How to Teach Creative Writing
Content
How to teach creative writing
By Edmund Dudley
Edmund is a teacher and teacher trainer based in Hungary. He has more than twenty years of classroom experience
and has taught at both primary and secondary level. He currently teaches teenagers. He is also a tutor at the English
Language Teachers’ Summer Seminar at Exeter College, Oxford. You can contact him via his teaching blog
legyened.edublogs.org.
Setting the scene
Why write?
From reception to production
Creative writing is an excellent way to motivate and
inspire students, enabling them to put their English to
creative use. Motivated and high-achieving students
can respond well to the challenge of writing creatively.
However, in many cases they do not have too much
experience of creative writing – even in their first
language.
Remember that writing extends naturally from reading
and listening. Writing tasks work particularly well when
done as an extension activity following on from input
based on reading and listening.
Why is it hard?
Creative writing is different from the kind of writing
that we generally ask students to do in the language
classroom. Writing creatively requires a different
approach and a less goal-oriented frame of mind. It can
be hard to choose a topic and a focus. In order to write
well, students also need tasks and activities that help
them to warm up creatively.
How to begin?
It is important to begin gently, and not to demand too
much from students in terms of quantity. Very often,
asking students to write a short paragraph – or even a
single line – can be extremely rewarding and produce
great results. Structured creative writing activities can
give students a taste of creative writing. The aim is to
raise their interest and awareness, as well as to provide
them with confidence and encouragement.
Readership
Writing is quite personal, so we need to be sensitive
when dealing with students’ written work. Make sure
students know who is going to be reading their work
– will it be just the teacher or the rest of the class as
well? Ask students before you display their work on
the classroom wall – this way they keep control over
who reads it. Asking for permission provides you with a
further opportunity to praise the students’ work and say
how much you enjoyed reading it.
Evaluation
It is not necessary to evaluate all examples of students’
written work. The knowledge that you are going to
be assessed can hinder the creative writing process,
which is why it often makes sense not to grade all the
pieces of work that are submitted. Students should
always be informed beforehand if their work is going
to be assessed – and if so, according to what criteria.
Sometimes grades or marks can be given for originality
and creativity, while on other occasions you can assess
students’ vocabulary and use of language. Your choice
depends on the level of the students and the nature and
difficulty of the task.
Ten ideas for how to use creative writing in your classroom
The activities collected here are intended to be clear and achievable, enabling students to get the job done in
bite-sized tasks. The first ones are simpler and require less writing. The activities then become progressively more
challenging as you go down the list.
Why students will enjoy them
Meaningful outcomes give students a sense of achievement and boost their confidence in their writing.
In-class activities present a fun challenge, providing students with a chance to stretch themselves.
Why teachers will enjoy them
The competitive aspect of activities provides light relief and can be used as a break, filler or reward for students.
Collaborative writing activities can improve the group dynamic and promote an atmosphere of cooperation which
benefits the teacher as well as the students.
insight How to … guides
insight how to guides FP.indb 1
photocopiable
© Oxford University Press
1
08/05/2013 10:10
How to teach creative writing
1
3
A senses poem
Aim: for students to write a simple structured poem
1 Write a topic word on the board, e.g. spring, the
forest, my birthday or school.
2 Below the topic write the following short prompts:
I see …
I hear …
I smell …
I taste …
I feel …
3 Ask students to close their eyes and think about the
topic word. Then ask them to complete each of the
short prompts as quickly as they can. The resulting
piece of work is a senses poem.
2
Aim: for students to work together to write an
amusing structured narrative
1 Put students into groups of four. Provide each
student with a piece of paper.
2 Each student thinks of one male character, one
female character and a location for the story.
3 On the board, write the following gapped prompt
for the students to copy and complete:
(male) met
(female)
at the
.
4 When they have finished, they should fold the
paper down, along the top of the page, to cover
what they have written, and then pass their paper
to the student on their right. They must not unfold
or read what the other student has written on the
paper they are given.
5 Write the following prompt for the students to
copy and complete:
He said / asked, “
”
6 Repeat step 4.
7 Write the following prompt for the students to
copy and complete:
”
She said / answered, “
8 Repeat step 4.
9 Write the following prompt for the students to
copy and complete:
And the consequence was …
10 When they have finished, they should pass the
paper back to the person who wrote the first
sentence. Each student should then open up their
papers and read the stories to the group.
17-syllable poems
Aim: for students to write a poem with a syllabic
structure
Sometimes there is ‘freedom through constraint’.
When you are free to write what you want, it is
difficult; when there are strict rules it somehow
becomes easier. This activity also raises students’
awareness of syllables in English. This activity is based
on haiku – a Japanese verse form.
1 Revise syllables in English. Write some words on the
board and get students to break them down into
their component syllables, e.g. Japanese:
Ja-pa-nese.
2 Write the following poem on the board. This is a
translation of Matsuo Basho’s haiku, Old Pond, 1686.
at the age old pond
a frog jumps suddenly in
the sound of water
3 Ask students whether they like the poem or not.
What do they notice about its structure?
4 Ask students to count how many syllables there are
in each line (5-7-5).
5 Explain that they must now write a simple poem
using the same structure:
· the poem must have three lines
· the words in the first line must have five syllables
in total
· the words in the second line must have seven
syllables in total
· the words in the third line must have five
syllables in total
6 Give students an image or a theme. It could be
connected to the topic you have been covering in
the Student’s Book. Ask them to write a 17-syllable
poem based on this.
insight How to … guides
insight how to guides FP.indb 2
photocopiable
Consequences
4
First lines
Aim: to build confidence
This is a great activity that works extremely well.
Perhaps the best thing about it is that it is surprisingly
hard to tell which opening line is the original.
Students tend to prefer a line written by one of their
classmates. This really boosts students’ confidence in
their abilities as creative writers.
1 Bring in a book to class. Show the cover to the
students and read out the blurb on the back of the
book. Talk a little bit about the book: why you like it,
why it is interesting, why you have chosen to bring
it in.
2 Give each student a small piece of paper. Ask then
to guess what the opening line of the book might
be and to write it down.
3 Write down the actual first line of the book on a small
piece of paper, similar to those used by the students.
4 Collect all the first lines together and mix them up,
together with the original opening line. Number
each of the pieces of paper randomly.
5 Read them out one by one. Students listen and
write down the lines.
© Oxford University Press
2
08/05/2013 10:10
How to teach creative writing
6 Put students into small groups and ask them to
vote for the line that they like best. They should not
react or say anything when they hear their own line
being read out. They cannot vote for their own line!
7 Tell the class which was the original opening line
– and also which students wrote the lines that got
the most votes.
8 Discuss the results as a class.
5
Blurbs
Aim: to write a ‘teaser’
The ‘blurb’ is the short text on the back cover of a
book. It usually contains a short summary of the
characters and plot and is intended to get the reader
interested. It often ‘teases’ the reader with questions
they will only be able to answer by reading the book.
1 Bring in a collection of books and allow students to
read some of the blurbs. Depending on the level
of your students, Graded Readers are often a good
choice for this activity.
2 Prepare a matching activity, where students have
to find which blurb goes with which book. This can
be done using the books’ titles or the books’ covers.
3 Students think of a book that they enjoyed reading
in their first language and write an Englishlanguage blurb for that book. If possible, they
should try and find images of the book cover on
the internet, or they could draw one themselves.
4 Display the blurbs and book cover images in the
classroom.
6
Inaccurate book reviews
Aim: to encourage students to read each other’s
book reviews
This activity works best with class libraries. Writing
book reviews is a good way to encourage students to
reflect on a book that they have read – but do other
students in the group ever really read the reviews
written by their classmates?
1 If you have a selection of books in a class library,
encourage students to write a short book review.
Other students can then read the review to help
them decide if they would enjoy the book or not.
This is best done with English-language books,
such as Graded Readers, but can be done with
books in the students’ first language as long as the
reviews are written in English.
2 Tell students that there should be three deliberate
factual errors in each book review they write. They
should make a note of what the errors are on
another piece of paper or in their exercise book.
insight How to … guides
insight how to guides FP.indb 3
photocopiable
3 Whenever students read one of the inaccurate
book reviews, they have to make a note of what
they think the three errors are. To find out if they are
right, they have to read the book – or check with
the student who wrote the book review.
4 The timescale of this activity can vary. It can be done
within one class, over a week, term, or even a year.
7
Espresso stories
Aim: to write a very short story
1 Ask students: Do you like coffee? What do you usually
drink if you go to a café? What do you do while you are
having your drink? How long does it take?
2 Introduce the concept of the ‘espresso story’ – a
story that is so short you can read it in less time
than it takes to drink a small, strong cup of coffee.
3 Write an example on the board:
When he woke up, the dinosaur was still there.
(The Dinosaur by Augusto Monterroso)
4 Ask students to think of five questions about this
story. For example,
• Who was he?
• Where was he?
• Where did the dinosaur come from?
• Why was he asleep if there was a dinosaur right
next to him?
• Was he surprised when he woke up?
5 Write another example of an espresso story on the
board:
Ned reached out and touched Cynthia’s beautiful
face. It made his hand cold so he
. (This is Ned by
Zac Petrich)
Ask students to complete the ‘story’ by adding the
last three missing words are missing.
6 Elicit ideas. Then provide the answer: … shut the
freezer
Ask the students what they think this means and
their opinion about this story.
(If you think this story is too dark, choose another
one to do with the class from the website:
http://espressostories.com)
7 Ask students to write their own espresso story. The
rules are:
•
it must have no more than 25 words
•
it should be a complete story
8 After students have finished their stories:
• Share the stories
• Tell your students to ask and answer five
questions about each story
• Submit the stories to http://espressostories.com
© Oxford University Press
3
08/05/2013 10:10
How to teach creative writing
8
10 Situation, Complication, Resolution: Collaborative
Stories from songs
Aim: to write a story based on a song
1 Play a song that relates to a topic that you have
been dealing with in class, or which contains
interesting language.
2 Ask students to listen and then choose one or two
words to describe the song. Elicit some feedback
from the class.
3 Play the song again. Give the students a copy of
the lyrics to read as they listen. If you prefer, create
a text with gaps for them to fill in.
4 Together with the students, highlight some words
from the text. You could ask them to choose from
the following options: nouns, verbs, phrasal verbs,
adjectives, adverbs, collocations.
5 Write some of their selections on the board and
discuss them briefly. What does this word mean?
Why did you choose it?
6 Together, choose seven of the words / phrases
on the board. Students have to write a short story
based on the song that uses all seven of the words
and phrases. The stories should be as original as
possible and not just re-tell what happens in the
song.
This activity is based on an idea from Gareth Davies
http://bit.ly/YXFCT5
9
Stories from pictures
Aim: to use pictures to get ideas for a story
1 Collect a variety of different pictures from
magazines and newspapers.
2 Give a picture to each of your students.
3 Tell the students what kind of story they have
to write (detective story, romance, adventure,
superhero story, etc.) and ask them to find a
connection to their picture. For example,
Your picture is connected to a criminal act. What was
the crime? Who was the criminal? Where and why did
the crime occur? What happened?
4 Students makes some notes and plan their story.
Then they write it, either individually or in pairs.
5 Display the finished stories together with the
pictures. Alternatively, put all the pictures on the
wall and ask the other students to match the
stories to the pictures.
insight How to … guides
insight how to guides FP.indb 4
photocopiable
story-writing
Aim: for students to work together to write short
sections of a story
Many stories follow a narrative structure which is
sometimes described as ‘Situation, Complication and
Resolution’. This activity experiments with this way of
structuring a narrative.
Like the ‘Consequences’ activity in idea 3, students
collaborate on a story by each contributing a different
section to four different stories. This time, however,
they will be able to read what has already been
written.
1 Introduce the ideas of Situation, Complication and
Resolution and check that students understand
these.
2 Ask students to call out some well-known stories
and / or films and write them on the board.
3 See if they can reduce the plots of some of these
stories into ‘S-C-R’. For example, The Tortoise and
the Hare:
Situation: Tortoise and Hare have a race
Complication: Hare is so confident he stops in the
middle of the race to have a nap / rest.
Resolution: Tortoise keeps moving, overtakes Hare
and wins the race.
4 Title: Put students into groups of four. Give each
student a piece of paper and ask them to write the
title of a new story at the top. They should then
pass their paper to the student on their right.
5 Situation: Students read the title they have been
given and write the opening paragraph of the
story, containing the situation (setting, characters,
main event of the story). Students then pass their
paper to the student on their right.
6 Complication: Students read the first paragraph
of the story they have been given and think of a
complication. This forms the basis of the second
paragraph, which they then write. When they are
finished, students pass their paper to the student
on their right.
7 Resolution: Students read the first two paragraphs
of the story they have been given and think of a
resolution. This forms the basis of the third and final
paragraph, which they then write.
8 When they have finished, they should pass the
paper back to the person who wrote the title of the
story. Each student should then read the stories to
the class.
© Oxford University Press
4
08/05/2013 10:10
By Edmund Dudley
Edmund is a teacher and teacher trainer based in Hungary. He has more than twenty years of classroom experience
and has taught at both primary and secondary level. He currently teaches teenagers. He is also a tutor at the English
Language Teachers’ Summer Seminar at Exeter College, Oxford. You can contact him via his teaching blog
legyened.edublogs.org.
Setting the scene
Why write?
From reception to production
Creative writing is an excellent way to motivate and
inspire students, enabling them to put their English to
creative use. Motivated and high-achieving students
can respond well to the challenge of writing creatively.
However, in many cases they do not have too much
experience of creative writing – even in their first
language.
Remember that writing extends naturally from reading
and listening. Writing tasks work particularly well when
done as an extension activity following on from input
based on reading and listening.
Why is it hard?
Creative writing is different from the kind of writing
that we generally ask students to do in the language
classroom. Writing creatively requires a different
approach and a less goal-oriented frame of mind. It can
be hard to choose a topic and a focus. In order to write
well, students also need tasks and activities that help
them to warm up creatively.
How to begin?
It is important to begin gently, and not to demand too
much from students in terms of quantity. Very often,
asking students to write a short paragraph – or even a
single line – can be extremely rewarding and produce
great results. Structured creative writing activities can
give students a taste of creative writing. The aim is to
raise their interest and awareness, as well as to provide
them with confidence and encouragement.
Readership
Writing is quite personal, so we need to be sensitive
when dealing with students’ written work. Make sure
students know who is going to be reading their work
– will it be just the teacher or the rest of the class as
well? Ask students before you display their work on
the classroom wall – this way they keep control over
who reads it. Asking for permission provides you with a
further opportunity to praise the students’ work and say
how much you enjoyed reading it.
Evaluation
It is not necessary to evaluate all examples of students’
written work. The knowledge that you are going to
be assessed can hinder the creative writing process,
which is why it often makes sense not to grade all the
pieces of work that are submitted. Students should
always be informed beforehand if their work is going
to be assessed – and if so, according to what criteria.
Sometimes grades or marks can be given for originality
and creativity, while on other occasions you can assess
students’ vocabulary and use of language. Your choice
depends on the level of the students and the nature and
difficulty of the task.
Ten ideas for how to use creative writing in your classroom
The activities collected here are intended to be clear and achievable, enabling students to get the job done in
bite-sized tasks. The first ones are simpler and require less writing. The activities then become progressively more
challenging as you go down the list.
Why students will enjoy them
Meaningful outcomes give students a sense of achievement and boost their confidence in their writing.
In-class activities present a fun challenge, providing students with a chance to stretch themselves.
Why teachers will enjoy them
The competitive aspect of activities provides light relief and can be used as a break, filler or reward for students.
Collaborative writing activities can improve the group dynamic and promote an atmosphere of cooperation which
benefits the teacher as well as the students.
insight How to … guides
insight how to guides FP.indb 1
photocopiable
© Oxford University Press
1
08/05/2013 10:10
How to teach creative writing
1
3
A senses poem
Aim: for students to write a simple structured poem
1 Write a topic word on the board, e.g. spring, the
forest, my birthday or school.
2 Below the topic write the following short prompts:
I see …
I hear …
I smell …
I taste …
I feel …
3 Ask students to close their eyes and think about the
topic word. Then ask them to complete each of the
short prompts as quickly as they can. The resulting
piece of work is a senses poem.
2
Aim: for students to work together to write an
amusing structured narrative
1 Put students into groups of four. Provide each
student with a piece of paper.
2 Each student thinks of one male character, one
female character and a location for the story.
3 On the board, write the following gapped prompt
for the students to copy and complete:
(male) met
(female)
at the
.
4 When they have finished, they should fold the
paper down, along the top of the page, to cover
what they have written, and then pass their paper
to the student on their right. They must not unfold
or read what the other student has written on the
paper they are given.
5 Write the following prompt for the students to
copy and complete:
He said / asked, “
”
6 Repeat step 4.
7 Write the following prompt for the students to
copy and complete:
”
She said / answered, “
8 Repeat step 4.
9 Write the following prompt for the students to
copy and complete:
And the consequence was …
10 When they have finished, they should pass the
paper back to the person who wrote the first
sentence. Each student should then open up their
papers and read the stories to the group.
17-syllable poems
Aim: for students to write a poem with a syllabic
structure
Sometimes there is ‘freedom through constraint’.
When you are free to write what you want, it is
difficult; when there are strict rules it somehow
becomes easier. This activity also raises students’
awareness of syllables in English. This activity is based
on haiku – a Japanese verse form.
1 Revise syllables in English. Write some words on the
board and get students to break them down into
their component syllables, e.g. Japanese:
Ja-pa-nese.
2 Write the following poem on the board. This is a
translation of Matsuo Basho’s haiku, Old Pond, 1686.
at the age old pond
a frog jumps suddenly in
the sound of water
3 Ask students whether they like the poem or not.
What do they notice about its structure?
4 Ask students to count how many syllables there are
in each line (5-7-5).
5 Explain that they must now write a simple poem
using the same structure:
· the poem must have three lines
· the words in the first line must have five syllables
in total
· the words in the second line must have seven
syllables in total
· the words in the third line must have five
syllables in total
6 Give students an image or a theme. It could be
connected to the topic you have been covering in
the Student’s Book. Ask them to write a 17-syllable
poem based on this.
insight How to … guides
insight how to guides FP.indb 2
photocopiable
Consequences
4
First lines
Aim: to build confidence
This is a great activity that works extremely well.
Perhaps the best thing about it is that it is surprisingly
hard to tell which opening line is the original.
Students tend to prefer a line written by one of their
classmates. This really boosts students’ confidence in
their abilities as creative writers.
1 Bring in a book to class. Show the cover to the
students and read out the blurb on the back of the
book. Talk a little bit about the book: why you like it,
why it is interesting, why you have chosen to bring
it in.
2 Give each student a small piece of paper. Ask then
to guess what the opening line of the book might
be and to write it down.
3 Write down the actual first line of the book on a small
piece of paper, similar to those used by the students.
4 Collect all the first lines together and mix them up,
together with the original opening line. Number
each of the pieces of paper randomly.
5 Read them out one by one. Students listen and
write down the lines.
© Oxford University Press
2
08/05/2013 10:10
How to teach creative writing
6 Put students into small groups and ask them to
vote for the line that they like best. They should not
react or say anything when they hear their own line
being read out. They cannot vote for their own line!
7 Tell the class which was the original opening line
– and also which students wrote the lines that got
the most votes.
8 Discuss the results as a class.
5
Blurbs
Aim: to write a ‘teaser’
The ‘blurb’ is the short text on the back cover of a
book. It usually contains a short summary of the
characters and plot and is intended to get the reader
interested. It often ‘teases’ the reader with questions
they will only be able to answer by reading the book.
1 Bring in a collection of books and allow students to
read some of the blurbs. Depending on the level
of your students, Graded Readers are often a good
choice for this activity.
2 Prepare a matching activity, where students have
to find which blurb goes with which book. This can
be done using the books’ titles or the books’ covers.
3 Students think of a book that they enjoyed reading
in their first language and write an Englishlanguage blurb for that book. If possible, they
should try and find images of the book cover on
the internet, or they could draw one themselves.
4 Display the blurbs and book cover images in the
classroom.
6
Inaccurate book reviews
Aim: to encourage students to read each other’s
book reviews
This activity works best with class libraries. Writing
book reviews is a good way to encourage students to
reflect on a book that they have read – but do other
students in the group ever really read the reviews
written by their classmates?
1 If you have a selection of books in a class library,
encourage students to write a short book review.
Other students can then read the review to help
them decide if they would enjoy the book or not.
This is best done with English-language books,
such as Graded Readers, but can be done with
books in the students’ first language as long as the
reviews are written in English.
2 Tell students that there should be three deliberate
factual errors in each book review they write. They
should make a note of what the errors are on
another piece of paper or in their exercise book.
insight How to … guides
insight how to guides FP.indb 3
photocopiable
3 Whenever students read one of the inaccurate
book reviews, they have to make a note of what
they think the three errors are. To find out if they are
right, they have to read the book – or check with
the student who wrote the book review.
4 The timescale of this activity can vary. It can be done
within one class, over a week, term, or even a year.
7
Espresso stories
Aim: to write a very short story
1 Ask students: Do you like coffee? What do you usually
drink if you go to a café? What do you do while you are
having your drink? How long does it take?
2 Introduce the concept of the ‘espresso story’ – a
story that is so short you can read it in less time
than it takes to drink a small, strong cup of coffee.
3 Write an example on the board:
When he woke up, the dinosaur was still there.
(The Dinosaur by Augusto Monterroso)
4 Ask students to think of five questions about this
story. For example,
• Who was he?
• Where was he?
• Where did the dinosaur come from?
• Why was he asleep if there was a dinosaur right
next to him?
• Was he surprised when he woke up?
5 Write another example of an espresso story on the
board:
Ned reached out and touched Cynthia’s beautiful
face. It made his hand cold so he
. (This is Ned by
Zac Petrich)
Ask students to complete the ‘story’ by adding the
last three missing words are missing.
6 Elicit ideas. Then provide the answer: … shut the
freezer
Ask the students what they think this means and
their opinion about this story.
(If you think this story is too dark, choose another
one to do with the class from the website:
http://espressostories.com)
7 Ask students to write their own espresso story. The
rules are:
•
it must have no more than 25 words
•
it should be a complete story
8 After students have finished their stories:
• Share the stories
• Tell your students to ask and answer five
questions about each story
• Submit the stories to http://espressostories.com
© Oxford University Press
3
08/05/2013 10:10
How to teach creative writing
8
10 Situation, Complication, Resolution: Collaborative
Stories from songs
Aim: to write a story based on a song
1 Play a song that relates to a topic that you have
been dealing with in class, or which contains
interesting language.
2 Ask students to listen and then choose one or two
words to describe the song. Elicit some feedback
from the class.
3 Play the song again. Give the students a copy of
the lyrics to read as they listen. If you prefer, create
a text with gaps for them to fill in.
4 Together with the students, highlight some words
from the text. You could ask them to choose from
the following options: nouns, verbs, phrasal verbs,
adjectives, adverbs, collocations.
5 Write some of their selections on the board and
discuss them briefly. What does this word mean?
Why did you choose it?
6 Together, choose seven of the words / phrases
on the board. Students have to write a short story
based on the song that uses all seven of the words
and phrases. The stories should be as original as
possible and not just re-tell what happens in the
song.
This activity is based on an idea from Gareth Davies
http://bit.ly/YXFCT5
9
Stories from pictures
Aim: to use pictures to get ideas for a story
1 Collect a variety of different pictures from
magazines and newspapers.
2 Give a picture to each of your students.
3 Tell the students what kind of story they have
to write (detective story, romance, adventure,
superhero story, etc.) and ask them to find a
connection to their picture. For example,
Your picture is connected to a criminal act. What was
the crime? Who was the criminal? Where and why did
the crime occur? What happened?
4 Students makes some notes and plan their story.
Then they write it, either individually or in pairs.
5 Display the finished stories together with the
pictures. Alternatively, put all the pictures on the
wall and ask the other students to match the
stories to the pictures.
insight How to … guides
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story-writing
Aim: for students to work together to write short
sections of a story
Many stories follow a narrative structure which is
sometimes described as ‘Situation, Complication and
Resolution’. This activity experiments with this way of
structuring a narrative.
Like the ‘Consequences’ activity in idea 3, students
collaborate on a story by each contributing a different
section to four different stories. This time, however,
they will be able to read what has already been
written.
1 Introduce the ideas of Situation, Complication and
Resolution and check that students understand
these.
2 Ask students to call out some well-known stories
and / or films and write them on the board.
3 See if they can reduce the plots of some of these
stories into ‘S-C-R’. For example, The Tortoise and
the Hare:
Situation: Tortoise and Hare have a race
Complication: Hare is so confident he stops in the
middle of the race to have a nap / rest.
Resolution: Tortoise keeps moving, overtakes Hare
and wins the race.
4 Title: Put students into groups of four. Give each
student a piece of paper and ask them to write the
title of a new story at the top. They should then
pass their paper to the student on their right.
5 Situation: Students read the title they have been
given and write the opening paragraph of the
story, containing the situation (setting, characters,
main event of the story). Students then pass their
paper to the student on their right.
6 Complication: Students read the first paragraph
of the story they have been given and think of a
complication. This forms the basis of the second
paragraph, which they then write. When they are
finished, students pass their paper to the student
on their right.
7 Resolution: Students read the first two paragraphs
of the story they have been given and think of a
resolution. This forms the basis of the third and final
paragraph, which they then write.
8 When they have finished, they should pass the
paper back to the person who wrote the title of the
story. Each student should then read the stories to
the class.
© Oxford University Press
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