Writing is one of those subjects that I make sure to cover each and every day. I know this isn’t always the case in every classroom, but I figure it’s also a life skill – so I make sure we get to it. But – how do you mix it up enough to keep students interested? In the past I’ve written about some fun picture writing prompts I’ve done, but today I want to share another idea with you.
It’s pretty simple. Each student starts with a piece of paper and writes one sentence to start their story. (We often stand in a circle with clipboards just to mix it up a bit. Although, if you choose to have students sit in their desks, make sure they know which way they are going to be passing the papers.)
When I can see that all students are done with that first sentence, I simply say “pass” and they move their paper clockwise to the next person. Depending on how much time we have, anywhere from five students to the entire class will get a chance to write on each paper.
When we are down to about five minutes, I tell the last person to finish up the story. This person can write 2-3 sentences to try and make it “flow”. (Although sometimes that is impossible! If there’s a student who’s really stuck on coming up with a good ending, I’ve given them the hint that maybe the person was dreaming the whole time…)
After the story has been finished, each student gets their original piece of paper back. It is their job to edit it. This is what I actually take a grade on. So basically it’s like DOL. I’ve also found it’s great for students who typically don’t make writing errors because it forces them to really analyze writing. And when they complain and say, “Why do we have to do this?” I can respond that editing work is a skill they’ll use throughout life because they don’t want to send a message or e-mail to their boss with a ton of misspellings and grammar errors. They just roll their eyes at me {gotta love middle schoolers!}, but they do stop whining.
Here you can see all of the different handwritings and what a finished product might look like.
This particular writing was pretty funny. My students last year were a bit obsessed with the “Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That” video. So – as you can see from the parts I underlined below – several of them decided to incorporate that video into their writing.
After doing this activity I often read them aloud to the class. Some of them made us double over laughing, while others were just weird. Either way, it was a fun class activity that still had students writing.
Want another great writing ideas?
Check out these Writing Prompts – which are FREE to use!
Oh wow now I finally have an official name for this type of writing. I made a product to support this before I knew what it was called. It is free you might like my format.
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Free-Lets-Write-A-Collaborative-Writing-Challenge-750505
That's great! I laughed at your students' obsession with "Ain't nobody got time for that!" I can relate!
Absolutely Love this. I am going to try this as a fun writing and editing activity on Fridays. Thanks!
I call it "Musical Writing". Kids dance past the stories to the music being played. When I stop the music, they stop and add to that story. It is a great Friday thing to do. I will now add the "editing" part. What a great idea!
Love the idea of using this for editing. Since it's written quickly and by a number of kids, It's bound to have plenty of areas that could use revising.