It was a dark and stormy night
| Activity | |
|---|---|
| Creative writing | |
| Target level | JHS 3 |
 | |
Submitted by Tessie Vu and Joshua Drewry
Description
In Japan, the hot summer months are a time for ghost stories. Why not use this as a chance to motivate your kids to use English creatively and craft their own spooky stories?
The hardest part of creative writing for our students is often deciding on a direction. Left with too much freedom, students may be intimidated by the task and freeze. By supplying portions of story they must use, students are often more confident in their ability, feeling that they are only “filling it in”. Here’s how it works:
Directions
Step 1) Compose 3 sentences for your students to use in their stories. These should be comprised of a first, central and last sentence for the story. They should be easy to understand and sufficiently vague to allow a variety of stories but still lend direction to initial ideas. For my version of this assignment, I assigned the students the sentences: “It was a dark and stormy night.” “Suddenly, I heard something behind me!” “I will never forget that night.”
Step 2) Inform the students that they must use the sentences you gave them in their story. Read them an example or two of your own for inspiration.
Step 3) Provide them with English dictionaries and/or a toolbox of useful vocabulary.
Step 4) After they have composed their short stories, take volunteers to read them. Turn the lights down for atmosphere and have fun!
