Additional Writing Activities

Here is another writing activity you can give to students:

Tributes to Grandpa

This activity can help students develop varies skills that will help to enhance their writing skills such as: 

1. Writing Skills:

• Reflection and Emotion: Students reflect on the significance of a person’s life, expressing feelings and thoughts in a respectful way. They practice summarizing key events, achievements, and personal qualities, which improves their ability to write short biographies.

• Structure and Organization: They organize details about birth and death dates, family relationships, contributions, and memories into a coherent piece. This builds their ability to structure text clearly and logically.

• Creativity: Including illustrations and decorative elements like borders, drawings, and symbols encourages them to express their creativity through both words and visuals.

2. Publishing Skills:

• Visual Layout and Design: Students learn how to make their work visually appealing for publication by integrating text with drawings, colors, and decorative elements. They practice using space effectively to balance visuals and text, which is important in making their writing accessible and engaging.

• Ownership and Pride: Displaying their work publicly (like on a classroom wall or bulletin board) mimics the publishing process, where students see their work as a final product. This builds their confidence in sharing their work and motivates them to produce polished, thoughtful writing.

• Audience Awareness: Since their work is "published" for others to see, students become aware of writing for an audience, focusing on clarity, language choices, and presentation.

3. Speaking Skills:

• Oral Presentation: After creating their tribute, students present their work to the class, practicing public speaking. This teaches them how to effectively communicate their thoughts in front of an audience, maintain a clear narrative, and use appropriate volume and tone.

• Storytelling: Students practice telling a person’s life story, emphasizing key moments and personal qualities, which helps develop their storytelling skills. Speaking about someone meaningful helps them connect with the audience emotionally.

• Confidence and Expression: Presenting a tribute in front of peers builds confidence, and by speaking about someone they respect or admire, students learn to express feelings and thoughts in a sincere, respectful manner.

Learning Outcomes:

Writing: Students develop the ability to write short biographical pieces, improve their organizational skills, and practice expressing empathy and reflection in their writing.

Publishing: Students gain experience preparing their work for an audience, learning how to combine text and visuals and present a polished final product.

Speaking: Students enhance their public speaking abilities, learning to present their ideas clearly, engage with their audience, and build confidence in communicating effectively.

How to Implement:

Step 1: Students can read a passage about a honorable persons and write biographical tributes for individuals they want to honor from within the story, for example in this tribute they did grandpa who was known for being a farmer, caring husband and hardworking grandpa, summarizing key life events, traits, and contributions.

Step 2: They create a visual design for their tribute, adding drawings or symbols that reflect the person’s life or achievements.

Step 3: Students present their tributes to the class, explaining why the person was important and what they learned from the activity.

Step 4: The tributes are then displayed on a bulletin board or similar space, allowing others to read and reflect on the students' work.

By combining writing, publishing, and speaking, this project nurtures a wide array of skills and gives students a holistic learning experience.

- By Faith Henry