Lesson Plan #:AELP-WCP001
Date: 1994
Grade Level(s): 5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12
Subject(s):
- Language Arts/Writing (composition)
Objective: To develop creative writing skills through use of newspaper photos
Materials: Newspapers, mounted newspaper photos
Procedures:
To Start
Ask students for definitions of creativity. Also ask them to name a favorite story that they think fits their definitions. Talk about what makes these stories interesting, funny or unusual. Suggest that some of these stories may have been based on the writers’ own experiences, while others were simply wonderfully creative products of the imagination. Group Activity
Help unlock students’ creativity with this picture-perfect activity. Have students choose an interesting, funny or unusual photo from the newspaper. (Teachers may want to have a file of interesting newspaper photos for use in this and other activities.) Ask students to write a story about what happened before, during and after the photo was taken. Stories can be completely imaginary or students can try to re-create the factual aspects so that their stories have a straight news approach. For an eye-catching creative writing display, stories can be posted on the wall underneath the photos.
When the stories are completed, ask the class whether it was easier or more fun to get started on a creative writing assignment with the help of the photo as a prop. Think about other newspaper-related starters for the next writing assignment: personal ads, comic strips, unusual short news items. Follow-Up/Extension:
Ask students to sit in a circle; give each person, yourself included, a funny, interesting or unusual newspaper photo. Start the activity by telling a little bit about your picture and then turning the floor over to the next person in the circle. This person continues the story by relating it to his or her photo. Keep the story moving around the circle until a most wondrous tale has been woven. Creative craziness counts!