Interactive teaching in literacy and language/1. Warm ups/Writing games: Difference between revisions

First of all, identify something that you want to create a metaphor around - for instance - the stars. Now think of something that is like the subject or something to do with the subject - they shine, glitter, are like tin-tacks, like diamonds, like jewels, like fiery eyes. Now use an idea to make a metaphor, remembering not to use the word 'like', e.g.

Notice how one simple way is to:

=== Extending the Metaphor ===

Turn this into a metaphor by removing the word like. Now think about what eagles do and just extend the sentence further, e.g.  

My teacher is an eagle swooping around the room, hovering over his students, diving down on innocent prey and demolishing them with the terrible grip of his talons.  

Write magical potions to cure illnesses/bad habits.  

=== The Word Waiter ===

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=== Poetry Doors ===

The next person has to repeat what you have said and add in something else, e.g. 'In the city of… is a …. and under the … is a sleeping dog.' A list of prepositions helps.  

=== Disasters ===

'''5 Disasters for Superman.'''

* His tights are in the wash.  

* The colour in his boxer shorts washes out and now they're pink.  

=== Invented Insects  ===

An alphabet for a dragon's menu might also be fun:  

=== A Nuisance of Nouns  ===

An abandonment of orphansA ballet dance of swansA crush of rhinocerosesA dose of doctorsAn elephant of enormitiesA fidget of school childrenA glacier of fridgesA hover of hawksAn inquisition of judgesA Jonah of shipwrecksA knuckle of robbersA lottery of diceA misery of bulletsA number of mathematiciansAn outrage of starsA prayer of nunsA quake of cowardsA roundabout of argumentsA swelter of duvetsA tangle of trickstersAn upset of horoscopesA vein of goldfinchA wonder of starsAn x-ray of soothsayersA zeal of enthusiasts  

=== The Room of Stars  ===

The room of memories.The town of love.The city of doom.The village of sparklers.The mountain of curtains.The river of sunsets.The star of wisdom.The sun of jealousy.The kitchen of disasters.The alleyway of grass.The lawn of hedgerows.The garden of teapots.The castle of certainty.  

In the city of doomThe streets are awash with dead starfishAnd the windows have wept tears of ice,The shops are empty as silence...

Get a collection of newspapers, magazines, posters and general text. Ask children to cut out 20 - 25 headlines they like the sound of. Put them all together in a pile and then get children to play with piecing them together as a complete poem.  Newspaper headlines are excellent in this task because they tend to employ poetic techniques such as rhyme, onomatopoeia and alliteration. The children can also add their own conjunctions, words or phrases to add to the effect of the poem. Remember, meaning is not essential – the poem does not have to “make sense”. It can, but it doesn’t have to. It’s also just nice to hear what the juxtapositions of strange bundles of words do next to each other.  

Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry consisting of 3 lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables respectively.  They focus on simple everyday things in an attempt to give the reader a new experience and deeper appreciation of those simple everyday things.  

Originally called Hokku, which means, “starting verse”, they are divided into two sections. The first section is the first two lines which captures the image for the reader. The second section is the last line that frames the image and sheds further light on it in a figurative way. For instance:  

Haiku is a great way to warm up for further writing.  It is a clear focus of an image or an event and a starting point to focus upon.  

When the children have a rough sketch of the haiku, try to concentrate on the syllable count by editing and tidying up the poem. Remember, the first line should contain five syllables, the second line seven and the last line five. However, you can be flexible.