In Writing class, students are given guided practice and helpful models that lead to useful arrangements and projects to explore specific themes. While there is something to be said for classical training, countless practice will build a well balanced individual. Here are some fun ways to avoid the relentless loop of write, correct and improve. While this is a great method for the grammar class, it should have only a nominal place in a creative class. I want to share some easy activities you can do that are really fun, while providing solid lessons beyond grammar and phonics. We all know the quickest way to make a child be quiet is to ask them about their feelings or ideas on a subject. “How does this make you feel?” really is a question for an adult mind. Even your star pupil may not yet have the ability or life experience to properly answer this question. So to coax them out of their shell you need to hide your lessons in fun. There are numerous exercises that can fulfill our obligation to our students while providing useful skills. Using some of the arts and crafts lessons from the J class can turn tedious work into inspirational education.
Comic Strips
Long have comic strips been considered children’s favorite way to read stories. All you need to teach this lesson is some blank paper and imagination, but you can dress it up with colored pencils, watercolors, or markers. Making a comic strip requires the student to first create a fully completed story. Then they need imagine just what their world looks like so they can draw it. In imagining what their storybook world looks like, they are practicing important visualization skills. Writing dialogue can be really fun for the kids, but it usually takes a little prompting from you. Once you get children laughing they are all too happy to try and write funny dialogues. Put this all together and you have a fun class.
Face Soup Collage
In “The Stone Soup” people were encouraged to add pieces of vegetable and other odds and ends to make a delicious soup. We took that idea and added a twist. We made a “Face Soup.” I got together a bunch of old magazines and had the students rifle through them searching for interesting faces. The only requirement was that they had to like the picture. We cut out the heads and glued them onto a giant soup bowl we had drawn. Then we numbered them and the children had to pick out the funniest face, scariest face, weirdest face, etc. This really stimulated the discussion and allowed me to ask questions about their ideas and feelings about different people. It also led to talking about facial expressions and the need to show emotion when you speak. There are endless variations to this exercise and discussion should flow freely as you can keep the mood light.
Card games/Puzzles/Educational Games
How often have you found yourself with 10-15 extra minutes left at the end of class? The time is too short to actually teach another lesson, but you can’t let them run free either. So what to do? Simple card games, puzzles and educational games make free time productive and fun. Word searches, mazes and optical illusions are easily available from the Internet and provide a quick, fun challenge that makes you look like the fun teacher while still furthering their education.
Learning how to speak English is our main goal here at Happy Marian and thankfully we have many different ways to reach that goal. The exercises I have suggested will never replace hard work. Instead I hope to make the hard work of teaching a child how to look and interpret the world a little easier, and a lot more fun.

南港校區
AP2, P5
Dan
University of Colorado