Writing Activities
Old Movie / New Dialogue – Show a 5-10 minute clip with out sound.
Students work in pairs/groups to write the dialogue for the characters /
actors. This is presented to the class. When finished, you can play the
sound that goes with the video.
Summary or Critique – Show a video / video clip. Have students write a
summary or a critique about what they saw.
Accordion Paper Story – Students work in groups for this activity. Give
each group an accordion folded paper that has the first sentence, the opening
sentence, showing. The first student in the group writes the second sentence,
the next student writes the third sentence, etc. Stories are presented to the
class.
A Dialogue Between Opposites – In pairs, students write dialogues between
two opposites (a boy and a girl, a musician and an athlete, a young person
and an old person). These are acted out in front of the class. The class may
guess what the opposite relationship is.
Picture Story – In pairs or small groups, students are given 6-10 random
pictures. They must write a story and incorporate the pictures. The pictures
and sentences are used to make a picture book.
Ball Story – Teacher says the first sentence for a story and writes it on the
overhead. Then, the teacher throws a soft ball to a student. That student
makes up a second sentence to a story, and the teacher (or a student) writes it
on the overhead. That student throws the ball to another student who invents
the next sentence, etc.
Dear Abby – Students write a letter asking for advice about something. The
teacher collects the letters and mixes them up. Then every student gets a
letter. Students respond to the letter they read, offering solutions to the
problem. Then, the letters are given back to original writers to read the
solutions.
“White-Out Disaster” – Give students a story, paragraph, a song, etc. that
has white-out splotches in various spots. Tell them that you had an accident
last night with the white-out and you need their help to fix it. Students can
read the remaining sections, and fill in the spots with what they imagine
would fit. They can do this in groups, and then share their thoughts with the
class.
It’s in the Newspaper – Have students write a news article, an
advertisement, a letter to the editor, a review, etc. You could even tell the
students that you will be making a news paper (based on a topic or theme),
and assign parts to groups or pairs.
Tabloids – Present a ridiculous tabloid article with a picture to the students.
Tell students that they will be writing a similar article using a never seen
before “photo” (created from cutting out parts from various magazine
photos). These creations will be shared with the class.
Comic Strip – Students are given blank boxes for a comic strip. Ask them
to write a story and draw pictures that go with each part of the story.
Songs / Poems – Have students write songs, raps, or poems related to a
topic, or including vocabulary words
Free-write - Ask students to write for 5 minutes, without stopping, about a
given topic. This is used for fluency and processing newly learned course
material.
List-making – Students make a list of words, ideas, tasks, or priorities. This
is a good activity for beginners.
Charts or Forms – Students fill out forms, or complete charts. This helps
them develop vocabulary, and listening or reading comprehension. This will
help with testing.
Note-taking – Students take notes from lectures or readings. This helps
students to practice summary vs. details.
Descriptions – Students write a description about a person, place, thing, etc.
Have them use all five senses.
Journal Entry, or Letter to the Teacher – Students write about a given or
chosen topic, or they can write to the teacher.
Commercial – Students write a commercial for television about a given
topic. This can be done in groups, and acted out/presented in front of the
class, or recorded on a camera and then watched by the class.
Talk Show, News Story, or Interview – Have students write the dialogue
between people on television, and then act it out in front of the class.
The Best Ending – Tell students, you are one of the authors of this story,
and you will change / write the ending. What is the best ending for this
story?