Dynamic Teaching Ideas for High School Creative Writing

Dynamic creative writing activities should aim to make writing fun.

Teaching creative writing involves creativity on the part of the teacher. Assignments should aim to promote students' imagination. While writing assignments typically focus on a particular grammar point and require students to follow a particular structure, creative writing assignments should not impose strict guidelines or be narrow in scope, giving students the freedom they need to express their opinions, thoughts and perceptions in a fun and dynamic way.

Write a Letter as Your Future Self

One way to encourage students to think about their future goals and desires and strengthen their creative writing skills is to have them write a letter as their future self 10 years from now. Instruct students to discuss the activities that are important at this future stage in their life: What are their likes and dislikes? Where are they living? What are they doing? What is their life like? Ask them to seal the letter in an envelope and keep it. Suggest that they keep the letter in a safe place and open it 10 years from now and see if they can recognize themselves in the letter. Or for more immediate gratification, they can share their letters in class.

Write a Science Fiction Fantasy

This genre makes for great creative writing. There is no limit to how ridiculous or unreal the story can be. This genre allows students to tap into their imagination and use their creativity without boundaries. You may want to give students scenarios for science fiction fantasy writing. Ask students to imagine they were cryogenically frozen for 100 years. Ask them to write about what life would be like when they woke up, what technologies would exist, how people would look and behave, and what species would be extinct. Another possible scenario builds upon the natural disaster movies such as "The Day After Tomorrow." Ask students to imagine a worldwide natural disaster and describe what the reaction of people would be, whether they would be driven to extinction or find a way to survive.

Write an Editorial for a Local Newspaper

Most high school students are opinionated; however, they may struggle to express these opinions through writing. One activity to sharpen students' writing skills and allow them to explore their personal opinions on a topic is to write an editorial for the local newspaper. Encourage students to read several newspaper editorials to get a feel for the ways in which different writers express their opinions. Students can write persuasively about a local issue that concerns them. Once you have edited the assignments, perhaps some students will send their article to the local paper and hope for it to be published.

Rewrite Shakespeare

Many students struggle to interpret Shakespeare's plays. One method to get students to appreciate the works of the great playwright and sharpen their creative writing skills is to have them rewrite a section of a Shakespeare play. Many movies based on Shakespeare's plays have been remade in which directors have tweaked the set design, costumes and props to appeal to modern audiences. The language, however, usually remains the same. Instruct students to rewrite the words of the play so they match the modern scenery. For example, Juliet's balcony speech, "Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" can be changed to, "Romeo, Romeo, where are you Romeo?" This creative writing assignment not only helps to improve students' writing skills, but also helps them to understand and interpret Shakespeare's words and apply them to modern society.

References

• Education.com: Write an Editorial for the Local Newspaper