Creative Spirit
Beginning/Intermediate
Strategies for Writing
Examples/Ideas
• Just begin with any word, or idea, for
example:
– Distance… (Distancia)
– Word… (Palabra)
– Ocean… (océano, mar)
– Bread… (Pan)
– Silence… (Silencio)
Later, you can expand on that idea, just look at
the word, and let the Creative Spirit guide
you…
As a sample:
• Does anyone know the pain of distance?
• ¿ Alguien sabe lo que es el dolor de
distancia?
• Distance is an ocean when you are not
with me…
• La distancia es un océano cuando no
estás…
Bread/Silence (Pan/silencio)
• El pan tiene sabor amargo si estás lejos
• Bread tastes like tears if you are far away
• Los silencios, todos están conmigo
• All silences, all are with me…
Intermediate/advanced strategies
• Journal entries
At least once a week have students write about
something not complicated that happened to
them using the vocabulary they know.
Work in groups and share the journal entries
promoting a discussion to learn and to
motivate each other for next assignment.
Journal entries
Teachers may ask students to focus on a
specific theme (nature, travel, etc.) or to focus
on using a specific grammatical structure
(future tense, conditional, etc.)
Using metaphors/analogies
● The use of metaphors/similes are very helpful
to develop more vocabulary
● Have them explain “why” they chose their
metaphors/analogies
● Include “fun” options to keep students engaged
in the activity
● Ask students to make connections
Examples with Metaphors
• The garden is sad…
• The distance is heavy
• Words seem soft and
round
• You are the bread of
my days
• El jardín está triste…
• La distancia pesa
• Las palabras parecen
•
suaves y redondas
Tú eres el pan de mi
día
For all levels activities
• Parts of Speech Activity
– Review parts of speech with students
• Goals:
– To form more complex sentences
– To think creatively/ to develop imagination
– Challenge students to come up with the
‘craziest sentence’
Nouns
Prep.
Adjectives
Verbs
Adverbs
Beginning/Intermediate Strategies
• When you write, do not force the intellect.
• Rather, let the inspiration guide you.
• It is a process.
• Let the Spirit within express itself through
you.
Karaoke poem- The ideas/Word
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"This is the hour of ideas
they come like butterflies
like a rainbow over me
Catch them... make them yours
These are mine
Leave them alone
Find your own...
You too, have many, many
like flowers on the meadow..
Karaoke website:
http://www-tc.pbs.org/independentlens/offthecharts/karaoke.swf
The Garden is sad
1.The garden is sad since you are gone
2.Butterflies and bees fly no more
3.Even clouds do not want to come
4.And rain stops coming too.
5.Remember how much fun we had
6.When picnic and food we shared
7.Under the big apple tree
8.And you laughed and laughed.
9.Come back and bring the horse with you
10.
I am sad for him, too!
Reading and Writing skills
● Have students commit everyday to reading
and writing, from the very beginning.
● One paragraph or at least a couple of lines
will be okay for beginners
● Teach them how to use the dictionary, the
old fashioned way or an online dictionary.
● The themes for writing could be from what
they had read; copying what they like most.
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When they copy from a book it helps the
student take note of sentence structures
and reinforces vocabulary.
Ask students to read their work in small
groups or partners
Another good exercise is to select a theme
they like from a magazine, a novel or a
poem and have them re-write it in their
own words
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Have them read a fairytale, poem, short
story, or article and ask them to
summarize it in their own words.
This allows the teacher to check for
comprehension and encourages the
student to use their own language ability
to communicate about the theme
Writing for creativity
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Write for five or seven minutes per exercise
Once they begin do not stop writing until time
is up
Do not re-read what they wrote and put it
away
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When they have about 10 pages written
increase the time but not more than 20
minutes…
Students read through them and highlight
anything that stands out
They pull out highlighted fragments and rewrite the passages running three to five lines
long, double spaced to give room for their
own hand-written revisions.
They will end up with something new, maybe
even a poem and with the satisfaction of
having written it.