Creative writers

Description of the activity:

Lesson 1: Introduction to Creative Writing

Opening Activity (15 min):

• Discussion about the creative writing process and the importance of creativity.

• Example: Show a short motivational video about the art of creative writing or use an interactive infographic illustrating different literary genres and creative writing techniques.

• Use Mentimeter to create interactive surveys on literary genres and Strikingly or Canva to create infographics and visually present creative writing techniques.

Free Writing Exercise (20 min):

• Students write freely on a topic of their choice, encouraged to express their ideas freely.

• Example: Write a short story based on an evocative image.

• Provide students with colored post-it notes to write their ideas on, allowing them to easily organize and visually display them on the board or a mural panel.

• Use Padlet to let students share their free writing digitally and visualize ideas on the virtual board, and Storybird to stimulate creative writing through inspiring images.

Discussion and Feedback (15 min):

• Students share their writings and exchange constructive feedback, promoting a supportive and collaborative environment.

• Example: Compliment positive aspects of the stories and offer suggestions for improvement.

• Use a virtual whiteboard or mind mapping software to collect shared ideas during the discussion, creating a visual diagram of key ideas.

• Use Miro or Jamboard for creating interactive concept maps and organizing ideas from the discussion, and Google Forms to create a survey.

Lesson 2: Project Design

Brainstorming Activity (20 min):

• Students identify common themes from the free writing and generate ideas for writing projects.

• Example: Brainstorm themes such as adventure, mystery, or fantasy. Use an interactive presentation showing stimulating images and guiding questions to encourage creativity and idea generation.

• Use Jamboard or Mural for online collaboration and creative idea generation via a virtual whiteboard, and Piktochart or Canva to create engaging infographics.

Group Formation (15 min):

• Divide the students into groups according to their interests and each group chooses a theme for their writing project.

• Example: Create theme groups like "Time Travel" or "Mystery Explorers."

• Use an online application for creating surveys or quizzes to help students identify common interests and form groups based on their preferences.

• Use Kahoot or Quizizz to create interactive quizzes that help students identify common interests and form groups based on results, and Trello or Asana to facilitate group management and writing project planning.

Preliminary Research (25 min):

• Groups conduct online research to gather relevant information about their chosen theme, using reliable sources.

• Example: Research historical facts or legends related to the group's theme.

• Use data storytelling tools to visually present the information collected during preliminary research, making it more accessible and interesting for students.

• Use tools for creating infographics, interactive charts, narrative maps, dynamic dashboards, and interactive images containing links to online resources and additional information about the chosen topic. (Tableau Public, Infogram, Google Data Studio, Piktochart, StoryMap JS, Canva, Thinglink, etc.)

Lesson 3: Drafting and Editing

Writing Phase (25 min):

• Groups work together to draft the text, applying linguistic and organizational skills.

• Example: Write a detailed screenplay for a story based on the chosen theme.

• Use collaborative writing software allowing students to work simultaneously on the same document, facilitating collaboration and idea sharing.

• Google Docs or Microsoft Word Online are useful for allowing students to collaborate on text drafting in real-time and provide mutual feedback.

• Hemingway Editor is interesting for improving clarity and consistency of the text during the writing phase.

Review and Editing (20 min):

• Students exchange texts for review and offer constructive feedback to improve the quality of writing.

• Example: Identify weak points in the plot and suggest changes to make it more engaging.

• Use an interactive whiteboard or virtual whiteboard to share editing suggestions in real-time, encouraging active participation from all students in the review process.

• Use Padlet to create a virtual wall where students can share their editing suggestions and collaborate on peer review of texts.

Lesson 4: Project Presentation

Presentation Preparation (25 min):

• Groups prepare a multimedia presentation of their project, using tools like PowerPoint to enrich their presentation.

• Example: Create a presentation with images, charts, and videos that support the story's theme.

• Use multimedia presentation tools like Prezi or Canva to create dynamic and engaging presentations that include relevant images, videos, and charts for the project.

Presentation and Discussion (20 min):

• Each group presents their project to the class, sharing main contents and answering questions from classmates.

• Example: Answer questions about the research conducted and the creative process.

• Use a real-time survey application to collect questions and feedback from other students during presentations, encouraging interaction and active participation from the entire class.

Evaluation:

Evaluation will be based on active participation, the quality of writing and presentations, group collaboration, and the ability to manage the learning process.

Final Notes:

This course encourages students to develop creative and managerial writing skills through the exploration of themes of interest to them. The use of multimedia tools and collaborative activities makes learning engaging and stimulating, facilitating the autonomous management of school projects. This activity could also be implemented in a longer path in this subject.