Community Creating with Creative Writing
Community Creating with Creative Writing
Creative writing is such a therapeutic learning activity not just for students but people in general. Throughout my college experience as an English major with a writing concentration I had the luxury of learning about so many peoples’ experiences and different perspectives on life. I also learned that often times people maybe needed to tell a story but were scared or embarrassed to share it. We did so many activities that had allowed those people to have that feeling of expression in a safe and secure atmosphere which led to baby steps of comfortability in sharing. It created a strong sense of community on its own that made the class environments feel so safe, secure, exciting and freeing. Every class room should have this feeling because of the level of productivity it can create. Creative writing can create a community for a class, for students, and for educators that breaks all types of negative barriers.
In the title of this article it discusses building a student’s “resilience.” What does that mean?
Resilience- the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness
Students deserve to grow in a way that presents them opportunities to become stronger mentally. Rather that means tackle academic scholarships, balance school life and homelife, or anything else they may be going through as educators we need to facilitate ways for them to develop skills to handle this. This article dives into the ways of ensure growth in a student’s mindset through the use of creative writing. They mention the engagement of students in the exercises they propose because it allows students to feel that their personal stories matter.
Exercises:
1) One exercise that I think can be great to start off class is to ask students to take a piece of paper out. They can listen to music if they want and ask them to just simply write down how they are feeling today. As them why they are feeling this way today. This allows for students to slow down time and really analyze themselves in that given moment. Most of the time it can just be very therapeutic, but also can sometimes lead to positive or negative realizations. If a student think something may be wrong it is a good opportunity for them to make that realization and come to the teacher with questions for a solution. When everyone is done, the teacher will ask them to rip up the paper and throw it out in the garbage so that they know they can feel safe expressing themselves in this class without being forced to put it out there.
2. This exercise is great in the next step of building a community, because the previous one demonstrates a sign of care and wanting to help on the student’s terms. Students will be asked to write about a happy or positive time that they changed someone’s life/day or someone had did this for them. When each student is finished, in a seminar style of sitting one bye one each student will have the chance to share their story with the class. Most importantly, each student will be asked to comment on that story positively, and what they liked about it. Once everyone is finished, everyone will have told their story and commented on their peers. It creates a sense of community because we are all in this together. We all have a story to share and we all supported one another’s stories. Having a place that students know is there for them is so powerful and engaging, it can lead to mountain high levels of success and happiness.
3. One more exercise, while it is very vague, is to ask students to write about anything they want for homework to bring in to class. The only catch is that while writing it, the question “what is the message” needs to be answered and eventually conveyed through their work. They will be asked to staple a blank piece of paper to the back of it. When they bring it to class, the class will sit in a circle seminar style and hand it to the person to their write. Everyone will write a positive comment on the blank piece of paper anonymously along with advice on how to make it better. It will keep going to the write until everyone has read them all. This is powerful because it can build a sense of community in a more quiet and relaxed way but is still so amazing at the end when the student sees the collage of positive words their peers had to say about their work.
This video is amazing because it can help students who feel discouraged to write or are not confident in their writing feel more confident. The speaker lets you know that you don’t have to be perfect and gives students amazing tips about how to become the writer they want to be.
Text connection:
I connected this topic to the try it in the text book “Stop and jot about digital texts.” This is a great style of writing because instead of thinking too much or trying to make things perfect, just writing down all the thoughts in your head in that moment can be far more productive. Seeing the thoughts in your head on paper can slow it down for students and help them realize what they are thinking and continue into questioning why that is. Especially with digital texts there can be a lot going on at once for students similar to how they may have a lot going on in their life. Creative writing helps with this so much, and this try it demonstrates a perfect exercise of that.
Tools/Resources:
Finally here are some great tools that help connect students in their classroom community while working on creative writing pieces:
Hi Matt, thanks for sharing your blog post! I am definitely an advocate for creative writing. Not only is it therapeutic, but allows students to use their skills and write stories that are interesting and engaging to them. Creativity in general is such an important aspect in every student. Therefore each student should show their creative side through a variety of classroom activities. I like how creative writing can also create a sense of community, making a positive environment to be in due to students being able to share personal stories. In terms of resilience, I agree that students deserve to grow through given opportunities. As a result, creative writing helps ensure growth in a student’s mindset as well as giving them a sense of belonging as they feel their stories matter. I like to compare this to art as it too can have a similar impact on students. I myself enjoy art recreationally. It is very therapeutic. In addition, in school, when we would do anything creative or attend art class, I would be able to express myself in another outlet. I like that you provide a bunch of exercises that can be utilized in the classroom to help start out integrating creative writing in the classroom. These are definitely some techniques that I would use in my classroom, especially as someone who wants to give my future students ample opportunities to be creative.
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ReplyDeleteHey Matt! I really enjoyed reading your blog. By reading your blog, it showed me how passionate and dedicated you are to implementing creative writing in the classroom. It allows students to show their writing skills in a new way, and to simply just write freely. Something that really stood out to me was when you said, "They mention the engagement of students in the exercises they propose because it allows students to feel that their personal stories matter." As a future teacher, this is so important to remember. We never know what a student may be going through, so it is important to always make sure they know they matter. The first exercise you explained was a great example. Allowing students to write about how they feel and then throw it out after gives them the opportunity to get out any frustration or anger on paper. This way, students can feel like they are in a judge free zone and can express their feelings. Overall, I will definitely use the creative writing techniques you shared in the future. Awesome job!
ReplyDeleteHi Matt, awesome post! I have also completed an undergraduate degree in English and now pursue my teaching certification. I am glad you chose this topic because I share you beliefs in the values of creative writing. I feel it is an underestimated tool that can, as you state, allow students to express themselves. Creative writing can be a way to work through complex ideas and break them down to your own understanding. There can also be many connections between creative writing and digital literacy. I like how you broke down what you were talking about and then gave the examples of what can be done to give these students this opportunity. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Matt! I really enjoyed reading your post. I can tell how passionate you are about creative writing and I'm sure your students feed off your amazing energy! I agree that writing is so important to help build community and give students a way of expression. I will definitely have to try out some of these ideas in my classroom, thank you for this. And I loved the idea of students giving feedback anonymously, you're right it takes off a lot of pressure and students should learn to love writing, not dread it. Your exercises will help students see that writing can be so fun!
ReplyDeleteHi Matt! I loved the image you used the begin your blog post, it pulled me in immediately and made me want to read more! You are spot on by saying that creative writing is a therapeutic learning activity for not just students but people as a whole. Creative writing is a time to reflect or just lose yourself in your writing. I took a creative writing class my senior year of high school and I remember feeling so relaxed and rejuvenated in the classroom when I could just pour myself into my writing. I love how you discussed building a student’s resilience. My favorite line that you wrote was, “Students deserve to grow in a way that presents them opportunities to become stronger mentally.” This is so incredibly true! Students have so much going on in their lives in and out of school and it can be a lot to balance. The exercises you discussed are perfect because it is so important for students to feel that their stories matter. We talked in great detail about this topic in the Story Telling Seminar I took last semester. My favorite exercise you proposed was the third one. I love how open ended this is and how it helps build a sense of community in the classroom. I think you did an awesome job on this blog overall!
ReplyDeleteHi Matt, what a great topic for this blog! After reading your introduction to your post, I immediately made a connection with your ideas to a Storytelling Seminar I took last semester. Creative writing is a time where students (and people in general) have the opportunity to share their stories. While not all people may use this time to share portions of their personal lives, we can learn more about who the author is by reading their stories. This is even true for fictional stories; we can gain access to the writer's thoughts as we read their work. In addition, I also liked how you presented three exercises to provoke successful creative writing sessions within a classroom. It's important for teachers to sometimes vary the environment in which we write. At the same time, it's also important to keep some factors consistent. Those could include noise levels or other factors that can serve as distractions. Through these processes, students will learn more about themselves and how to best get their ideas flowing. For me, I'm not the type of student who can focus with a lot of noise. I rarely listen to music when I'm studying or doing work. This is a personal preference that helps me to limit distractions. Other students may like to work with friends. Providing these opportunities for students can help them to develop as a writer and recognize who they are as students as well.
ReplyDeleteHi Matt! Great work on your blog on community creating with creative writing. Creative writing is a great way for students to express themselves through writing. I know at my internship, a lot of classes make sure to include time for writing, and a lot of time it is a free write or creative writing. I really like the article you included on resilience, it is important for us as teachers to make sure students have a growth mindset and to see the different exercises that can enhance creative writing. I really liked reading the three exercises you included. One of my favorites was the first one you listed about having students free write about their feelings. Most times, students don’t really have a chance to express their feelings during the school day, or they may not feel comfortable sharing them with the class. With this activity, they can write down anything they feel, because in the end, they are ripping up the paper and throwing it away. I also really enjoyed the recourses you included at the bottom for ways we can bring the class community together with creative writing. A class website sounds like such a fun idea! Great work and thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHey Matt! I thought that your topic for your blog was a great idea and think that it could be completely applicable in the classroom because it will enable the students to write without feeling judged or embarrassed. Something that you wrote that specifically stood out to me was in the first exercise that you described.  I love the idea of having the students write down how they are feeling because as you stated it gives them time to really analyze themselves in the given moment. I think that many times when we ask students this question out loud they may answer and say either "good" or "ok" because they do not want to have a deeper conversation about it. By writing it down and really analyzing why they feel "good" or "ok" the students can make positive or negative realizations about themselves. I think that by having the students rip the paper and throw it in the garbage is a great idea because it shows that they are able to have some self expression but also know that their thoughts are their own and if they do not want to share them they do not have to. I think this would make students more comfortable and also create a sense of community because they know that they can express themselves in whatever way that they see fit without having the pressure of writing something superficial because they don’t want to share how they actually feel with the class. 
ReplyDeleteHi Matt! I really enjoyed reading your blog and thought it was very interesting. The first exercise you mentioned I thought was really powerful. I feel a lot of times students and even adults have a hard time monitoring or sharing their emotions. This gives teachers an idea of their students feelings but also an opportunity to share with their teacher if they would like to. I feel everyday we are go, go, go, and never stop and give students the time to sit and analyze how they are feeling. Thank you for sharing this post. I am going to use this with my students!
ReplyDeleteHi Matt, Great job on your post! I really liked your topic and how you set up this post. I liked that you included exercises in the beginning to show how you would break it down with students. i liked that these exercises were a mix of individual and community building activities. I really enjoyed the video that you included. It related so well to your topic. I know there are so many students who struggle with coming up with ideas of what to write or getting their ideas from their head onto the paper. I think watching a video like this can be beneficial for many students to understand they aren't the only ones who struggle with writing. It is great to show students it takes time and practice and lots of drafts some times! I liked your connection to the book as well. It is great to show the connection to reading and I think that stop and jots are so helpful for students when trying to comprehend their reading.
ReplyDeleteHi Matt, great post on creative writing! As a third grade teacher, this is extremely important. At my school, we find it difficult for students that come into third grade to extend their stories or to even find a topic to write about. I LOVE having them listen to music and writing how they are feeling during the music. I used to do this exercise as a dance assistant and carried it over to my teaching career - the students love it! They are free to share with others, just myself or it stays in their personal journal. I like the idea of having the children share their positive/happy moment in their life. Another method of sharing could be partner sharing or even the Fishbowl method to help ease students that are shy or for students that are ELs and are more comfortable in that situation. "Free Write Friday" is a must in our third grade classroom! Great work!
ReplyDeleteGood morning Matt! Thank you for a a blog that I can truly connect to. Creative writing is always something that I have enjoyed since I was young and in elementary school. But it has always been a challenge to engage students in the process. You included some great tips to kick off writing and help students build a sense of confidence within their classroom and with their classmates. I really enjoyed the video clip that you included. I plan to share that with my own students. Helping students learn that they can write without being perfect the first time (or second time) is a huge feat but so important. Thank you for bringing that to light in your blog.
ReplyDeleteHI Matt, I really enjoyed your blog. My favorite part was the different activities to use in the classroom. I really like how these activities helped build a community where students felt safe and confident to share their thoughts and stories. I also found the video helpful to encourage students who are having a hard time or may feel a little reluctant to share. Tat was me as a student, I was always hesitant to open up share my thoughts, answers, ideas or stories. It would have really been beneficial to have had a teacher who created an environment like the one you describe in your blog. I learned alot of ideas to bring with me into my own classroom. Great blog!
ReplyDeleteHey Matt! Great post. I'm a big fan of creative writing. I think it's important for kids today to get a chance to express themselves through their writing instead of always writing to a prompt or for informational purposes. I see the value in students learning how to think outside the box and then put those thoughts down on paper as a creative story. I love your three suggestions on how to build community through writing. In one of my classes this past fall, I actually got a chance to try the first one. We came in and wrote down how we were feeling, something that had happened that day, something that was on our minds, etc. Then we crumbled them up and threw them into the middle of the room. With elementary schoolers it might be best to just have them throw them away or have the teacher read them aloud but for us, we picked up someone else's crumpled paper and read it aloud. This took away some of the awkwardness that being open can sometimes bring and it allowed us to have a conversation around whatever was on that persons mind without knowing who it was. I'm definitely going to try to add in your suggestions during writer's workshop. Great job on this post!
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