Tag Archives: Fun Writing Topics

Writing Activity: A Holiday Tradition or Memory

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I wanted to share with you one my favorite holiday writing assignments.  It is one that can take a couple of weeks to complete, and best of all, can be used as a gift for someone special.

THE STEPS FOR A CHRISTMAS/HOLIDAY TRADITION OR MEMORY

  1. Brainstorm some favorite family holiday traditions or memories.Examples:  Christmas morning ritual, decorating the tree, making cookies, something that happened at Christmas dinner, favorite grandparent moment, a special gift, how the family celebrates Christmas Eve, etc.
  2. Pick a favorite one and discuss how to lay the story out with an interesting introduction that will hook the reader, a good descriptive body of the story that lets the reader feel, see, and relate to the story, and a conclusion that wraps up the story and gives a good ending.
  3. Write rough draft of story.
  4. Peer or self edit the story using a critical eye in looking for good sentence structure, interesting story and correct mechanics including punctuation, grammar, parts of speech, and spelling.
  5. Write the second draft (I suggest this with older students, it may be too much for younger writers).
  6. Peer or self edit the second draft.
  7. Write the final paper.
  8. Illustrate the story with a picture or pictures of the tradition or memory.
  9. Mount or bind the story and illustrations so it can displayed or given as a treasured gift.

Remember… Happy Writing!

Judith

New Years Writing Activity – Fun With Resolutions

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Fun with Writing – Writing Activity

This writing assignment should bring a smile to your face and to all who read it.

The tradition of coming up with a New Years resolution each year that will help you be a better person, lose weight, make better grades, be nice to your brother or sister, etc., is usually given up or forgotten within a few days. So how about coming up with a resolution that would be fun, silly, easy to do, and quite possibly, just might be good for you. Or not!

Some examples could be to eat all of your vegetable as long as your parents eat the same ones, or clean your room once a week if you are guaranteed a reward of chocolate each time you accomplish the task. Now doesn’t that seem like a better way to make a resolution?

Pre-writing:

Brainstorm some resolutions. Examples: complete chores, do homework, get up when the alarm goes off, be nice to your siblings, or help mother cook.
Brainstorm ways you could accomplish these resolutions and enjoy doing them. This is where the fun comes in. Examples: You will complete all your chores on time, IF you can have puppy petting time every day. You will do you homework, IF your mom or dad plays a game with you once a week. You will get up when the alarm goes off, IF you don’t have to wash your ears. You will be nicer to your siblings, IF they are nice to you. You will help your mother cook, IF she teaches you how to make chocolate chip cookies.

Rough Draft:
Choose your 2011 resolution and begin writing your rough draft. Be sure to include a good introduction that states what your resolution is and why you chose it. The body of the story should explain how you are going to accomplish sticking to your resolution. Be sure to elaborate on what the resolution means to you and how it can impact your life and the lives of the people around you. In the conclusion you should tell how you think everyone is going to react to your resolution, and whether or not you think you could actually do it.

Edit The Rough Draft:
Have a friend, classmate, or parent help you edit your story.

Write The Final Paper:
Make sure the final paper is your best writing by working to punctuate correctly, check and correct your spelling, capitalize, and elaborate to make it interesting.

Publish:
Share your story with your class, parents, and other family and friends

Finally:
See how long you can really carry out your resolution. Good Luck!

Happy Writing,

Judith

Spring Writing Activity: My Favorite Pair of Shoes

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I know teachers and parents are breathing a sigh of relief now that spring is here, so I thought it would be a great time to suggest a writing assignment that incorporates art and writing.

My Favorite Pair of Shoes

Have each student pick their favorite pair shoes and draw a picture of one of the shoes. The best view would be from the side, but some students are such good artists that whatever view they pick is fine. I have had students make the picture three dimensional by actually using fabric and leather to make an exact replica of the shoe, but that is the exception rather than the rule, and can be suggested but not expected.

After the picture is drawn, ask the student/students to pick one time or incident that involved the shoes and write a story or a poem about the shoes. Some examples ideas might be: The day my shoes saved me from a bully, or I felt like Cinderella the minute I put the shoe on, or even though these shoes are scruffy, they are still my favorite pair of shoes ever.

Once they have chosen an incident, they may begin brainstorming ideas for the story. When they know what they are going to write, they can break their story into paragraphs. I have included a brainstorming rubric and a paragraphing rubric to help make the whole assignment easier.

It is fun to hang the pictures and essays up for everyone to enjoy when they are completed.

Holiday Writing Idea

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I am happy to say I survived H1N1 and lived to tell about it. It wasn’t so bad, but the residual cough is driving me crazy! Our daughter and grandsons also had it and it is much more virulent in children. Our five year old grandson ended up with pneumonia and had to take antibiotics and steroids, so if your children are prone to respiratory problems, such as asthma, they should be watched carefully. Our grandson does have asthma.

During my confinement from the flu and while taking care of the boys I was unable to work on my book, so I am steadily falling behind, so I guess I will have to set aside some serious writing time during the holidays to get back on track. Will I do it? That remains to be seen. Anyway, talking about the holidays brings me to why I am writing this post and that is a wonderful, long term writing assignment.

AN ILLUSTRATED FAMILY TRADITION HOLIDAY BOOK

1. Ask your child or children to brainstorm ideas about holiday family traditions that they enjoy.
2. Have them pick their favorite one.
3. Ask them to write the family tradition in story form including the introduction, body, and conclusion.
4. Edit the story and correct, then break the story down into sections so that each section will be a page in the book.
5. Write each section on a separate piece of white paper. Most students choose to write each story section at the bottom of the page so they have room for their illustrations.
6. Once the story is sectioned out onto separate pieces of white paper the student can begin to illustrate their story.
7. When the story is completely written and illustrated make a cover sheet stating the title of the story and be sure to put: Written and Illustrated by. Then illustrate the cover.
8. Bind the pages together by stapling, putting in a binder, or folder or in whatever manner you and your child choose.
9. My students would give this book as a family present which parents and grandparents loved.

Good luck and enjoy the finished product.

Beginning Of The Year Writing Idea

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Introduce writing on the first day of school, whether it is in a home school classroom or in the public classroom.  Students need to know from the onset that they will be expected to write every day.  A good beginning of the year writing assignment would be for students to write something about themselves.  To make the assignment much easier for parents and teachers, I have attached a pdf. The pdf includes the brainstorming sheet and the paragraph organizer

Give the brainstorm sheet to the student and ask them to fill it out.

Next give the student the paragraph organizer to fill out.

Once the students have filled out the paragraph organizer have them write a rough draft and have a peer or parent edit it.

Next have them write their final paper.

If you are teaching a group or class of children, instruct them to not put their name anywhere on the story.  Once each student has completed their final paper, ask them to draw a picture of themselves in the situation they described.  They could also including some clues about themselves and things they are interested in, in the picture.  Example:  Draw a picture of yourself with a soccer ball or baseball glove and bat, or draw yourself in a mall shopping, or with your favorite musical instrument.  Once everyone has turned in their papers with pictures of themselves, hang them up around the room and instruct parents to find their child’s paper from the story they wrote and the picture they drew.

Even if you are teaching one child, ask them to draw a picture of themselves to go with the story including things they are interested in, and then see if family members can remember the event.

Good luck and let me know if the pdf helped. I know this was a favorite assignment with students and parents alike.

An End of Year Writing Assignment

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I found as a teacher that the last weeks before summer vacation were the most fun because much of the stress of getting everything taught was over,  but it was hard to come up with new topics for writing  that my students would enjoy.  One way that I would do that was to have my students pick their absolute favorite writing assignment of the year and add to it, elaborate more, and make improvements.  It was exciting for me  to see the changes from the first paper to the second one, and it was especially fun for my students because they got to pick an assignment they had already done and enjoyed, to work on.  I encourage you to give it a try and let me know how it goes.

Fun After Holidays Writing Activity

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2008 Holiday Memory Book

Time Frame:  A least a week, but could be even more.  Do not worry about getting writing project finished in a specific amount of time, just let the child work at their pace and enjoy it.

Materials:   Notebook paper, a tablet, a spiral notebook, or a composition book (whatever material you have to make a book out of), markers, colored pencils, crayons, and pictures

1.  Pre-write:  Brainstorm all the fun activities and things done over the holidays including the funny things, happy things, poignant and exciting moments, surprises, special foods, gifts given and received , and people involved.  Be sure to add as many details as you can remember.  Colors, smells, how things looked, how they felt, special sounds, how you felt.

2.  Begin first draft:

  • Write introduction:  Begin with an interesting anecdote or memory such as:  When my cousin arrived from New York we flew into a screaming ball of joy hugging and yelling, until my father finally had to make us quiet down so the adults could regain their hearing.  That started the fun of the whole family coming together for the holidays.
  • Continue writing a paragraph for each special thing that happened to you over the holidays.  The more information put in the story the more it will be enjoyed when read later.  Be sure to add ALL the details including what people said, what pets were doing, how good the fudge tasted, how you felt, etc.
  • Write a conclusion that sums up the whole holiday experience such as:  I think that even though my cousin and I did have a few squabbles we really did have a wonderful holiday.  When her family left it felt quiet and empty at our house and I can hardly wait till next year’s holiday season.  I just hope it will be as good as 2008.

3.   Instructor or parent edit the paper.   This is best done by noting where mistakes were made on a separate piece of paper rather than writing on the students paper.  Note things  such as where punctuation, capitalization, grammar, paragraphing, spelling errors are. Try not to find so many errors that the child becomes overwhelmed and shuts down.  Once the paper is edited give it back to the child and ask them to find the three errors in capitalization, or the spelling error in paragraph two, or take a look at the second paragraph and tell me where you think you could add a new paragraph.  This way the student is finding their own mistakes which will eventually enable them to do the editing themselves.  This can be done by peer editors too.  It is difficult at first, but they will become more and more proficient as they do it.   THE KEY TO DEVELOPING A GOOD WRITER IS TO NOT MAKE THE EDITING OF MISTAKES THE PRIMARY FOCUS, BUT TO LOOKING AT THE CONTENT AND ENCOURAGING THE CHILD TO ELABORATE AND MAKE THE STORY INTERESTING AND THE EXPERIENCE OF WRITING FUN.

4.  Student writes second draft or final paper, correcting mistakes and adding even more interesting information as they think of it.   (Parent or instructor decides how many drafts need to be written before writing the final paper.)

5.  After writing the final paper student may then do all of the artwork to make the book colorful and exciting to read.  If you have pictures, they may be included to make the book even more fun

6.  Put the book together by whatever means available

7.  Enjoy