Things You'll Need:
- Red, yellow and green markers
- (or any three different colors)
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Step 1
Explain to students that they will be brainstorming their upcoming writing assignment. In order to generate lots of ideas, you’ll be taking them through a series of imagination-stimulation exercises specific to the assignment. Pass out magic markers so that each student has one red, one yellow and one green (or any three different colors).
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Step 2
Suggest to students that they start by simply jotting down 10 names of actual individuals who might serve as the basis for a piece of descriptive writing. Next to each name, instruct students to write a short descriptor. Present them with examples such as “My Dad—constantly surprises people” or “Jane—a friend who always knows what to say.” Ask students to leave three empty lines under each descriptor. Now ask them to answer (in fewer than 10 words each) three questions about each individual. Create questions that will spur students’ imaginations, such “What actions would this person take if left on a deserted island?” “What would this person do when given an hour of free time?” “What possessions are most important to this individual? After the students have come up with their list of 10 and answered the questions for each, ask them to underline in green the best possible idea of the batch, underline in yellow the second-best idea and underline in red the third-best idea (or whatever colors you chose).
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Step 3
Try the same sort of exercise as in Step 2, but this time focus on place. Ask students to list 10 places with descriptors. These could be as narrow as “my room” or as broad as “downtown Kansas City.” However, in this exercise, explain to students that they can use their imagination freely—even to the point of inserting fantasy into their description as they answer your three questions. Here are some possibilities: “What is the most astonishing thing about this place?” “What amazing change has happened in this place?” “Who feels least comfortable in this place and why?” Again, have students underline in green the best possible idea of the batch, underline in yellow the second-best idea, and underline in red the third-best idea.
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Step 4
Encourage students to select one of their red or yellow circled ideas and begin writing. However, after going through the entire exercise, students may feel that they can “salvage” another one of their encircled ideas, and that’s fine. The whole idea is for them to have stretched their imagination via the brainstorming.
