To begin, I'd like to say that I believe that the "Teacherless Writing Class" is a good idea. I say this, because, if nothing else, it facilitates the sharing of opinions and ideas among a small band of writers, and, I would argue that this process could only be helpful. After all, I don't think any writer can get an honest assessment of their writing until someone else reads it. So, it makes sense that Elbow recommends that 7 to 12 people read it. The more, the merrier.
Here is something interesting that I picked out of the reading: Elbow says, "Whenever people work in only one genre, they gradually become blind to certain excrescences" (79). He makes a good point. I think that good readers are those individuals who possess an ability to negotiate a wide range of texts. The same thing goes for good writers, I would imagine. It seems to me that the more diversified someone can be in respect to their writing abilities, the better the writer they will become.
Something else struck me: Elbow says, "Hearing your own words out loud gives you the vicarious experience of being someone else" (82). This is a unique way to look at this experience; one that I have never considered before. But, I guess he's right, because I often find that while I am writing at home, I routinely speak aloud during the process. This is my way of finding my own voice while I am actively engaged in the writing process. And, more often than not, this technique seems to work -- at least until I make alterations in the next draft.
I like that Elbow stresses not to make apologies for one's writing. In doing this, he seems to be saying that it's okay to produce writing that doesn't always come out the way you planned, or that, once in awhile, it might not even make sense. This things are expected, especially from writers who are new to the process. Moreover, I think that, in saying that it's okay to make mistakes, he tries to lessen some of the impending doom, or fear, that many writers feel toward the writing process itself. Bravo to Elbow for saying this. I get the feeling that he just wants to implore writers to pull up their sleeves and get into the muck and mud of this arduous task known as writing. Sure, it's going to be hard sometimes, but why should that hinder us as writers (I feel like I am spilling my own thoughts out on paper right now; this thoughts really aren't Elbow's, but that's okay).
Anyway, the best thing that writers can do is simply write, and then share their stuff. That seems like the best way to learn -- or, at least, that's what I got after reading the last third of Elbow. Sorry this is late. Enjoy, and thanks.
I apologize for publishing the wrong blog a few weeks ago. I should have checked the schedule.
Jason
Monday, November 16, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Unjournaling
For any writers looking to step out of their comfort zones and really tap into their creative side, Unjournaling is the perfect tool to spark the imagination. The introduction of this text reiterates an important point about the matter of a writer’s attachment to his/her work. Too often we (writers) become possessive and obsessive about our creations; we don’t care to take anyone else’s critiques or suggestions for improving the final product into consideration. We fear criticism and the fact that the words we’ve stressed over in our struggle to convey our particular meanings may be discarded. Unjournaling says that writing doesn’t have to be formal or stuffy and it doesn’t always have to be a matter of personal integrity. Instead the book reminds and encourages us to let loose every once in a while in our writing and to truly enjoy the process of putting our ideas on paper.
Writing can be a pleasurable experience, it can even be silly. Sometimes writers just need to let go of their inhibitions. The exercises presented in the book certainly help to do this and to get the juices flowing in our mind. These drills are tailored to fit the skill levels of middle-schoolers and adults, so anyone who wants to expand his/her creative horizons can take advantage of Thurston and DiPrince’s book. For myself, I liked that these exercises offer instruction and guidance. Sometimes it’s nice being told what to write. When I know that I have a certain task to fulfill, I attack it more readily and immediately begin developing avenues which will lead me to the final goal. These prompts provide some direction (like, write a paragraph about a girl named Dot without using the letters 'i' and 'j'-which to me seems impossible), but that’s it; the author controls the overall development of his/her writing. Some of these prompts are challenging and some appear to be quite ridiculous-but that’s the beauty of each one. In the future, I hope to have the time to use these whacky prompts to improve my own creative writing abilities.
Writing can be a pleasurable experience, it can even be silly. Sometimes writers just need to let go of their inhibitions. The exercises presented in the book certainly help to do this and to get the juices flowing in our mind. These drills are tailored to fit the skill levels of middle-schoolers and adults, so anyone who wants to expand his/her creative horizons can take advantage of Thurston and DiPrince’s book. For myself, I liked that these exercises offer instruction and guidance. Sometimes it’s nice being told what to write. When I know that I have a certain task to fulfill, I attack it more readily and immediately begin developing avenues which will lead me to the final goal. These prompts provide some direction (like, write a paragraph about a girl named Dot without using the letters 'i' and 'j'-which to me seems impossible), but that’s it; the author controls the overall development of his/her writing. Some of these prompts are challenging and some appear to be quite ridiculous-but that’s the beauty of each one. In the future, I hope to have the time to use these whacky prompts to improve my own creative writing abilities.
restrictions reveal to us a deeper level of freedom
The thing I like most about this book is the fact that it encourages the writing assignments to be “not personal” and “not introspective.” As I’ve mentioned before, I love personal writing assignments and I do think that a lot of good writing tends to be very personalized. However, this kind of writing also tends to be very limiting. Sometimes students need to think outside of themselves. This book of prompts could help students with just this.
I had a creative writing teacher praise pieces of writing that were “disconnected” from the student. I was always quite baffled by his notion. It went against everything I was taught previously. His explanation was that it shows true creativity to expose a piece of writing that has nothing to do with the writer. He felt that it showed discipline and commitment. I also had a poetry teacher who personally experimented with restrictions within her writing process. This teacher published different books of poems and essays. One book of her poems excluded the letter “e.” She often experimented with no punctuation. Like my other teacher, she sometimes encouraged her students to be “distant” from their pieces of writing. She felt that poetry did not have to be personal, and that some of the best poetry she ever read or wrote was detached from her personal emotions and feelings. I remember her telling my class that sometimes restrictions reveal to us a deeper level of freedom.
I believe that getting students to write outside of themselves is a challenging task. I struggle with this. Even within these blogs, all we ever do is talk about ourselves and our past experiences. “I had a bad experience in my 10th grade English class.” “I always liked to write poetry because it was such a personal experience.” “I think this assignment is stupid and I will never teach it in my classroom!” Even though I would not use all of the writing prompts within the book, I feel that there are some “awesome” ones (as Kaitlyn’s mommy would say). These non personal topics help students to write to a specific audience and create characters that have nothing to do with themselves. Students are going to face assignments that do not revolve around their personal feelings or experiences. Many struggle with research papers and analytical essays because of these issues. These prompts provide practice for students to write about something that is unusual to them. Hopefully, it could also be a fun experience. Maybe it can reveal to students that writing is not as restricting as they thought it to be.
Rachael brings up a great point in her blog. It might be disconcerting to students for a teacher to present writing as being restricting. I agree with her that writing is ultimately not restricting. Yet, not all students feel this way. I feel that by exaggerating restrictions, some writers will be surprised to find freedom, and might even realize that writing is not as restricting as they thought. This could build confidence.
Overall, I love being challenged by a creative prompt. Sometimes I am surprised by what my mind and hand can come up with. Two of my favorites from the book were “What would blue taste like if you could chew it” or “What if the sky were not blue but red.” These prompts could be a great way to introduce sensory/figurative language and images to a classroom. I do believe that some of these prompts are a bit childish and silly. Yet, isn’t that the point of this book? I think this book could be used for elementary school kids up through college level students. The main point of this book for me is that our writing should not be limited by limitations. Our creativity should surpass that of an initial prompt. Something phenomenal can surface from a pointless prompt. Writing does not have to be personal! Sometimes real freedom can be found within restrictions.
I had a creative writing teacher praise pieces of writing that were “disconnected” from the student. I was always quite baffled by his notion. It went against everything I was taught previously. His explanation was that it shows true creativity to expose a piece of writing that has nothing to do with the writer. He felt that it showed discipline and commitment. I also had a poetry teacher who personally experimented with restrictions within her writing process. This teacher published different books of poems and essays. One book of her poems excluded the letter “e.” She often experimented with no punctuation. Like my other teacher, she sometimes encouraged her students to be “distant” from their pieces of writing. She felt that poetry did not have to be personal, and that some of the best poetry she ever read or wrote was detached from her personal emotions and feelings. I remember her telling my class that sometimes restrictions reveal to us a deeper level of freedom.
I believe that getting students to write outside of themselves is a challenging task. I struggle with this. Even within these blogs, all we ever do is talk about ourselves and our past experiences. “I had a bad experience in my 10th grade English class.” “I always liked to write poetry because it was such a personal experience.” “I think this assignment is stupid and I will never teach it in my classroom!” Even though I would not use all of the writing prompts within the book, I feel that there are some “awesome” ones (as Kaitlyn’s mommy would say). These non personal topics help students to write to a specific audience and create characters that have nothing to do with themselves. Students are going to face assignments that do not revolve around their personal feelings or experiences. Many struggle with research papers and analytical essays because of these issues. These prompts provide practice for students to write about something that is unusual to them. Hopefully, it could also be a fun experience. Maybe it can reveal to students that writing is not as restricting as they thought it to be.
Rachael brings up a great point in her blog. It might be disconcerting to students for a teacher to present writing as being restricting. I agree with her that writing is ultimately not restricting. Yet, not all students feel this way. I feel that by exaggerating restrictions, some writers will be surprised to find freedom, and might even realize that writing is not as restricting as they thought. This could build confidence.
Overall, I love being challenged by a creative prompt. Sometimes I am surprised by what my mind and hand can come up with. Two of my favorites from the book were “What would blue taste like if you could chew it” or “What if the sky were not blue but red.” These prompts could be a great way to introduce sensory/figurative language and images to a classroom. I do believe that some of these prompts are a bit childish and silly. Yet, isn’t that the point of this book? I think this book could be used for elementary school kids up through college level students. The main point of this book for me is that our writing should not be limited by limitations. Our creativity should surpass that of an initial prompt. Something phenomenal can surface from a pointless prompt. Writing does not have to be personal! Sometimes real freedom can be found within restrictions.
unjournaling
I thought the unjournaling exercises were great! It is a fun way to get you thinking about writing. There were so many prompt choices. I liked prompt number 162. It asked you to write a short story using the letters of the alphabet in order to start each sentence. It really made you think about what words you could use to start each sentence. I thought it would be hard to come up with words that start with v, x, and z. If I couldn’t think of something, I usually just used a person’s name. To my surprise, my story actually made sense.
I also wrote about someone being bored. This was prompt number 12. There were certain words that were not allowed to be used. After I was done writing, I looked in the back of the book to see the example for the prompts. The example in the back of the book was very similar to my description of someone being bored. I am not sure I like that there are examples in the back. I know they said the examples were there so we knew that each exercise was possible to complete, but I don’t think they were necessary.
Some of the prompts given might be good topics for free writing exercises. Other topics wouldn’t work so well. For example, the prompts that I wrote about might become difficult to keep writing. I had to stop and think about what word I was going to use to start the sentence. Free writing is all about not stopping. The first topic I wrote about would work for free writing. There were a few words that were not allowed to be used, but that didn’t stop me from free writing.
Unjournaling is probably appealing to most kids. I think it would make kids excited about writing. I don’t remember doing silly writing exercises in school. It would have made writing much more interesting if we would have had them. Writing should be fun. It shouldn’t be something that everyone dreads. These exercises show that writing isn’t always boring and tedious.
I also wrote about someone being bored. This was prompt number 12. There were certain words that were not allowed to be used. After I was done writing, I looked in the back of the book to see the example for the prompts. The example in the back of the book was very similar to my description of someone being bored. I am not sure I like that there are examples in the back. I know they said the examples were there so we knew that each exercise was possible to complete, but I don’t think they were necessary.
Some of the prompts given might be good topics for free writing exercises. Other topics wouldn’t work so well. For example, the prompts that I wrote about might become difficult to keep writing. I had to stop and think about what word I was going to use to start the sentence. Free writing is all about not stopping. The first topic I wrote about would work for free writing. There were a few words that were not allowed to be used, but that didn’t stop me from free writing.
Unjournaling is probably appealing to most kids. I think it would make kids excited about writing. I don’t remember doing silly writing exercises in school. It would have made writing much more interesting if we would have had them. Writing should be fun. It shouldn’t be something that everyone dreads. These exercises show that writing isn’t always boring and tedious.
Great ideas
I did the same thing that Jen did, read this book out loud to my family. I as well as my children liked that idea of a book like this and I will surely use it within the classroom. I found so many prompts to be fun, but also could see the benefits of using them within the classroom setting.
I was unsure at first how I felt about the answer key or idea key in the back, but as I read the prompts and then the ideas in the back I could see how they would help in a younger classroom situation for starting the ideas flowing. I don't think in an older classroom setting I would use the hints at the back of the book.
I found it very hard to narrow down the ones that I liked better then others because they all were pretty good. I had to sit down and really look at them and actually tried to write a few of them before I determined what ones I like more. I found the ones that I like the most were the ones where you had to use your emotions to write, like in # 145 "What would blue taste like if you could chew it?" (45) I also like # 44 "In one sentence communicate fear" (18).
I think that both of these really made you think and compose your thoughts and emotions to put down on the paper. I will certainly hold onto this book as I think that it is a valuable tool to have as a teacher. This is one of those many things that a teacher can carry in their bag of tricks!
I was unsure at first how I felt about the answer key or idea key in the back, but as I read the prompts and then the ideas in the back I could see how they would help in a younger classroom situation for starting the ideas flowing. I don't think in an older classroom setting I would use the hints at the back of the book.
I found it very hard to narrow down the ones that I liked better then others because they all were pretty good. I had to sit down and really look at them and actually tried to write a few of them before I determined what ones I like more. I found the ones that I like the most were the ones where you had to use your emotions to write, like in # 145 "What would blue taste like if you could chew it?" (45) I also like # 44 "In one sentence communicate fear" (18).
I think that both of these really made you think and compose your thoughts and emotions to put down on the paper. I will certainly hold onto this book as I think that it is a valuable tool to have as a teacher. This is one of those many things that a teacher can carry in their bag of tricks!
Thinking outside of the box and outside of the book
I LOVED this book! I think that a lot of student writing either has writing from a personal nature or writing that often doesn’t connect with a student. While the prompts in this book are often disconnected from students in terms of subject, they allow a more creative side to come out-- or at least a more relaxed side.
I read this book out loud in front of my family, while we were in the midst of finishing dinner, doing dishes, getting ready to go to a Girl Scout meeting, and preparing to pack for a business trip. Some of them intrigued us; others felt a bit more perplexing. But, I noticed that my 9-year-old daughter, who doesn’t always enjoy writing, was becoming more interested in each prompt. Perhaps I will use them with her already, and I am seriously considering using some with my Girl Scouts, connecting them to a writing badge we are working on.
I enjoyed the prompts that involved thinking more creatively about something that is common or ordinary. For example, Prompt 8,”How many ways can you say No? Write ten sentences that say no in various ways, but without using the word no.” Right away, I thought of five ways, and my daughter said, “Ooooh, Does that mean we could use how you always say ‘not right now’? Two little sentences got her thinking. Yea!! She’s thinking outside of the box.
My kindergartener liked the prompts relating to rhyming (ex. 3, 60,62). She even likes to make up words to add to the list. I notice that doing things like this spark her imagination or spark a conversation about a topic we wouldn’t normally talk about. (Why do bees live in trees?) (Why do we have geese, but not meese?)
I personally like the prompts that can have any answer possible, such as number 145: “What would blue taste like if you could chew it?” This could have any answer possible. I would hope that some students would think outside of the ordinary, and not pick things like blueberries, raspberries, etc. When I said that I thought blue would taste like creamy chocolate and cherries, my daughters stared at me. They first told me I was wrong, and when I asked how they knew I was wrong, they couldn’t answer. It let them know that there are not always right and wrong answers to every question.
There were a few prompts that I thought I would get frustrated doing myself. The first was to “write a paragraph consisting of only six-letter words” (#159). I would really have to think about all of the words I know, and I think I could find myself getting frustrated with that one. The other prompt that I was trying to write in my head over the last few days was #46 :”Write a sentence in which the first word is one letter long, the second word is two letters long, the third word is three letters long, etc.” So far I got to I am two days older.
Overall I think this book has great ideas to use to get students out of the writing doldrums. Some make little sense, but get thoughts from anywhere put on paper. Others make you think, but to have fun doing it. I can’t wait to try these out on my own kids, my Girl Scout troop, and my eventual class.
Note: Another good place to find some thinking/writing prompts is Highlights magazine. They have the “Brain Play” section that can get the wheels turning.
I read this book out loud in front of my family, while we were in the midst of finishing dinner, doing dishes, getting ready to go to a Girl Scout meeting, and preparing to pack for a business trip. Some of them intrigued us; others felt a bit more perplexing. But, I noticed that my 9-year-old daughter, who doesn’t always enjoy writing, was becoming more interested in each prompt. Perhaps I will use them with her already, and I am seriously considering using some with my Girl Scouts, connecting them to a writing badge we are working on.
I enjoyed the prompts that involved thinking more creatively about something that is common or ordinary. For example, Prompt 8,”How many ways can you say No? Write ten sentences that say no in various ways, but without using the word no.” Right away, I thought of five ways, and my daughter said, “Ooooh, Does that mean we could use how you always say ‘not right now’? Two little sentences got her thinking. Yea!! She’s thinking outside of the box.
My kindergartener liked the prompts relating to rhyming (ex. 3, 60,62). She even likes to make up words to add to the list. I notice that doing things like this spark her imagination or spark a conversation about a topic we wouldn’t normally talk about. (Why do bees live in trees?) (Why do we have geese, but not meese?)
I personally like the prompts that can have any answer possible, such as number 145: “What would blue taste like if you could chew it?” This could have any answer possible. I would hope that some students would think outside of the ordinary, and not pick things like blueberries, raspberries, etc. When I said that I thought blue would taste like creamy chocolate and cherries, my daughters stared at me. They first told me I was wrong, and when I asked how they knew I was wrong, they couldn’t answer. It let them know that there are not always right and wrong answers to every question.
There were a few prompts that I thought I would get frustrated doing myself. The first was to “write a paragraph consisting of only six-letter words” (#159). I would really have to think about all of the words I know, and I think I could find myself getting frustrated with that one. The other prompt that I was trying to write in my head over the last few days was #46 :”Write a sentence in which the first word is one letter long, the second word is two letters long, the third word is three letters long, etc.” So far I got to I am two days older.
Overall I think this book has great ideas to use to get students out of the writing doldrums. Some make little sense, but get thoughts from anywhere put on paper. Others make you think, but to have fun doing it. I can’t wait to try these out on my own kids, my Girl Scout troop, and my eventual class.
Note: Another good place to find some thinking/writing prompts is Highlights magazine. They have the “Brain Play” section that can get the wheels turning.
I really had fun with the Unjournaling book. I love the idea behind it.
Unjournaling would be a great book to use in a classroom. There are so many fun, interesting prompts. I think this book could get kids excited about writing and hopefully make them want to write on a regular basis. Hopefully the prompts could help students who struggle with writing. Not every student is a creative writer and not every student wants to write about personal things. This book can help with that.
I picked some of the prompts and tried writing myself and had a blast. Some of them were a little more out there than others. (Those were the ones I liked the best!). I really liked prompts like number 7, “Write a paragraph that includes twenty words with double vowels.” I like brainteasers like that, even though I’m not very good at them! Almost all the prompts will allow students to express their own creativity. The responses to a prompt like number 71, “Update the story of Cinderella” would probably be entertaining to read.
I’m not sure I like the idea of an answer key at the back of the book. The prompts are so varied that if a student gets stuck on one, there’s probably another one in the book they would have an easier time with. If I use the book in my classroom, I would let the students write using the prompts they want to.
Unjournaling would be a great book to use in a classroom. There are so many fun, interesting prompts. I think this book could get kids excited about writing and hopefully make them want to write on a regular basis. Hopefully the prompts could help students who struggle with writing. Not every student is a creative writer and not every student wants to write about personal things. This book can help with that.
I picked some of the prompts and tried writing myself and had a blast. Some of them were a little more out there than others. (Those were the ones I liked the best!). I really liked prompts like number 7, “Write a paragraph that includes twenty words with double vowels.” I like brainteasers like that, even though I’m not very good at them! Almost all the prompts will allow students to express their own creativity. The responses to a prompt like number 71, “Update the story of Cinderella” would probably be entertaining to read.
I’m not sure I like the idea of an answer key at the back of the book. The prompts are so varied that if a student gets stuck on one, there’s probably another one in the book they would have an easier time with. If I use the book in my classroom, I would let the students write using the prompts they want to.
Ways to use Unjournaling
I am very happy to have a book full of writing prompts like Unjournaling. As a fairly new writer, I will use this book myself because I agree with the authors that, “when students write frequently and about many different topics, they become more comfortable with writing.”
That has been the case for me. In addition to all the writing I do for school, I’ve mentioned before that writing a weekly blog about my son’s football games has helped me become more at ease with writing. However, I still freeze up and find it hard to write sometimes because I have to generate new ideas to write about each week. After all, there are only so many things to say about the x’s and o’s of a football game.
When I get really stuck for something to write, I have found my own prompts from reading what other people write about the game. I don’t write the same thing, but usually something that I read will click the light on in my head and I will come up with a fairly decent topic to write about.
That is what I liked about the prompts in this book and the answer key. The prompts were specific enough to help the writer get started, but they were general enough to allow the writer to be as creative as they can be. The answer key in the back of this book is like the sports pages I read. They unlock the door to my mind and let the ideas flow out.
I do agree with Rachael that some of these prompts seem pointless and also difficult. Number 86 for example says, “Write a three-sentence paragraph using only the first half of the alphabet, letters a-l. (You may not use t, m, s or any other letter that appears past l in the alphabet.) First of all, I would never choose this prompt because it would take me all day to come up with sentences that have only the first half of the alphabet in them. Prompts like this one seem more like busy work than something actually beneficial.
There were many prompts that could not only be used as a writing prompt, but also as an opportunity to teach a real life lesson. For example, number 122 prompts the writer to, “write a convincing ad but don’t spend over $200.00”. In real life if you have ever placed an ad in the newspaper, you know they are expensive and it can be difficult to word your ad well enough to get your point across without over spending your budget. This prompt would be a great opportunity for students to learn how to effectively write an ad.
Other prompts would be opportunities for teachers to talk about specific topics related to writing. Number 84 would make a good lesson about using analogies in writing to make it more interesting and clear. Number 104 would be a lesson on how to tighten up writing by getting rid of words that are not necessary to the main focus of the piece. Other prompts could lead to lessons about prepositions, euphemisms, allegories, and ideas like show don’t tell.
As a teacher and as an individual I can see the benefits of using this book to help writers become more relaxed and comfortable with writing. I also think there is value to this book as a teaching tool in the classroom. For the individual outside the classroom, this book provides a fun way to stay motivated to write frequently.
That has been the case for me. In addition to all the writing I do for school, I’ve mentioned before that writing a weekly blog about my son’s football games has helped me become more at ease with writing. However, I still freeze up and find it hard to write sometimes because I have to generate new ideas to write about each week. After all, there are only so many things to say about the x’s and o’s of a football game.
When I get really stuck for something to write, I have found my own prompts from reading what other people write about the game. I don’t write the same thing, but usually something that I read will click the light on in my head and I will come up with a fairly decent topic to write about.
That is what I liked about the prompts in this book and the answer key. The prompts were specific enough to help the writer get started, but they were general enough to allow the writer to be as creative as they can be. The answer key in the back of this book is like the sports pages I read. They unlock the door to my mind and let the ideas flow out.
I do agree with Rachael that some of these prompts seem pointless and also difficult. Number 86 for example says, “Write a three-sentence paragraph using only the first half of the alphabet, letters a-l. (You may not use t, m, s or any other letter that appears past l in the alphabet.) First of all, I would never choose this prompt because it would take me all day to come up with sentences that have only the first half of the alphabet in them. Prompts like this one seem more like busy work than something actually beneficial.
There were many prompts that could not only be used as a writing prompt, but also as an opportunity to teach a real life lesson. For example, number 122 prompts the writer to, “write a convincing ad but don’t spend over $200.00”. In real life if you have ever placed an ad in the newspaper, you know they are expensive and it can be difficult to word your ad well enough to get your point across without over spending your budget. This prompt would be a great opportunity for students to learn how to effectively write an ad.
Other prompts would be opportunities for teachers to talk about specific topics related to writing. Number 84 would make a good lesson about using analogies in writing to make it more interesting and clear. Number 104 would be a lesson on how to tighten up writing by getting rid of words that are not necessary to the main focus of the piece. Other prompts could lead to lessons about prepositions, euphemisms, allegories, and ideas like show don’t tell.
As a teacher and as an individual I can see the benefits of using this book to help writers become more relaxed and comfortable with writing. I also think there is value to this book as a teaching tool in the classroom. For the individual outside the classroom, this book provides a fun way to stay motivated to write frequently.
Mixed feelings
To begin, I'd like to say that I have mixed feelings about Unjournaling, specifically as it relates to getting writers of various abilities involved in the writing process. For struggling writers, I think it can be good, because it seems to minimize some of the impending pressure or frustration that they might feel when it comes to searching out a topic. But, for writers who enjoy the writing process -- and I am one of these -- I feel that it can also be somewhat limiting, because it places parameters on the writing process. I dealt with those when I worked for the newspaper, and I can honestly say that all that constraint eventually killed my motivation to write. It's only been since I returned to school that much of that creativity and passion has been reawakened (is that a word?). Anyway, I guess you guys get the idea that I am driving at.
Also, I find myself wondering when these prompts should be used. Possibly everyday? Or, maybe once in awhile? I don't know. What I can say is that I found the funnier ones to be the best, but maybe that's just because I generally enjoy humor, and I often try to infuse it into my writing. I like the fact that the prompts deal with commonalities, but again, I worry that some writers might be turned off by this approach because it places limitations of them. Although, I do feel that good, solid writers will find a way to make the writing their own -- to make it personal in whatever way -- regardless of this fact.
I would like to use some of this stuff in my own classroom next year (again, assuming that I can dupe some unknowing school district into adding me onto their payroll). I think that kids might like this stuff, mostly because it doesn't require them to come up with their own ideas. And, it can be fun.
Also, I do recommend that we, as teachers, write along with our students as they do their work. Later, in class, you might notice that I am writing along with you all during our group presentation.
So get your pencils sharpened, your thinking-caps on, and be ready to write when you step into the classroom later today. If you will, help me to prove that writing can, in fact, be fun, despite some of the limitations that the use of the Unjournaling method can, potentially, place on a seasoned writer. See you then.
Also, I find myself wondering when these prompts should be used. Possibly everyday? Or, maybe once in awhile? I don't know. What I can say is that I found the funnier ones to be the best, but maybe that's just because I generally enjoy humor, and I often try to infuse it into my writing. I like the fact that the prompts deal with commonalities, but again, I worry that some writers might be turned off by this approach because it places limitations of them. Although, I do feel that good, solid writers will find a way to make the writing their own -- to make it personal in whatever way -- regardless of this fact.
I would like to use some of this stuff in my own classroom next year (again, assuming that I can dupe some unknowing school district into adding me onto their payroll). I think that kids might like this stuff, mostly because it doesn't require them to come up with their own ideas. And, it can be fun.
Also, I do recommend that we, as teachers, write along with our students as they do their work. Later, in class, you might notice that I am writing along with you all during our group presentation.
So get your pencils sharpened, your thinking-caps on, and be ready to write when you step into the classroom later today. If you will, help me to prove that writing can, in fact, be fun, despite some of the limitations that the use of the Unjournaling method can, potentially, place on a seasoned writer. See you then.
Unjournaling the Journal
Earlier this year, many of us had to complete a writing portfolio as a requirement for the Secondary Ed. Program. I was one of the seemingly few who did not choose the research topic of whether or not grammar should be taught in the higher grades, and instead chose the topic of whether or not students should be allowed to choose their own writing topics. The position I took in my paper was that I thought students should be given the opportunity to choose what they write about simply because the assignment would be more meaningful to them. The problem we face in this situation is that the student, in all likelihood, would share personal details about themselves. If the student shares too much information, especially if the topic is a sensitive one, it could place the teacher in the difficult dilemma of what to do with that information. As I did my research, one of the questions that came up for me was, what about the student who doesn’t want to share personal information about themselves, or who just really can’t come up with a good topic on their own? It was in trying to answer these questions when I came across this book.
Now, I really do like this book, at least, the concept of this book. A book filled with nothing but writing prompts is a tool that I think will be invaluable in the classroom. I like the idea of having “safe” (non-personal) prompts to give students, because not all of them will want to divulge that kind of information, especially if the teacher is one who likes to have students read their writing aloud in class. So, as I said, I do like the concept of this book. One problem I have with it is just how juvenile some of the prompts seem to be. According to the authors, these prompts are suitable for both kids and adults but I’m not so sure. Take prompt #7 for example; it asks the student to write a paragraph that contains 20 words with double vowels. Now, this might fly in an 8th grade classroom, but if you tried to have an 11th or 12th grade class do the same assignment you’re going to have a group of bored teenagers rolling their eyes at you! Another problem I found is that some of the prompts are actually rather difficult. Prompt # 86 asks students to write a 3 sentence paragraph using only letters from the first half of the alphabet. Yes, this is trying to get students to be creative in their word choices, but if you have struggling writers in the class, this assignment is going to be nearly impossible to complete.
Having said that, I did find some great prompts that I’m sure I will use in my classroom. Prompt #170, for example, asks the student to write a message for the answering machine of Carlos the poet. This is a fun creative way to introduce a poetry unit to your class. So, yes, I do think I will use this book in my classroom; however, I will also be picking the prompts I use carefully, according to the grade level I’m teaching.
Now, I really do like this book, at least, the concept of this book. A book filled with nothing but writing prompts is a tool that I think will be invaluable in the classroom. I like the idea of having “safe” (non-personal) prompts to give students, because not all of them will want to divulge that kind of information, especially if the teacher is one who likes to have students read their writing aloud in class. So, as I said, I do like the concept of this book. One problem I have with it is just how juvenile some of the prompts seem to be. According to the authors, these prompts are suitable for both kids and adults but I’m not so sure. Take prompt #7 for example; it asks the student to write a paragraph that contains 20 words with double vowels. Now, this might fly in an 8th grade classroom, but if you tried to have an 11th or 12th grade class do the same assignment you’re going to have a group of bored teenagers rolling their eyes at you! Another problem I found is that some of the prompts are actually rather difficult. Prompt # 86 asks students to write a 3 sentence paragraph using only letters from the first half of the alphabet. Yes, this is trying to get students to be creative in their word choices, but if you have struggling writers in the class, this assignment is going to be nearly impossible to complete.
Having said that, I did find some great prompts that I’m sure I will use in my classroom. Prompt #170, for example, asks the student to write a message for the answering machine of Carlos the poet. This is a fun creative way to introduce a poetry unit to your class. So, yes, I do think I will use this book in my classroom; however, I will also be picking the prompts I use carefully, according to the grade level I’m teaching.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Uncreative Cop-Out.
Firstly, I don’t feel that a lot of creativity was put into these prompts. In reality, there are only 195 topics, seeing as how some prompts are just continuations of the one before it. Hello, DiPrince and Thurston, that’s cheating.
But seriously, some of these exercises are just dull. Unjournaling claims to be challenging, but the prompts that could be labeled as such are just plain irrelevant, annoying and pointless. For example, we are encouraged to “write a three-sentence paragraph about a dog, using no letters of the alphabet that appear before ‘m’” (16). Hm. Are all of these letters disappearing from the English alphabet sometime soon? If I were stranded on a deserted island, I wouldn’t even resort to doing this activity. I understand that the point is to strengthen our vocabulary and thinking skills, but come on. There are better ways of doing this. I saw exercises such as these as colossal brain cell wasters.
I blame my high expectations- I was imagining something of depth and imagination. The prompts within are something for elementary students, such as, “Yankee Doodle went to town, A-riding on a pony. Stuck a feather in his cap and called it ‘macaroni.’ Why on earth would Yankee Doodle call his feather ‘macaroni’? Write a plausible explanation” (17). Sigh. Do I care? I could just explain my theory on the whole matter aloud. This isn’t writing. It’s just stupidity or general ramblings put on the page. It doesn’t encourage me to pick up a pen and start going.
However, I could see struggling writers benefiting from the material DiPrince and Thurston present. Unjournaling focuses on creating characters, and writing to an audience, along with training writers to show and not tell. I can see teachers being able to easily adapt this book to the classroom. Perhaps students who aren’t critical will enjoy it, but in all honesty, if I were given some of these prompts in even middle school, I wouldn’t have done them. To me, there is nothing fun or appealing about writing conundrums in which I am not permitted to use certain letters. Writing is anything but restrictive, and I don’t feel it should be presented as such.
But seriously, some of these exercises are just dull. Unjournaling claims to be challenging, but the prompts that could be labeled as such are just plain irrelevant, annoying and pointless. For example, we are encouraged to “write a three-sentence paragraph about a dog, using no letters of the alphabet that appear before ‘m’” (16). Hm. Are all of these letters disappearing from the English alphabet sometime soon? If I were stranded on a deserted island, I wouldn’t even resort to doing this activity. I understand that the point is to strengthen our vocabulary and thinking skills, but come on. There are better ways of doing this. I saw exercises such as these as colossal brain cell wasters.
I blame my high expectations- I was imagining something of depth and imagination. The prompts within are something for elementary students, such as, “Yankee Doodle went to town, A-riding on a pony. Stuck a feather in his cap and called it ‘macaroni.’ Why on earth would Yankee Doodle call his feather ‘macaroni’? Write a plausible explanation” (17). Sigh. Do I care? I could just explain my theory on the whole matter aloud. This isn’t writing. It’s just stupidity or general ramblings put on the page. It doesn’t encourage me to pick up a pen and start going.
However, I could see struggling writers benefiting from the material DiPrince and Thurston present. Unjournaling focuses on creating characters, and writing to an audience, along with training writers to show and not tell. I can see teachers being able to easily adapt this book to the classroom. Perhaps students who aren’t critical will enjoy it, but in all honesty, if I were given some of these prompts in even middle school, I wouldn’t have done them. To me, there is nothing fun or appealing about writing conundrums in which I am not permitted to use certain letters. Writing is anything but restrictive, and I don’t feel it should be presented as such.
Loosen up
This book is why I love writing. Unjournaling is a friendly reminder that writing is fun and that anyone can do it. A student does not have to be a strong writer to creatively respond to the majority of these prompts, but they do have to think outside the box. Using intriguing prompts would be a helpful approach to provide writers’ with more confidence and to serve as a distraction to major stressors in life. Also, this would be a pleasant reminder to high school students that writing can be silly, especially after they write a difficult research paper. For me, this is a great way to unwind after reading Williams, and I have a feeling it was placed intentionally after a more challenging selection.
According to Diprince and Thurston, “Writing can be an intimidating process for many people, no matter what their age” (5). Writing can definitely be daunting for individuals of all ages and all ability levels. Even if a student is a remarkable writer, that does not mean he or she is aware of the fact. I truly believe most students simply lack confidence when it comes to their writing, which is why Unjournaling is a necessary tool to help writers loosen up.
As a future teacher, I will definitely use this book. I think some of these prompts can segue into a lesson. For example #84 would be an excellent introduction into similes, metaphors, and other types of figurative language. I want to try this activity myself, so I’m sure my students would enjoy it, as well. Who wouldn’t want to compare a person to food? The whole idea simply makes me laugh. Also, #120 would be an effective way to begin to teach writers how to show, rather than tell. It is much more difficult to show that a rooms smells, than it is to say that a room smells bad. This would even be a creative way to start a poetry unit. Clearly, the prompts in this book would help liven up classrooms and stimulate creativity.
This book really gets me excited to teach writing! I would actually write my own prompt while the students are writing theirs. I especially want to try prompt #136. Writing a letter to an animal would be so cool! Plus, if the teacher is having fun, then nine out of ten times the students are having positive experience. Overall, I think Unjournaling is a phenomenal resource, and I’m truly eager to use it with my students.
According to Diprince and Thurston, “Writing can be an intimidating process for many people, no matter what their age” (5). Writing can definitely be daunting for individuals of all ages and all ability levels. Even if a student is a remarkable writer, that does not mean he or she is aware of the fact. I truly believe most students simply lack confidence when it comes to their writing, which is why Unjournaling is a necessary tool to help writers loosen up.
As a future teacher, I will definitely use this book. I think some of these prompts can segue into a lesson. For example #84 would be an excellent introduction into similes, metaphors, and other types of figurative language. I want to try this activity myself, so I’m sure my students would enjoy it, as well. Who wouldn’t want to compare a person to food? The whole idea simply makes me laugh. Also, #120 would be an effective way to begin to teach writers how to show, rather than tell. It is much more difficult to show that a rooms smells, than it is to say that a room smells bad. This would even be a creative way to start a poetry unit. Clearly, the prompts in this book would help liven up classrooms and stimulate creativity.
This book really gets me excited to teach writing! I would actually write my own prompt while the students are writing theirs. I especially want to try prompt #136. Writing a letter to an animal would be so cool! Plus, if the teacher is having fun, then nine out of ten times the students are having positive experience. Overall, I think Unjournaling is a phenomenal resource, and I’m truly eager to use it with my students.
Unjournaling
I wasn’t sure what to expect out of this book. I was like, “Unjournaling? What in the world could that be?” I was surprised that it was a book full of writing prompts, and I loved it. There are many students and people of all ages who do not like writing, but I think anyone would enjoy responding to a lot of these prompts. The introduction states, “When students write frequently, and about many different topics, they become more comfortable with writing.” I would definitely agree with that statement. When I was given the opportunity to free write in school, I did become more comfortable with my writing because I was able to be creative. The teacher in high school that gave her students the opportunity to free write at the beginning of class always chose personal prompts, and she would collect the journals after a certain number of entries and actually give the journal a grade. Although it was considered “free writing,” it still made students feel uncomfortable because they knew their journals would be read and graded. Although I appreciated the teacher’s efforts in implementing free writing, I wouldn’t necessarily take her approach in my own classroom. I wasn’t sure how I would implement free writing until reading “Unjournaling.” Like the teacher in high school, I thought of starting every class giving the students an opportunity to free write. I knew I didn’t want to give prompts to the students that were personal, but I couldn’t really think of any prompts that weren’t personal. I don’t have to worry about that now since I have this book, and I definitely plan on using it in my classroom. It gives students the opportunity to write about many different topics, and I would only have them share their responses to their peers and me if they wanted to. I don’t agree with grading free writing either. I especially liked the prompts in “Unjournaling” that could go along with certain lessons such as prepositions, adjectives, descriptive verbs, alliteration, and hyperbole. For example, the prompt about descriptive verbs is #48—“King Kong stomped along the street. He crushed cars with his toes. He ripped people from their cars. In five sentences, what else did he do? Use descriptive verbs.” This type of prompt would be a great activity included with lessons on the aforementioned. In addition, I also liked the prompts where you have to create a character in your mind and describe it, like a super hero (#149) or a fairy godmother (#82)…dictionary diving (#189) sounds fun, too! So, most of the prompts would be helpful AND fun to students.
When I bought my book home from the bookstore, I opened it up and read some of the exercises. I have taken a few creative writing classes and I always like seeing new ways to get people loosened up and writing freely. Sometimes I know exactly what I want to write about when I have an assigned topic or paper due, but sometimes I need some inspiration to get me going. I think that by doing these prompts, creativity can be encouraged and given an outlet. It also would have guidelines to follow which could increase comfort and confidence with writing.
I know that students don't seem to be very eager writers these days. These prompts can break them out of their shell and let them have some fun and be silly with writing. I would like to give them prompts to write about on a regular basis. I think that by doing these prompts the students would become more comfortable with writing and it would let them practice doing it in a creative way. It would still be an assignment, but it would have more freedom than most school writing assignments. A lot of the prompts really make students think about what words they should include in thier writing or how to develop ideas. This could encourage them to focus on their word choice when they write for other assignments.
I like the idea that the prompts are impersonal also. Many writers do not like to share their work because it is too personal. They feel too exposed and vulnerable about it and would rather keep it private. These writing prompts should lesson the anxiety for these students. The prompts are mostly silly and none of them ask for personal revelations or reactions. They all ask for creativity in writing the prompt, but the topics are general and impersonal. Anyone could write on these prompts whether it is students or adults. The topics are basic and easy to understand for everyone.
Some of the prompts may not appeal to everyone though, so I would probably give students the option to write about 2 or 3 so that they could choose one that works for them. I woudn't want the students to become discouraged and frustrated if they couldn't think of a response to one of the prompts. (The idea of unjournaling is to take away this kind of pressure.) The key in the back would be good to present to students who are struggling, but I would discourage students from using it because it could influence their own ideas or possibly stifle their own writing by limiting thier ideas.
Maybe when I introduce the topic of unjournaling I woud let them hear an example response first if they seemed confused. It also might help to show them a model of it so that they understand that they can be more creative and free. I know sometimes students can be uncomfortable with an unfamiliar assignment and they might not be prepared to be "silly" in school with their writing. Reading a few samples might help put them at ease and start their creative juices flowing. I would have them write about different prompts than the ones that were modeled, but I would try to pick ones that resembled each other in their focus. Hopefully, after doing it once or twice, the students would be comfortable with the idea and doing them independently.
I know that students don't seem to be very eager writers these days. These prompts can break them out of their shell and let them have some fun and be silly with writing. I would like to give them prompts to write about on a regular basis. I think that by doing these prompts the students would become more comfortable with writing and it would let them practice doing it in a creative way. It would still be an assignment, but it would have more freedom than most school writing assignments. A lot of the prompts really make students think about what words they should include in thier writing or how to develop ideas. This could encourage them to focus on their word choice when they write for other assignments.
I like the idea that the prompts are impersonal also. Many writers do not like to share their work because it is too personal. They feel too exposed and vulnerable about it and would rather keep it private. These writing prompts should lesson the anxiety for these students. The prompts are mostly silly and none of them ask for personal revelations or reactions. They all ask for creativity in writing the prompt, but the topics are general and impersonal. Anyone could write on these prompts whether it is students or adults. The topics are basic and easy to understand for everyone.
Some of the prompts may not appeal to everyone though, so I would probably give students the option to write about 2 or 3 so that they could choose one that works for them. I woudn't want the students to become discouraged and frustrated if they couldn't think of a response to one of the prompts. (The idea of unjournaling is to take away this kind of pressure.) The key in the back would be good to present to students who are struggling, but I would discourage students from using it because it could influence their own ideas or possibly stifle their own writing by limiting thier ideas.
Maybe when I introduce the topic of unjournaling I woud let them hear an example response first if they seemed confused. It also might help to show them a model of it so that they understand that they can be more creative and free. I know sometimes students can be uncomfortable with an unfamiliar assignment and they might not be prepared to be "silly" in school with their writing. Reading a few samples might help put them at ease and start their creative juices flowing. I would have them write about different prompts than the ones that were modeled, but I would try to pick ones that resembled each other in their focus. Hopefully, after doing it once or twice, the students would be comfortable with the idea and doing them independently.
Unjournaling
When I visited the bookstore way back at the beginning of the semester, one book really caught my eye, “Unjournaling.” When I got home I immediately flipped through the book, skimming through the crazy exercises. I am ecstatic that I am finally going to get to touch on some of this silliness.
There are times when I want to write deep, introspective pieces. Writing is so often a release for me but I know that this isn’t the case for everyone. Some writers really don’t want to let readers into their heads. I think that these prompts would be great ways to allow writers more diverse options for writing. I know that when I was in school I would have been thrilled to be doing exercises such as the ones in this book. They really could get students excited about writing.
I had mixed feelings about the answer key in the back. I think it could be helpful, as the book says, for those writers who are struggling with one particular exercise and just want to see how it is done. I know I personally wouldn’t want to read it before attempting an exercise because it would interfere with my creativity. My group and I have discussed how we don’t like reading the blog entries until after we have written our own. I guess it is the same concept. If you read what someone else wrote, sometimes you can’t help but base your ideas on theirs.
I am excited for tomorrow!
There are times when I want to write deep, introspective pieces. Writing is so often a release for me but I know that this isn’t the case for everyone. Some writers really don’t want to let readers into their heads. I think that these prompts would be great ways to allow writers more diverse options for writing. I know that when I was in school I would have been thrilled to be doing exercises such as the ones in this book. They really could get students excited about writing.
I had mixed feelings about the answer key in the back. I think it could be helpful, as the book says, for those writers who are struggling with one particular exercise and just want to see how it is done. I know I personally wouldn’t want to read it before attempting an exercise because it would interfere with my creativity. My group and I have discussed how we don’t like reading the blog entries until after we have written our own. I guess it is the same concept. If you read what someone else wrote, sometimes you can’t help but base your ideas on theirs.
I am excited for tomorrow!
What fun!
Like JamieMarie, I would definitely want to use this in a classroom. In fact, I think these exercises would be a great icebreaker for the first week of class -- and a great way to show students that writing can actually be fun. For many students, writing is anything but fun because they associate it with laborious research papers or personal journals that force them to reveal more about themselves than they feel comfortable doing. "Unjournaling" would give students an unusual chance to be as silly as they want. And I would hope that producing a funny piece of writing would help build students' confidence and break down some of their inhibitions.
I was amazed at the variety of the exercises. If I were a teacher, I would give students several choices of assignments -- because some of the exercises left me cold, some I couldn't wait to do and some I have actually done on my own over the years because I am a mildly creative person.
For example, my son and I spent several days doing a version of #154 -- thinking of ingruous combos of people and making them interact -- like a bratty neighbor kid and Albert Einstein. I also sometimes write song parodies when the mood hits me, and that's #185. However, I wouldn't have any ideas for creating my own fairy godmother (#82), but presumably there must be some people out there who would.
The exercises I'm most eager to try are #34 and #179. The Number 34 is an ad that tells the absolute truth about a product. Having spent several years writing ad copy that extoled the often nonexistent virtues of obscure, worthless or boring products, #34 would be a great non-violent way for me to release anger. To be fair, though, real-life ad writers are often legally compelled to do "disclosure" -- the way drug ads have to reveal all the possible disgusting and dangerous side effects.
#179 asks you to describe a stereotypical character doing stereotypical things -- and then change one sentence so you show that character doing something weird or unexpected. I immediately thought of my middled-aged, across-the-street neighbor whom I've talked to exactly once in six years. He's a handsome, clean-cut fellow with a good corporate job who's always out taking wonderful care of his yard. But he has a very punky looking 20-something daughter. She seems to have several even more punky-looking boyfriends, and they're constantly hanging out in the garage with the door half pulled down, so we wonder if they have a drug or murder ring.
I was amazed at the variety of the exercises. If I were a teacher, I would give students several choices of assignments -- because some of the exercises left me cold, some I couldn't wait to do and some I have actually done on my own over the years because I am a mildly creative person.
For example, my son and I spent several days doing a version of #154 -- thinking of ingruous combos of people and making them interact -- like a bratty neighbor kid and Albert Einstein. I also sometimes write song parodies when the mood hits me, and that's #185. However, I wouldn't have any ideas for creating my own fairy godmother (#82), but presumably there must be some people out there who would.
The exercises I'm most eager to try are #34 and #179. The Number 34 is an ad that tells the absolute truth about a product. Having spent several years writing ad copy that extoled the often nonexistent virtues of obscure, worthless or boring products, #34 would be a great non-violent way for me to release anger. To be fair, though, real-life ad writers are often legally compelled to do "disclosure" -- the way drug ads have to reveal all the possible disgusting and dangerous side effects.
#179 asks you to describe a stereotypical character doing stereotypical things -- and then change one sentence so you show that character doing something weird or unexpected. I immediately thought of my middled-aged, across-the-street neighbor whom I've talked to exactly once in six years. He's a handsome, clean-cut fellow with a good corporate job who's always out taking wonderful care of his yard. But he has a very punky looking 20-something daughter. She seems to have several even more punky-looking boyfriends, and they're constantly hanging out in the garage with the door half pulled down, so we wonder if they have a drug or murder ring.
Unwinding with Unjournaling
From the moment I read the introduction, I realized that unjournaling will be a huge asset for my classroom. Everything we’ve been learning this semester from Elbow, and yes, I’ll even throw Williams in there, has opened my eyes to a different world of teaching English. Now, I have fond memories of my English classroom experiences, but I have to admit that not many of them include writing beyond that of formal papers and answering questions related to literature we had read. I never had a journal in school. There was never time for “freewriting.” The concept of doing these activities in my own classroom hadn’t really entered my mind.
But the discussions and activities I have completed in this class and others have introduced me to the wonderful opportunity of allowing students to “just write.” If these activities can help them relax in their writing as much as testing them out has helped me relax when I’m doing my own writing then I think that this approach will really have an impact on some students. As the first sentence in the introduction of unjournaling states, “Writing can be an intimidating process for many people.” To correspond with this, I like how the cover art depicts all different kinds of “characters.” To me, it is representative of the fact that any person out there may have a writer inside of them that they simply have not discovered yet.
I tried out some of the activities in this book for myself and found them to be challenging, but the challenge wasn’t so much of a frustration as a fun challenge. I knew that there was no pressure or “failure” involved if I couldn’t really complete the activity as desired, but if I did and produced something unexpected, it really brought a smile to my face.
I am very excited to use this book in my classroom, and I like the idea of using it in that “no pressure” scenario. I think these activities would make a great prompt for journal entries in cases where students were struggling with having nothing to write. I think they would make great Monday brainteasers, a little kick off to the new week where students could ease themselves back into the academic world. I can also see many of them working as great supplements to teaching lessons about style, usage, etc. Of course, I don’t plan to rely entirely on this book for unique activities. I’d like to think I still have some creativity in my own system. But I do think it will be a wonderful tool.
Does anyone else intend on using this in a classroom? How so? And what do you think of the “sample answers” in the back and the introduction’s reason for their inclusion? Do you agree with it?
But the discussions and activities I have completed in this class and others have introduced me to the wonderful opportunity of allowing students to “just write.” If these activities can help them relax in their writing as much as testing them out has helped me relax when I’m doing my own writing then I think that this approach will really have an impact on some students. As the first sentence in the introduction of unjournaling states, “Writing can be an intimidating process for many people.” To correspond with this, I like how the cover art depicts all different kinds of “characters.” To me, it is representative of the fact that any person out there may have a writer inside of them that they simply have not discovered yet.
I tried out some of the activities in this book for myself and found them to be challenging, but the challenge wasn’t so much of a frustration as a fun challenge. I knew that there was no pressure or “failure” involved if I couldn’t really complete the activity as desired, but if I did and produced something unexpected, it really brought a smile to my face.
I am very excited to use this book in my classroom, and I like the idea of using it in that “no pressure” scenario. I think these activities would make a great prompt for journal entries in cases where students were struggling with having nothing to write. I think they would make great Monday brainteasers, a little kick off to the new week where students could ease themselves back into the academic world. I can also see many of them working as great supplements to teaching lessons about style, usage, etc. Of course, I don’t plan to rely entirely on this book for unique activities. I’d like to think I still have some creativity in my own system. But I do think it will be a wonderful tool.
Does anyone else intend on using this in a classroom? How so? And what do you think of the “sample answers” in the back and the introduction’s reason for their inclusion? Do you agree with it?
Sunday, November 1, 2009
#107. Never...
...say writing isn't fun!
“Unjournaling” is a really creative and entertaining book, I enjoyed it a lot. I would definitely use this in my classroom because it allows for students to be creative with their writing (and their imagination as well). It’s something different than the standard writing prompts most students do today, it’s unique and it’s FUN. I believe this is something students will enjoy and actually allow them to enjoy writing as well. Also, as a teacher, it will be fun reading the prompts students write – reading research papers I’m sure gets boring after awhile.
It was difficult for me to pick two prompts for my blog because they all seemed fun. However, I came to a conclusion and chose #59 and #44. So, enjoy!
#59: People often say, “If we can send a man to the mood, surely we can figure out how to…” Complete the sentence five different ways.
1. If we can send a man to the moon, surely we can figure out how to… make flying cars.
2. If we can send a man to the moon, surely we can figure out how to…create underwater cities.
3. If we can send a man to the moon, surely we can figure out how to…cure the common cold.
4. If we can send a man to the moon, surely we can figure out how to…create robots like Rosie from the Jetsons.
5. If we can send a man to the moon, surely we can figure out how to…make full meals in pill form.
#44: In one sentence, communicate “fear.”
As I froze in the piercing cold hallway, my heart sank into the pit of my stomach and I could feel the presence of the unknown creature standing close behind me, glaring with its black eyes and maliciously humming the tunes of death.
“Unjournaling” is a really creative and entertaining book, I enjoyed it a lot. I would definitely use this in my classroom because it allows for students to be creative with their writing (and their imagination as well). It’s something different than the standard writing prompts most students do today, it’s unique and it’s FUN. I believe this is something students will enjoy and actually allow them to enjoy writing as well. Also, as a teacher, it will be fun reading the prompts students write – reading research papers I’m sure gets boring after awhile.
It was difficult for me to pick two prompts for my blog because they all seemed fun. However, I came to a conclusion and chose #59 and #44. So, enjoy!
#59: People often say, “If we can send a man to the mood, surely we can figure out how to…” Complete the sentence five different ways.
1. If we can send a man to the moon, surely we can figure out how to… make flying cars.
2. If we can send a man to the moon, surely we can figure out how to…create underwater cities.
3. If we can send a man to the moon, surely we can figure out how to…cure the common cold.
4. If we can send a man to the moon, surely we can figure out how to…create robots like Rosie from the Jetsons.
5. If we can send a man to the moon, surely we can figure out how to…make full meals in pill form.
#44: In one sentence, communicate “fear.”
As I froze in the piercing cold hallway, my heart sank into the pit of my stomach and I could feel the presence of the unknown creature standing close behind me, glaring with its black eyes and maliciously humming the tunes of death.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)