How do you get a student excited about writing a poem, especially if they’ve never tried it before? Creative writing is scary, even for experienced writers, because it can be so personally revealing. Teachers can help students get past their fear and encourage them to write poems, plays, stories, and essays that fill them with a sense of accomplishment.
The philosophy of the Teachers & Writers Collaborative, an organization founded by writers and educators with a 58-year history of teaching creative writing, centers on several key concepts. These include:
- Students can read sophisticated literary works. To wit: the film “Chekhov for Children” beautifully documents writer Phillip Lopate getting New York City fifth graders to perform Uncle Vanya.
- Students are artists. Like artists, students have something meaningful to say.
- Play is a powerful creative tool.
By getting students to care about writing, they naturally start to care more about such things as spelling and grammar. Likewise, regularly discussing complex literary works builds students’ confidence in reading comprehension.
What that looks like with younger students is inviting them to draw on their own knowledge and experience to interpret a text. With older students, approaching a text from the viewpoint of a writer deepens their literary analysis skills. And for all students, thinking about their own writing in a formal way, closely observing how their words interact with each other to make meaning, will heighten all aspects of literacy: vocabulary, syntax, grammar, etc. After all, what is more important to a writer than getting the words right? When teachers encourage their students to see themselves as writers, the students will want to get the words right.
There are many resources available with ideas for creative writing activities. Teachers & Writers Magazine is a free online resource with new lesson plans each month, and an archive of ideas about teaching creative writing that goes back decades on every genre and for every age. Likewise, ELA teachers may be familiar with the many resources available through the NCTE website, and HMH users may be familiar with the resources available as part of Into Reading (K–6) or Into Literature (6–8). The Academy of American Poets offers lesson plans and sends out the wonderful “Teach This Poem” emails. A fun resource is the Poetry Out Loud website, which offers a terrific online poetry anthology and writing lesson plans related to its poetry recitation program. (I especially like the “random poem” selector button!)
6 strategies for teaching creative writing
Whatever writing activity you do with your students, the following are some general guidelines that will make the experience rewarding and engaging.
1. Foster a judgment-free zone
Nothing stifles creativity like impending judgment. Let students know that when they are working on creative writing, they are in a judgment-free zone. If you have to grade, make the grade based on participation, not the quality of output.
2. Look beyond spelling or grammar
Like the threat of a grade, a red pen slashing through words will shame a student’s ideas into silence. Poet Jane LeCroy remembers getting a “Poetic License” when she was in a Teachers & Writers program in elementary school, a literal ID card that gave her and her classmates permission to break all the rules. Look at an E. E. Cummings poem together and notice all the grammatical “mistakes.”
3. Invite students’ authentic voice and lived experience into the classroom
This is what gets students hooked on writing. So much of academic writing doesn’t allow room for the student to bring their life into it. Students are so grateful when they can share their whole selves at school, using the language that comes most naturally. These “Where I’m From” poems, written by students inspired by the poem by George Ella Lyon, are great examples to encourage your students.
4. Encourage play
Allow students to experiment, even to go off assignment, as long as they’re creating. The idea of play is to shut off the inner editor. As with the previous points, the goal of encouraging play is to lower the stakes and give students the gift of creative freedom. Remind students that there is no wrong way to do it, as long as they try. Play allows room for happy mistakes, accidental honesty, unexpected discoveries, and magical surprises. And besides, play is fun! The Adventures of Dr. Alphabet by Dave Morice is full of poetry games and activities you can try with your students.
5. Participate yourself
Your willingness to be vulnerable will be a model for your students and help them open up to the creative process. It builds trust between you and reinforces that the creative writing activity is a safe space.
6. Value the process over the product
There’s a quote sometimes attributed to E.M. Forster, sometimes to Graham Wallas: “How can I know what I think till I see what I say?” There’s a lot of truth in that comical question. It’s also particularly relevant now, as large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT are increasingly being deployed in school settings and in the workplace. LLMs can create a product. But they cannot replicate for a student the critical thinking that is essential to the writing process. Creative writing—whether the form is a poem, a story, or a personal reflection—is not about reporting things that are known. Rather, it’s about the discovery that happens when we channel our imaginations through language in a quest for truth and beauty. It’s exploration, not destination. If done with earnest intention, the writer will be transformed by the process.
Activities to support the creative writing process
Considering the above guidelines, try any of these activities for elementary, middle, and high school students, provided by the HMH Shaped Staff.
Ideas for elementary students
Provide writing prompts
Writing prompts serve as springboards that launch students into creating engaging pieces. You can connect writing prompts to holidays, such as Halloween or Mother’s Day.
Use graphic organizers
Certain graphic organizers can support students in their creative writing. Graphic organizers help students bring order to the often chaotic writing process. For example, story maps can help students visualize a story’s setting, characters, plot, and more. Timelines can help students keep track of events in a story.
Ideas for middle school students
Write self-portrait poems
Help students learn about elements of poetry (such as alliteration, assonance, and anaphora) and write their own self-portrait poems. This activity allows students to share more about their authentic selves through writing. Watch the video below to get started, then download the accompanying resources.
Explore storytelling through writing raps
This activity allows students to transform their unique personalities and stories into a “persona” that speaks to their authentic selves. Students learn more about storytelling and literary devices such as metaphor, simile, and alliteration, which can help bring more depth to their writing. Watch the video below to get started, then download the accompanying resources.
Ideas for high school students
Connect poetry to rap
High school teachers can also use the “How to Write a Rap” activity with their students. Alternatively, this resource walks through creating a “guided freestyle,” a written song/verse based on exercises and prompts.
Transform experiences into stories
Personal narratives help students tap into their own experiences. Rather than worrying about creating fictional worlds from scratch, students can reflect on events from their own lives to create compelling stories. Start small by having students write Six-Word Memoirs. Or, as this educator shares, you can use flash fiction as a way to teach personal narratives.
Share your creative writing teaching ideas!
We’d love to hear about your creative writing teaching ideas. Share them with us via email at shaped@hmhco.com or reach out on Instagram.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of HMH.
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