the classroom we finished our "secret doors" watercolors and made masks. Our free time was spent weaving "God's Eyes" and finger-knitting with the wonderful yarn that Ella's mom donated. Thank you!

Here are some of our Found Poems, and some pics of the campers scavenging for words in the classroom and at the park!

 

You go out and

find it in the bush it’s your bottle

of bebe romance

care and

redeem

beautiful

vanilla

hair lady

gaga

hmm---but business

was better

in Mexico aaaa—

hehehe

-Alice

 

I saw them

mostly

in the

summer

eating

too much

real fruit

naturally

at the

café they, the

American Goldfinches

-Athene

 

We won a story star contest, so we get to see Lady Gaga and Rianna. We won it at the library. We get to relax on our vacation. It’s a dream come true. We feel royal. The music will sound cool. I will have a starburst and a salted caramel cupcake. We are at our hotel. Claudia insisted on a fresh change of underwear everyday. Claudia went into Joe’s room and touched his books. “I’m not gonna have nobody messin’ with my books!” he said.

-Ella

 

I say

how

do you

know that

Addie Bunden

is going to die?

Said victorious.

When I became

a rapper I wasn’t

looking for love

I was looking for

the good

of the

people. That’s rambunc-

tious. At least you’re

not like

red carpet Amanda

who told

about the cable knot.

They broke

the

rules

with

their

favorite

named

Stebens.

A

Holly

wood

Legend

Athens!

-Josephine

 

Berry Me

Raspberry,

strawberry

goodnight

moon

floral

frogs

out

in

the

golden

sun

send

secret

shoes

and

a

vest

to

everyone.

-Julia

 

The fabulous California

the best music

and events

tastiest blueberries

and dark

chocolate.

Discover new

online

movies

find the diamond in

Hollywood.

Hooray

for

California.

-Kai Kai

 

Life is good

travel it

discover it

dream it

love it

 

You can’t live

Forever

use

your time

to eat

learn

party

discover

and dream

-Lili

 

Unique Getaway

Discover colorful

Luxury Paris, Fiji,

Movie star Vegas

Caffeinated

New York

And

Hawaiian steak.

Shop

color

live.

-Megan

 

April's spring brings

merry and joy

the eyes of April

animals are like gems

glittering in the moonlight

a frog’s dream

is sunshine from a

volcano.

-Mirabel

 

Hi Robert the

Monster your

City Oakland is

prepared, on time,

responsible and

respectful.

-Naomi

 

Why Not Write Wednesdays? Creative Writing Prompt

Some Wednesdays we challenge you to pick up your pen and indulge your budding author self with our writing activity. See where your imagination takes you, and feel free to share your ideas in the Comment section!

Here's one to try:

Imagine you have just discovered something hidden or buried. Perhaps you were digging in the sand at the beach when you found an object that had been previously buried on purpose, or maybe it was lost! What do you find? What do you do with it?