INSTANT WRITING
NOMBRE: Eliana Pinza Tapia
Writing on the spot without much in the way of preparation or warning
CHARACTERISTIC• It can be used whenever the teacher feels
it is appropriate
ACTIVITIES
SENTENCE WRITI
NG
Dictating sentences for completion
Writing sentences
The weather forecast
Dictating sentences for completion
Teachers can dictate part of a sentence which students have to complete about themselves.
For example:“My favorite restaurant is …”
Writing sentences
Teachers can ask students to write two or three sentences
about a certain topic
For example:If Ss are discussing education, they can write sentences about positive
aspects of taking exams
The weather forecast
At the beginning of the day teachers can ask Ss to write about themselves and
their day as if they were writing a weather forecast.
For example:“What is the weather like now?”
USING MUSIC
Words
What is the composer
describing?
Film scores
How does it make me
feel?
Musical stories
Words
Teachers can play a piece of music and have Ss write down any words that
come into their heads as they listen.
For example:“Classical music”
What is the composer describing?
Ss are told that in a piece of music they are about to hear the
composer is trying to describe something specific. While
listening to the music they have to write down whatever they
hear in the music.
For example:Vivaldi famously describes the
seasons
Film scores
Ask Ss to listen to a piece of music and then create the opening scenes for a film that the music suggests to them.
For example:Film music
How does it make me feel?
Teachers can play Ss musical excerpts and get them to write their reactions as they listen.
For example:“What colour do you think the
music is?”
Musical stories
Ask Ss to write stories on the basis of music they listen to.
The teacher can dictate the fist line of a story.
For example:“He turned and looked at her”
USING PICTURES
Describing pictures
Suspects and
objects
Write the postcard
Portraits
Story tasks
Describing pictures
Ask Ss to write a description of one of the
pictures that you will show them
Suspects and objects
Give Ss a variety of pictures and ask them to write about only one of them.
Then Ss give their descriptions to another student who has to identify which picture is being
described.
Write the postcard
Give Ss postcard scenes and then ask them to write the postcard which they
would expect to write to an English-speaking friend from such a location.
Portraits
Ask Ss to write a letter to a portrait, asking the character questions about his or her life and explaining why they are
writing to them
theberry.com/2010/11/24/more-star-portraits-by-artist-shahin-20-photos/celeb-portraits-11/
Story tasks
Ss can be given a series of pictures of random objects and told to choose four
of them, and write a story which connects them.
http://sp.depositphotos.com/1637307/stock-illustration-Birthday-objects.html
WRITING POEMS
Acrostic poems/alphabet poems
Stem/frame poems
Metaphor generators
Model poems
Acrostic poems / alphabet poems
An acrostic poem is one where the first leters of each line, when read downwards, form a word.
http://mjoyce.hubpages.com/hub/acrostic-name-poems-for-girls-that-star--with-c
Stem/frame poems
Give Ss sentence or phrase stems or frames for them to complete and
which, when completed make something that is almost a poem.
For example:I like ……… because ……….I like ……… because ……….I like ……… because ……….
But I hate ………. Becaue ……….
Metaphor generators
Think of someone you love. Write that person’s name at the top of the
page. Start the first line with the word YOU.
Write about their person as if they were a kind of food.
End up with something which can often be extremely meaningful.
Model poems
Ask Ss to write about the same themes of the poem you have given them or use the
same poetic forms.
REFERENCES
Harmer, J. (2004). How to teach writing. England: Pearson Education Limited.
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