Brandi's Place

Every new story begins with a brain storm ! Today we are going to brain storm an idea for a brand new story. Have your student start with a blank sheet of notebook paper, label it “setting”. Number the paper one through three on the side leaving at least three lines in between. Older students may want to write down more ideas and increase the amount of space needed for writing. Directions for the student: #1- Describe a place you have visited before and might like to write a story about. #2- Describe a place you want to visit but have never been to and you want to write a story about what that might be like. #3- Describe a fantasy place that exists only in your own imagination! Now it is time to populate your story with interesting characters. Get out a clean sheet of paper, or flip your current paper over. Label this paper “characters”. Again, number the paper 1-3 with a few lines in between. Directions for the student: #1 – Name and give a litt...

This creative writing activity employs the use of the creative writing process in order for your student(s) to create a story. All of my writing activities are appropriate for use either in a classroom setting or in a homeschool setting usually at the elementary school level but could be easily adjusted for older students. As a refresher, here is a graphic to remind you how to progress through the 5 steps of the creative writing process.  Okay, today we are going to have your student write a story about a valiant knight. Note: if your student is a girl, it is important not to change this assignment to say “princess” or something with a female character. Children can learn even more by writing about a character that is not exactly like them. We can do a project with a female character on a different day for which it will be important that boy children participate equally with girls. Here is your writing prompt: The main character is a valiant (brave) knig...

For today’s activity, your students get to imagine themselves all grown up and doing a very important job!  To begin, first have your student(s) give several examples of different careers and talk about what they do. Write them all down where the students can see (add more that you can think of). Then, tell them to choose a career and close their eyes and imagine doing that kind of job. *You could find a book at the library or go online to find more information about the career they have selected to write about. (see below) Now to begin your writing activity, start with the sentence “If I were a ______, I would…” For example “If I were a veterinarian, I would take care of sick animals.”  The next sentence (can be more than one, especially for older students) should describe how they intend to carry out that duty. "Whenever someone brings me their sick pet, I will do everything I can to help that pet get better." The last sentence(s) states why they have ch...

Writers will tell you “write what you know”. And that is true. It is difficult to write much about any subject of which you are ignorant. Writers very often draw from their personal experiences in order to create their stories. In this activity, we will encourage your young authors to get out and have some experiences to write about.  My own children really enjoy going out into our wooded area on our land to explore. So while we are homeschooling this year, I have been implementing some nature hikes into our lessons. Obviously writing is a subject I am particularly passionate about. So, it has been fun developing creative ways to get my kids writing about what they find in the great outdoors. This is an activity you can use in your school classroom, your homeschool, or just as a fun weekend activity. A great time to do this activity is when you are at the park, or if you are traveling to an area that has some beautiful natural places to explore. But there ar...

Why should you teach your students creative writing? During most of our school days, the main push and focus is Math, Science, Reading, and Social Studies. But, what about writing? And some may argue that kids are able to do plenty of writing during the course of their other subjects so adding writing as a separate subject might seem unnecessary. That may be because they do not understand the value creative writing has and how it can actually enhance a child’s ability to learn the other subjects. Okay, now really, how can “Once upon a time…” really help a kid with math or science? Good question! I’m glad you asked! The answer lies in the creative writing process itself which not only allows a writer to bring a story together, but also to train their mind to organize and process data. The Creative Writing Process (in a nutshell): Brain Storm Draft Revise Edit Publish During brain-storming , young writers are often encouraged to create a flow chart that...