TITLE: BECOME A LOGOPHILE
AUTHOR: Sandy Montgomery; Broken Arrow Public Schools
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT: 4-8 Creative Writing
OVERVIEW:
Many students feel a sense of fear and experience failure when
asked to write creatively because they are not given the opportunity
to learn and practice the art of pre-writing process.
PURPOSE:
The purpose is to provide a variety of pre-writing activities which
will encourage students to manipulate, explore, discover and fall in
love with words.
OBJECTIVES:
The learner will demonstrate fluency of idea - finding by
participating in power writing activities.
The learner will practice elaboration skills by participating in
the word - pyramid activity.
The learner will demonstrate the flexibility of idea - selecting by
practicing the Writing Blitz.
The learner will create original writings using the ideas
generated in the pre-writing activity.
RESOURCES/MATERIALS:
Student Materials - pencil and paper.
Additional ideas for pre-writing activities may be found in 'THE
WRITING KABYN' by Leif Fearn.
ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES:
The following activities can be used as pre-writing activities to
`set the stage' for formal writing assignments.
Although students will enjoy the activities and ask to repeat
them these activities should only be a prelude to a finished product.
Power Writing: This activity takes six minutes and involves
the students in creative brainstorming. The words `duck' and `apple'
are written on the board. Students are asked to select one of the
words and at a given signal are instructed to write as much as they
can as well as they can about the topic selected. At the end of one
minute time is called and students are directed to count the words
which they have written. Record these numbers on a chart on the
board. Round two begins with the student selecting `umbrella' or
`beautiful' and repeating the process for one minute. Round three
begins with the student selecting `sock' or `blue' and repeating the
process the process for one minute. Each round involves the
students selecting a word, writing down their thoughts about that
word, counting their words after one minute of writing and
recording the results.
It will become dramatically apparent from the chart of the
three rounds that this activity promotes thinking and writing in
quantity. Practicing quantity is an important part of a
comprehensive writing program because learners learn to write
mostly by writing.
The Writing Blitz: Deliver one direction, as listed below,
every forty seconds.
1. Given - word sentence: Write a nine word sentence in
which animal is in the fifth position.
2. Single sentence: Arrange the following ideas in one
sentence - old man...tractor...rain...coal mine.
3. Double sentence: Arrange the following ideas in two
related sentences; bouncy...clear...glass...weather...street.
4. Given letter sentence: Write a sentence that contains at
least thirteen `t's'.
Word Pyramids: Present the following directions to students.
1. Select an initial from your name and place it on the
paper.
2. Think of a three letter word that begins with your letter
and write it below your letter.
3. Think of a four letter word that begins with your letter
and place it below the three letter word.
4. Continue adding one letter at a time until you can think
of no more.
5. Think of a seven work sentence in which your four letter
pyramid word occupies the fourth position.
TYING IT ALL TOGETHER:
The ideas generated by the pre-writing activities listed above
could be used to create poetry, paragraphs, stories or simply lovely
thoughts.
Only after the successful experiences of pre-writing should
student be encouraged to draft, revise, proofread and publish their
works.
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John Kurilecjmk@ofcn.org