creative writing books for primary school

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23 Books for Teaching Writing

• Kristin Halverson
• August 13, 2021
• No Comments

When it comes to teaching writing, I didn’t learn a whole lot in my teacher prep program. It is a skill I have honed over time. I was also fortunate enough to observe some master teachers who excel at their craft and learn from them.

Throughout the years, I’ve amassed a collection of mentor texts for teaching writing – books that I love, the kids love, and also perfectly match the skills I want to teach. Whenever I discover a new picture book, I love to share it with others.

So… here’s my list of 23 books for teaching writing!

General writing, 1 – one day, the end: short, very short, shorter-than-ever stories by rebecca kai dotlich.

Theme: Adding Details

I absolutely adore this story and it is one of my favorite books for teaching writing. I play it up like I have the BEST new book for the students to hear – they’re going to loooove this story. It is so in-depth and there is so much going on in each of the stories – they’ll never believe it is all in one book. And then I start reading. And they crack up because they know how ridiculous the stories sound when they have few to no details. A must-read for all primary grades!

Writing Book 2 –  Ralph Tells a Story by Abby Hanlon

Theme: Finding Inspiration

Secondary Skill: Speech Bubbles/Dialogue

Ralph can’t write a story because nothing ever happens to him…or so he thinks. Ralph avoids writing like the plague because he thinks he has nothing to say, until one day, his classmates help him discover that maybe he does have stories to tell.

3 –  A Squiggly Story by Andrew Larsen

Theme: How To Start Writing/Adding Details (for early writers)

How do you write a story when you don’t know any words, only letters? The little boy in this story discovers the answer from his sister. As she prompts him to add details and move the story along, the little boy realizes that even he can write a story. This is great for emergent writers and has an emphasis on oral storytelling from the few symbols that the boy puts on paper. I love how the teacher and classmates help the little boy continue to develop his story by suggesting ideas – just like we do at school!

4 –  The Best Story by Eileen Spinelli

Theme: Writing from the Heart

This is one of the first books I get out each year from my set of books for teaching writing. I follow it up with a heart map graphic organizer. The main character in this book enters a contest at the library, trying to win for having the best story. The problem is, she keeps getting conflicting information on what makes ‘the best story’ from her family. As she tries to add all these elements to her story, she discovers that the best story is the one that is your own.

Writing Book 5 –  Rocket Writes a Story by Tad Hills

Theme: Finding Inspiration/The Magic of Words

Rocket wants to write his very own story. He starts by collecting words. Then, he decides to use his words to write a story but doesn’t know what to write. As Rocket is guided by the little yellow bird, he slowly develops his story, which he shares with Owl, his newly discovered and eventual friend.

6 –  Author: A True Story by Helen Lester

Theme: The Writing Process/Finding Inspiration

The author tells the story of her life – how she became a writer. I love how she explains the process of becoming a published author and how it takes persistence and practice (as everything does to be good at it!) and she experiences the same things that our students do as they are writing. It demystifies the process of becoming an author, which seems so elusive to children, when they are, in fact, authors themselves!

Writing Book 7 –  Little Red Writing by Joan Holub

Theme: Writing, Words (Grammar), and the Mechanics of a Story

Little Red Writing’s teacher (Mrs. 2 at pencil school) tells the students they will be writing a story. While she gives the basic elements of a story, Little Red sets off to write her story. She encounters a variety of situations that might try to deter her from sticking to the plot – including an adjective forest but also has other problems arise such as a run-on sentence with the help of conjunction glue and all capitals and large punctuation with adverbs. As the author introduces each element, she includes it in the story of Little Red Writing in a comical way. There’s a lot going on with this story, but you can take it one step at a time if you want.

Writing Book 8 –  The Word Collector by Peter H. Reynolds

Theme: The Magic of Words

Secondary Theme: Helping Others

Anything Peter H. Reynolds writes is gold in my opinion. This is one of my favorite books for teaching writing. Jerome (the main character) collects words in this book. He drops his collection one day and the words combine in ways he had never thought possible. As Jerome begins to share his words with others, he learns that you never know what words will help someone’s day be a little bit brighter. This is a must-read!

9 –  Max’s Words by Kate Banks

Theme: The Magic of Words/Creating Descriptive Sentences

Max wants to be like his brothers who each collect things, so he decides to collect words. His collection grows and grows and Max realizes that while his brothers may have large collections, their collections aren’t worth much – just money, but he can create incredible sentences and stories. The illustrations in this one are fantastic!

Writing Book 10 –  What Do Authors Do? by Eileen Christelow

Theme: The Writing Process

The author based this book on questions children ask her as she does presentations around the country. It is one of a handful of books I’ve got on this list of books for teaching writing that shows the entire process – idea through publishing – for how a book is made (technically two books – a picture book and a chapter book). This book has comic-book style illustrations and has just the right touch of fun and whimsy added to the details of writing.

Writing Book 11 –  The Plot Chickens by Mary Jane Auch

If you like puns, you’ll love this book. It is FULL of them as Henrietta decides to write her own book. She gets advice about ‘hatching a plot,’ creating suspense, having the main character solve their problem, and using the five senses to describe in vivid detail for the reader. Not only does Henrietta write her own book, but she also self-publishes after she is turned down so the reader sees the publishing process as well!

12 –  How This Book Was Made by Mac Barnett

Mac Barnett is another favorite author and does a fabulous job with this piece – especially when you’re looking for books to teach writing. Barnett relays the story of how a book is written and published – with a few interesting side steps along the way from a tiger and pirates. I use this when I introduce sharing as a part of the writing process (in particular) because the book ends with the idea that a book isn’t complete until it has a reader.

13 –  A Perfectly Messed Up Story by Patrick McDonnell

Theme: Your Story (and Life) Aren’t Always Perfect

This story starts out perfectly mundane until a drop of PB and J falls on the page…and the story must adjust. With continued unexpected difficulties from an invisible, perceived reader who isn’t taking very good care of the book, the character and story adjust. This is a great fit for teaching kids that life isn’t always perfect – and we can adjust to continue on.

Writing Book 14 –  The Panda Problem by Deborah Underwood

Theme: Fiction Story Elements

15 –  Stuck by Oliver Jeffers

Theme: Strategies for Getting Unstuck

Secondary Theme: Perseverance, Creativity

Writers get stuck. It happens to everyone. But what do you do when you are stuck? Oliver Jeffers is one of my favorite authors and I love how this book (a pretty quick read) can lead into a conversation of what authors should do when they get stuck. We create an anchor chart and leave it up for reference as long as it is needed!

16 –  Chalk by Bill Thomson, I Walk With Vanessa by Kerascoët, or Any Other Wordless Picture Book

Theme: Illustrations Tell a Story

Illustrations are an important part (if not a critical part, depending on the book) of any picture book. By showing my students one or a few wordless picture books and discussing how we can ‘read’ the story through all the amazing illustrations, they understand that their illustrations are just as important and should a) match the story, b) be detailed, and c) help the reader understand what is going on.

Writing Book 17 –  Fancy Nancy by Jane O’Connor

Theme: Writers Edit and Revise

Students love to be fancy – so I use Fancy Nancy to encourage them to make their writing ‘fancy’ after the draft! We don’t always do this, but when we take a piece through the entire writing process, this is a great text to refer to for getting them to edit and revise their work.

Genre-Specific Writing

18 –  jabari jumps by gaia cornwall.

Theme: Perseverance, Overcoming Your Fears

Jabari is ready to jump off the high dive – he has done everything he needs to do to be ready. But when the time arrives, he isn’t quite sure, although he won’t admit that. He does his warm-up stretches and lets the other kids go first, but eventually, makes the climb up the ladder and takes his dad’s advice to reach his goal.

Potential Writing Prompts:

• Jabari gets nervous to jump off the high dive. Everyone gets nervous. Think of a time you were nervous and write about what made you nervous and how you calmed down.
• Jumping off the high dive for the first time can be scary. Think of a time you did something that scared you. How did you feel when you did the thing that was scary before you did it?
• Jabari perseveres in the story – he doesn’t give up on his goal of jumping off the high dive. Write about a time you persevered – a time when you overcame obstacles to achieve a goal.
• Jabari’s dad supports him in achieving his goal. Think of someone who supports you in achieving your goals. Write about them, what qualities they exhibit that make them so supportive, a time when they supported you, and how they did it.

19 –  A Hat for Mrs. Goldman by Michelle Edwards

Theme: Compassion

Mrs. Goldman knits hats for everyone, with the help of Sophia, who makes the pom-poms. Mrs. Goldman is too busy taking care of everyone else though and doesn’t have a hat for herself so Sophia decides to knit her one. She tries and tries, but the hat is full of mistakes. Sophia comes up with a creative solution to her problem to make a one-of-a-kind hat for Mrs. Goldman.

• Mrs. Goldman shows compassion for others by knitting them hats. How do you show compassion for others? Write about a time you showed someone or something compassion.
• Sophia is a child, but notices a need in her neighbor and shows her compassion by knitting her a hat. What is something that your class could do to show compassion? Think about where there might be a need in your community and write about how you could help!
• Sophia’s hat is full of holes, but she comes up with a creative solution to the problem. Think about a time you solved a problem. Write about the problem and how you solved it.

Argumentative:

Writing book 20 –  can i be your dog by troy cummings.

Theme: Compassion, Empathy

Arfy is a homeless mutt living in a box in the alley – he needs a home. So, he writes a series of letters to all the residents of Butternut Street (starting with the nicest looking house and ending with the one that is kind of scary looking, but he is so desperate he would take anything), and one by one they turn him down. Just when he thinks all hope is lost, a solution presents itself. I cried the first time I read this one – it is a winner in my book!

• Arfy gets many rejection letters, but he keeps trying to find a loving home and family because it is so important to him. Why is it important to not give up when something is very important to us? Write about this and share a time when something was very important to you.
• Think about something you want to change at home. Write a persuasive letter to your adults and convince them to make the change.
• Write a letter to your teacher about something you would like to change about your classroom. Think about how you could best persuade him/her.
• Consider your community. How could it be a better place for everyone? Write a letter to your town board, city officials, mayor, or other people in charge of your community. Convince them to make the change.

21 –  A Pet for Petunia by Paul Schmid

Petunia wants a pet – and has to convince her family to let her get one. The pet that Petunia wants though? A little less than conventional. Petunia ends up loving the animals that others may not like (even remotely).

Possible Writing Prompts:

• Petunia tries to convince her parents to let her get a pet skunk. Make a list of reasons your adults should let you get the pet you want.
• Petunia changes her mind about have a skunk for a pet when she learns how much they smell. Think of a time when you changed your mind about something. What was it? What made you change your mind?
• Petunia sees a porcupine at the end of the book. Write a prediction for what you think will happen next with Petunia. Give evidence to support your prediction.

Informative:

Writing book 22 –  facts vs. opinions vs. robots by michael rex.

Theme: All About Facts and Opinions

Secondary Theme: Getting Along with Others

In a playful, engaging, and interactive manner, the author takes the reader through the differences between facts and opinions. There are questions asked of the reader to discern between fact and opinion and the author incorporates the theme of getting along with others, even when our opinions differ.

• Select the topic of your choice. Make a list of facts about the topic and a list of opinions about the topic.
• Write some facts and opinions about your teacher.
• Think of an opinion you agree or disagree with. Write why you agree/disagree with that opinion.
• Make a modified t-chart with you on the left and your friend on the right. Write a fact about yourself and a fact about your friend. Then, write an opinion about yourself and an opinion about your friend. Exchange papers with your friend and add a fact and opinion to each column on their paper while they add to yours.

23 – Any of the National Geographic Early Readers (like Sea Otters , Planets , or Pyramids )

Theme: All About (Topic)

National Geographic does a top-notch job with books for kids (just as they do for adults!). The photographs and content are super engaging and give just the right amount of content information on a topic. These books are a hot item in my classroom library – so much so that I’ve had to get multiple copies of some!

• Use the topic from your book and write a brochure or book of your own ‘All About (Topic).”
• Create a “Did You Know?” poster of things you learned on your book’s topic.
• Create a 3D model of your book’s topic. Write an informational description of the topic, as if your piece were to be displayed at a museum.
• Write a newspaper or magazine article on your topic.
• Make a list of questions you still have about your topic after reading. (Then, see if you can find the answers!)

What are the books for teaching writing that you treasure? Have you used any of those listed above? Share your favorites below! I always find that linking these books with targeted Writing Mini-Lessons really helps cement the concepts for my students. It also greatly improves the content of their writing and allows each one of them to develop their own unique voice. ?

WRITTEN BY: KRISTIN HALVERSON, NBCT

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Creative Writing Skills: Over 70 fun activities for children

112 pages, Paperback

Published September 6, 2019

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Teaching creative writing in primary schools: a systematic review of the literature through the lens of reflexivity

• Open access
• Published: 17 June 2023

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• Georgina Barton   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2703-238X 1 ,
• Maryam Khosronejad 2 ,
• Mary Ryan 2 ,
• Lisa Kervin 3 &
• Debra Myhill 4  

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Teaching writing is complex and research related to approaches that support students’ understanding and outcomes in written assessment is prolific. Written aspects including text structure, purpose, and language conventions appear to be explicit elements teachers know how to teach. However, more qualitative and nuanced elements of writing such as authorial voice and creativity have received less attention. We conducted a systematic literature review on creativity and creative aspects of writing in primary classrooms by exploring research between 2011 and 2020. The review yielded 172 articles with 25 satisfying established criteria. Using Archer’s critical realist theory of reflexivity we report on personal, structural, and cultural emergent properties that surround the practice of creative writing. Implications and recommendations for improved practice are shared for school leaders, teachers, preservice teachers, students, and policy makers.

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Introduction

Creative writing in schools is an important part of learning, assessment, and reporting, however, there is evidence globally to suggest that such writing is often stifled in preference to quick on-demand writing, usually featured in high-stakes testing (Au & Gourd, 2013 ; Gibson & Ewing, 2020 ). Research points to this negatively impacting particularly on students from diverse backgrounds (Mahmood et al., 2020 ). When teachers teach on-demand writing typical pedagogical traits are revealed, those that are often referred to as formulaic (Ryan & Barton, 2014 ). When thinking about creative writing, however, Wyse et al. ( 2013 ) noted that it involves the absence of structure and teaching creative writing requires an ‘open’ pedagogical approach for students to be given imaginative choice. By this, they mean that teachers need to consider less formulaic ways to teach writing so that students can experience different opportunities and ways to write creatively. They argued that if students are not given the flexibility to experiment through writing then their creativity might be stifled. Similarly, Barbot et al. ( 2012 ), who carried out a study with a panel of 15 experts of creative writing, posited that creative writing is when students draw on their imagination and other creative processes to create fictional narratives or writing that is ‘unusually original’. They also noted that creative writing is important for the development of students’ critical and creative thinking skills and ways in which they can approach life in creative ways.

Creative writing is defined in various ways in literature. Wang ( 2019 ) defined creative writing as a form of original expression involving an author’s imagination to engage a reader. Other definitions of creative writing involve the notion of children’s imagination, choice, and originality and much research has explored the concept of creativity within and through the writing process.

While creative writing is defined in various ways, and the many ways that it is treated in literacy education, this article is not concerned with the nature of the term per se. Rather, it focusses on research about creative writing and creativity in writing to understand how research unpacks the personal and contextual characteristics that surround creative writing practices. To this aim, we adopt a broad definition of creative writing as a form of original writing involving an author’s imagination and self-expression to engage a reader (Wang, 2019 ). Creative writing is important for children’s development (Grainger et al., 2005 ), allowing them to use their imagination and broaden their ability to problem-solve and think deeply. Creativity in writing refers to specific aspects within a writing product that can be deemed creative. Some examples include the use of senses and how a writer might engage a reader (Deutsch, 2014 ; Smith, 2020 ).

International research on teaching writing has indicated a loss in innovative or creative pedagogical practices due to the pressure on teachers to teach prescribed writing skills that are assessed in high-stakes tests (Göçen, 2019 ; Stock & Molloy, 2020 ), often resulting in specific trends including teaching a genre approach to writing (Polesel et al., 2012 ; Ryan & Barton, 2014 ). A comprehensive meta-analysis by Graham et al ( 2012 ), designed to identify writing practices with evidence of effectiveness in primary classrooms, found that explicitly teaching imagery and creativity was an effective teaching practice in writing. In addition, a review of methods related to teaching writing conducted by Slavin et al. ( 2019 ) included studies that statistically reported causal relationships between teacher practice and student outcomes. Common themes in Slavin et al’s ( 2019 ) quest for improving writing included comprehensive teacher professional development, student engagement and enjoyment, and explicit teaching of grammar, punctuation, and usage. While they did not specifically cite creativity, motivating environments and cooperative learning were important characteristics of writing programs.

This systematic literature review aims to share empirical international research in the context of elementary/primary schools by exploring creativity in writing and the conditions that influence its emergence. It specifically aims to answer the question: What influences the teaching of creative writing in primary education? And how can reflexivity theorise these influences? The review shares scholarly work that attempts to define personal aspects of creative writing including imagination, and creative thinking; discusses creative approaches to teaching writing, and shows how these methods might support students’ creative writing or creative aspects of writing.

Writing is a complex process that involves students making decisions about word choice, sentence, and text structure, and ways in which to engage readers. Such decisions require a certain amount of reflection or at times deeper reflexive judgments by both teachers and students. Consequently, we draw on Archer’s ( 2012 ) critical realist theory of reflexivity to guide our review as research shows that reflexive thinking in practice can improve writing outcomes (Ryan et al., 2021 ). Archer ( 2007 ) highlights how reflexivity is an everyday activity involving mental processes whereby we think about ourselves in relation to our immediate personal, social, and cultural contexts. She suggests we make decisions through negotiating the connected emergences of personal properties (PEPs) related to the individual, structural properties (SEPs) related to the contextual happenings and cultural properties (CEPs) related to ideologies, each of which is influenced by the other developments. These decisions influence, and are influenced by, our subsequent actions. In applying reflexivity theory to writing (see Ryan, 2014 ), we cannot simply focus on the writing product, but should also interrogate the process of writing, that is, the influences on decision-making and design which are enabled or constrained through pedagogical practices in the classroom. Writing practices and outputs are formed through the interplay of personal, structural, and cultural conditions. Student decisions and actions about writing ensue through the mediation of personal (e.g. beliefs, motivations, interests, experiences), structural (e.g. curriculum, programs, testing regimes, teaching strategies, resources), and cultural (e.g. norms, expectations, ideologies, values) conditions. Therefore, teachers play an important role in facilitating the interplay of these conditions for their students and recontextualising curricula and policy (Ryan et al., 2021 ). For example, by enabling students’ agency and creating an authentic purpose for writing, teachers can balance the personal conditions of students (such as their motivation and interest) against the structural effects of the curriculum requirements. Using a reflexive approach to investigating the literature on creative writing we aim to reveal the personal, structural, and cultural conditions surrounding the study and the practice of creative writing. We argue that it is through the understanding of these conditions that we can theorise how a. students might make their writing more creative and b. how teachers might establish classroom conditions conducive to creativity.

The approach taken for this paper was guided by the PRISMA method (Moher et al., 2009 ) for conducting systematic literature reviews (see Table 1 ).

Our electronic search involved several databases: researchers’ library online catalogue, EBSCO host ultimate, ProQuest, Eric, Web of Science, Informit, and ScienceDirect. Using the following search terms: creativ* AND (‘teaching methods’ OR pedagog*) AND writing AND (elementary OR primary) to search titles and abstracts as well as limiting the search to peer-reviewed articles written in English within a 10-year timeframe (2011–2020), we initially retrieved 172 articles. Information about all 172 articles was input into a data spreadsheet including author, article title, journal title, volume and issue number, and abstract. Once completed, these articles were divided into two equal groups and two researchers were assigned to review the articles for relevancy against the following inclusion criteria:

Studies were peer-reviewed empirical research published in English;

Participants were primary students and/or teachers;

Students were not specifically English as a Second or Additional Language/Dialect learners (samples of culturally and linguistically diverse students in primary classrooms were included);

Studies were not carried out in curriculum areas other than English; and

Studies did not have a specific focus on digital technologies in the classroom.

For this systematic review, we were interested in the ways in which teachers thought about, understood, and taught the ‘creative’ aspect of writing.

The 25 studies that met the inclusion criteria were synthesised to review what influences the improvement of creative writing in primary education. We analysed the papers for how creative writing and/or creative aspects in writing were viewed as well as how teachers might best support students to develop reflexive capacities to improve the creative aspects of writing. We also identified any personal, structural, and/or cultural emergences that might impact on the effectiveness of students’ creative writing. Two of the authors read the entire articles and identified four main categories of research which were (1) understanding creative writing; (2) creative thinking and its contribution to writing; (3) creative pedagogy; and (4) what students can do to be more creative in their writing. These were cross-checked by the entire research team. Some of the papers fit more than one of these themes. In the next section, each theme is introduced and defined and then the articles that fall within the theme are reviewed.

Overall a total number of 25 articles had overlapping themes that included various personal and contextual aspects. Figure  1 shows what we have identified as the key themes under each category. In the next sections, we represent papers based on their main theme.

The personal, structural, and cultural conditions surrounding creative writing

Personal emergent properties

A total number of 13 articles were about what students can do to be more creative in their writing (Mendelowitz, 2014 ; Steele, 2016 ) and how teachers’ and students’ personal characteristics relate to the development of creative writing. These articles were mainly focussed on the personal emergent aspects of writing (Alhusaini & Maker, 2015 ; Barbot et al., 2012 ; Cremin et al., 2020 ; DeFauw, 2018 ; Dobson, 2015 ; Dobson & Stephenson, 2017 , 2020 ; Edwards-Groves, 2011 ; Healey, 2019 ; Lee & Enciso, 2017 ; Macken-Horarik, 2012 ; Ryan, 2014 ). The personal aspects identified in our review were (1) personal views about creative writing, (2) creative thinking, (3) writer identity, (4) learner motivation and engagement, and (5) knowledge and capabilities.

Personal views about creative writing

From our systematic review, we identified three articles exploring views about what creative writing is, and more specifically the role that it plays and the elements that make creative writing, in primary classrooms. One of these studies was focussed on the views and experiences of experts in writing (Barbot et al., 2012 ), whereas the other two investigated students’ perspectives and experiences (Alhusaini & Maker, 2015 ; Healey, 2019 ). Barbot et al’s ( 2012 ) work, for example, recognised that creative writing involves both cognitive and metacognitive abilities. This was determined by the expert panel of people whose work related to writing including teachers, linguists, psychologists, professional writers, and art educators. The panel were asked to complete an online survey that rated the relative importance of 28 identified skills needed to creatively write. Six broad categories were identified as a result of the responses and the rank given to each factor by the expert groups (See Table 2 ). They acknowledged that these features cross over various age groups from children to professional writers.

Findings suggested that each independent rater weighted different key components of creative writing as being more or less important for children. Overall, the findings showed.

a global ‘consensus’ across the expert groups indicated that creative writing skills are primarily supported by factors such as observation, generation of description, imagination, intrinsic motivation and perseverance, while the contributions of all of the other relevant factors seemed negligible (e.g. intelligence, working memory, extrinsic motivation and penmanship). (p. 218)

One factor that was ranked as critical by most respondents, but underemphasised by teachers, was imagination. Teachers’ work in classrooms around creative writing is complex due to the difficulty in defining imagination (Brill, 2004 ). Teachers also under-rated other aspects related to creative cognition.

Another study that explored students’ creativity in writing was conducted by Alhusaini and Maker ( 2015 ) in the south-west of the United States. Participants included 139 students with mixed ethnicities including White, Mexican American, and Navajo. This study involved six elementary/primary school teachers judging students’ writing samples of open-ended stories. To assess the work a Written Linguistic Assessment tool, which was based on the Consensual Assessment Technique [CAT] (Amabile, 1982 ) was implemented. According to Baer and McKool ( 2009 ), The CAT involves experts rating written artefacts or artistic objects by using their ‘sense of what is creative in the domain in question to rate the creativity of the products in relation to one another’ (p. 4). Interestingly, Alhusaini and Maker ( 2015 ) found the CAT to be effective in relation to interrater reliability. The authors do not share what the Judge’s Guidelines to Assess Students’ Stories entail. They mention the difference between technical quality and creativity and note that assessors were able to distinguish the differences between the two, but the reader is not made aware of the aspects of each quality. Overall, the study revealed that one of the most challenging problems in the field of creativity and writing is trying to measure creativity across cultures by using standardised tests. Such studies could have implications for other students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds as teachers become more aware of cultural nuances in constituting ‘creative’ in creative writing.

The final study we identified in this category was by Healey ( 2019 ). Healey employed an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) and explored how eight children (11–12 Years of age) experienced creative writing in the classroom. He shared how children’s writing experiences were based on ‘the affect, embodiment, and materiality of their immediate engagement with activities in the classroom’ (p. 184). Results from student interviews showed three themes related to the experience of writing: the writing world (watching, ideas from elsewhere, flowing); the self (concealing and revealing, agency, adequacy); and schooled writing (standards, satisfying task requirements, rules of good writing). The author stated that children’s consciousness shifts between their imagination (The Writing World) and set assessment tasks (Schooled Writing). Both of these worlds affect the way children experience themselves as writers. Further findings from this work argued that originality of ideas and use of richer vocabulary improved students’ creative writing. Vocabulary improvement included diversity of word meanings, appropriate usage of words, words being in line with the purpose of the text; while originality of ideas featured creative and unusual (original) ideas—which in many ways is difficult to define.

Overall, when concerned with personal views and attitudes in creative writing, the two studies by Healey ( 2019 ) and Barbot et al. ( 2012 ) show contrasting findings about ‘imagination’ captured through the view of students and teachers, respectively. While Healey’s ( 2019 ) study suggests that children shift between their imagination and set assessment tasks in creative writing, Barbot et al. ( 2012 ) highlight the lack of attention to imagination among their participated teachers. Although these results cannot be generalised, they highlight the significance of understanding personal emergent properties that both students and teachers bring to the classroom and the way that they interact to affect the experience of creative writing for learners. From this theme, we suggest the importance of educators acknowledging students’ imagination through their definition of creative writing as well as providing quality time for students to choose what they write through imaginative thought. We now turn to creative thinking and related pedagogical approaches to teaching creative writing from the research literature.

Creative thinking

We identified two articles that were focussed on creative thinking and its contribution to writing (Copping, 2018 ; Cress & Holm, 2016 ). Copping ( 2018 ) explored writing pedagogy and the connections between children’s creative thinking, or a ‘new way of looking at something’ (p. 309), and their writing achievement. The study involved two primary schools in Lancashire, one in an affluent area and one in an underprivileged area. Approximately 28 children from each school were involved in two, 2-day writing workshops based on a murder mystery the children had to solve. Findings from this study revealed that to improve students’ writing achievement (1) a thinking environment needs to be created and maintained, (2) production processes should have value, (3) motivation and achievement increase when there is a tangible purpose, and (4) high expectations lead to higher attainment.

Cress and Holm’s ( 2016 ) study described a curricular approach implemented by a first-grade teacher and their class comprised 13 girls and 11 boys. The project known as the Creative Endeavours project aimed to develop creative thinking by (1) creating an environment of respect with a positive classroom climate. (2) offering new and challenging experiences, and (3) encouraging new ideas rather than praise. The authors argued that through peer collaboration and the flexibility to choose their own projects, children can become more authentically engaged in the writing process. The children wrote about their experiences and their choices, and reflected upon the projects undertaken. In this study, it was revealed that the children showed diversity in their writing assignments including presentation through sewing, photography, and drama. While there were only two papers in this particular theme, their findings are supported by systematic reviews (Graham et al., 2012 ; Slavin et al., 2019 ) that emphasise not only new ways of exploring a range of concepts for learning but also the creation of motivating environments for improving writing (Copping, 2018 ). In addition to the significance of positive and encouraging learning environments, these two studies suggest that setting ‘high expectations’ or ‘challenging experiences’ are conducive to creative thinking however, teachers would need to set appropriate, reflexive conditions for this to occur.

Writer identity

Studies in this category revolve around choice and learner writer identity. The study carried out by Dobson and Stephenson ( 2017 ) focussed on developing a community of writers involving 25 primary school pupils from low socio-economic backgrounds. The project was offered over 2 weeks and featured a number of creative writing workshops. The authors applied the theoretical frameworks of practitioner enquiry and discourse analysis to explore the children’s creative writing outputs. They argued that the workshops, which promoted intertextuality and freedom for the children as writers, enabled a shifting of their ‘writer’ identities (Holland et al., 1998). Dobson and Stephenson ( 2017 ) showed that allowing students to make decisions and choices in regard to authentic writing purposes supported a more flexible approach. They recommend stronger partnerships between schools and universities in relation to research on creative writing, however, it would be important for these relationships to be sustainable.

The second paper on this theme is by Ryan ( 2014 ) who noted that writing is a complex activity that requires appropriate thinking in relation to the purpose, audience, and medium of a variety of texts. Writers always make decisions about how they will present subject matter and/or feelings through all of the modes. Ryan ( 2014 ) suggested that writing is like a performance ‘whereby writers shape and represent their identities as they mediate social structures and personal considerations’ (p. 130). The study analysed writing samples of culturally and linguistically diverse Australian primary students to uncover the types of identities students shared. It found that three different types of writers existed—the school writers who followed teacher instructions or formulas to produce a product; the constrained writers who also followed instructions and formulas but were able to add in some authorical voice; and the reflexive writers who could show a definite command of writing and showed creative potential. Ryan ( 2014 ) argued that teachers’ practices in the classroom directly influence the ways in which students express these identities. She stated that when students are provided choices in writing, they are more able to shape and develop their voices. Such choices would need to include quality time and support to be reflexive in the decisions being made by the students.

The Teachers as Writers project (2015–2017) was conducted by Cremin, Myhill, Eyres, Nash, Wilson, and Oliver. In a recent paper ( 2020 ), the team reported on a collaborative partnership between two universities and a creative writing foundation. Professional writers were invited to engage with teachers in the writing process and the impact of these interactions on classroom teaching practices was determined. Data sets included observations, interviews, audio-capture (of workshops, tutorials and co-mentoring reflections), and audio-diaries from 16 teachers; and a randomised controlled trial (RCT) involving 32 primary and secondary classes. An intervention was carried out involving teachers writing in a week long residence with professional writers, one-on-one tutorials, and extra time and space to write. They also continued learning through two Continuing Professional Development (CPD) days. Results showed that teachers’ identities as writers shifted greatly due to their engagement with professional authors. The students responded positively in terms of their motivation, confidence, sense of ownership, and skills as writers. The professional authors also commented on positive impacts including their own contributions to schools. Conversely, these changes in practice did not improve the students’ final assessment results in any significant way. The authors noted that assuming a causal relationship between teachers’ engagement with writing workshops and students’ writing outcomes was spurious. They, therefore, developed further research building on this learning.

Knowledge and capabilities

The role of knowledge and capability is central to the articles in this category. In Australia, Macken-Horarik ( 2012 ) reported on the introduction of a national curriculum for English. This article drew on Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) by investigating the potential of Halliday’s notion of grammatics for understanding students’ writing as acts of creative meaning in context. Macken-Horarik ( 2012 ) argued that students needed to know deeply about language so that they could make creative decisions with their writing. She outlined that a ‘good enough’ grammatics would assist teachers in becoming comfortable with ‘playful developments in students’ texts and to foster their control of literate discourse’ (p. 179).

A project carried out by Edwards-Groves in 2011 highlights the role of knowledge about digital technologies in writing practices. 17 teachers in primary classrooms in Australia were asked to use particular digital technologies with their students when constructing classroom texts. Findings showed that an extended perspective on what counts as writing including the writing process was needed. Results revealed that collaborative methods when constructing diverse texts required teachers to rethink pedagogies towards writing instruction and what they consider as writing. It was argued that technology can be used to enhance creative possibilities for students in the form of new and dynamic texts. In particular, it was noted that teachers and students should be aware that digital technologies can both constrain and/or enable text creation in the classroom depending on a number of variables including knowledge and understanding, locating resources and logistical issues such as connectivity and reliability.

In addition, Mendelowitz’s ( 2014 ) study argued that nurturing teachers’ own creativity assisted their ability to teach writing more generally. She noted several ‘interrelated variables and relationships that still need to be given attention in order to gain a more holistic understanding of the challenges of teaching creative writing’ (p. 164). According to Mendelowitz ( 2014 ), elements that impacted on these challenges include teachers’ school writing histories, conceptualisations of imagination, classroom discourses, and pedagogy. Documenting teachers’ work through interviews and classroom observations by the researcher, the study found that teachers need to be able to define imagination and imaginative writing and know what strategies work best with their students. She noted that the teacher’s approaches to teaching writing ‘powerfully shaped by the interactions between their conceptualisations and enactments of imaginative writing pedagogy’ (p. 181) and that these may either limit or create a space for students to be more creative with their writing.

Such Personal Emergent Properties show that individual attributes of both teachers and students are important in learning creative writing. The next section of the paper explores the articles that shared various structural and cultural properties.

Structural emergent properties

In the subset of structural emergent properties, we mainly identified pedagogical approaches for creative writing that explored primary school learning and teaching (Christianakis, 2011a ; Christianakis, 2011b ; Coles, 2017 ; DeFauw, 2018 ; Hall & Grisham-Brown, 2011 ; Portier et al., 2019 ; Rumney et al., 2016 ; Sears, 2012 ; Steele, 2016 ; Southern et al., 2020 ; Yoo & Carter, 2017 ). These pedagogical approaches were aimed at addressing issues related to personal emergent properties such as motivation and engagement, and confidence in writing. The two categories of writing pedagogies were those that engaged professional authors and artists in teaching about creative writing, and the approaches that involved play(ful) activities, and use of visual arts, and drama.

Engaging professional authors and artists

Interestingly, many of the studies used literary forms and/or professional creative authors to spike interest and motivation in the students. Coles’ ( 2017 ) study, for example, used a garden-themed poetry writing project to support 9–10-year-old children’s creative writing in a London primary school. The 5-week project partnered with a professional creative writing organisation that facilitated the Ministry for Stories (MoS) writing centres across the USA. The study found that the social relationships created through this partnership allowed for a more inclusive and socially generative model of creativity. This meant that teachers should not just include creative aspects in assessment rubrics but rather recognise that creativity is encouraged through imagination and working with others. The researchers found improvements in the children’s participation in classroom writing activities as well as diversity in the ways they expressed their writing. The approach valued ‘rich means of expression rather than a set of rules to be learnt’ (p. 396). They also acknowledged issues associated with school–community partnerships including the sustainability of the practice.

Similarly, Rumney et al. ( 2016 ) found that using creative multimodal activities increased students’ confidence and motivation for writing. The study implemented the Write Here project with over 900 children in 12 primary and secondary schools. The study involved the children visiting local art galleries to work with professional authors and artists. Case studies were presented about pre-writing activities, the actual gallery work and post-gallery follow-up sessions. It aimed to improve students’ social development and literacy outcomes through diverse learning activities such as visual art and play in different contexts such as art galleries and classrooms. Like Coles’ ( 2017 ) study, this project showed that creative activities (e.g. talking about and acting out pictures; using story maps; backwards writing and planning) engaged students more than just teaching skills.

In addition, DeFauw’s ( 2018 ) study had student-centred learning and leadership at the core when working with a children’s book author for one year. The collaboration involved three face-to-face sessions with the author as well as online communication through blog posts. Data included recorded interactions, readings and pre and post interviews with teachers ( n  = 9), students ( n  = 36), and the author. The partnership showed that students’ interest was activated and sustained due to the situational context as well as the extended time given to students to interact with the author. The project improved students’ interest in and motivation to write as a result of engaging with authors and hearing about their own experience and writing strategies. It also found that teachers gained more confidence to support students’ exploration of writing in more creative ways. The creative pedagogies were also used in addressing issues related to creative writing outcomes for students, including teachers’ lack of confidence about pedagogies (Southern et al., 2020 ). Through a creative social enterprise approach, the authors facilitated professional development and learning involving artist-led activities for students. The program called Zip Zap had been implemented in schools in Wales and England, and data were collected through focus groups with teachers, students, and parents/carers. Observations of some of the professional development workshops were also video recorded. Third space theory was used to describe the collaborative practice between educators and artists that supported students’ creative writing outcomes. It was noteworthy that involving ‘creative’ practitioners largely focussed on the specific strategies that could be used in classrooms, to which our next section now turns.

Play(ful) activities, visual arts, and drama

Much research explores how to best support students who find writing difficult. Sears’ research ( 2012 ) is a case in point. The author shared how visual arts may be an effective way to improve struggling students with writing. They argued that the visual arts can provide ways of ‘accessing and expressing [student] ideas and ultimately opening a world of creative possibilities’ (p. 17). In the study, six third-grade students engaged with drawing and painting as pre-writing strategies, leading to the creation of poems based on the artworks. The students’ final poems were assessed and showed improved knowledge of all 6 technical categories in writing: ideas, organisation, fluency, voice, word choice, and conventions. The author also argued that students’ motivation to write increased as a result of the visual art activities.

A study by Portier et al. ( 2019 ) investigated approaches to teaching writing that were motiving and engaging for students. Involving 10 northern rural communities in Canada, the project implemented collaborative, play(ful) learning activities alongside sixteen teachers and their students. Interestingly, the study, like many others in our review, found a disconnect ‘between the achievement of curricular objectives and the implementation of play(ful) learning activities’ (p. 20); an approach valued in early childhood education. The students were supported through action research projects in creating texts with different purposes. Students’ motivation as well as samples of work were analysed and showed that student interest areas and collaborative approaches benefited both teachers and students. Further research on how reflexive thinking might have influenced these benefits is recommended.

Similarly, Lee and Enciso ( 2017 ) highlighted the importance of motivation and engagement in their study. In a collaboration with Austin Theatre Alliance, Lee and Enciso ( 2017 ) investigated how dramatic approaches to teaching, such as through expanded imagination and improvisation, can improve students’ story writing. They argued that the students’ motivation to write was also increased. The study was carried out through a controlled quasi-experimental study over 8 weeks of story-writing and drama-based programs. 29 third-grade classrooms in various schools, located in an urban district of Texas, were involved. The study also pre- and post-tested the students’ writing self-efficacy through story building. The study found that students were more able to use their cultural knowledge such as ‘culturally formed repertoires of language and experience to explore and express new understandings of the world and themselves…’ (p. 160) for creative writing purposes but needed more quality resources to support opportunities such as the Literacy for Life program. A most important finding was that for children who experience poverty, drama-based activities developed and led by teaching artists were extremely powerful and allowed the students to express themselves in entertaining ways. We do note that ‘entertainment’ and or engagement might mean different things for different students so reflexive approaches to deciding what these are would be necessary.

Steele’s ( 2016 ) study also looked at supporting teachers’ work in the classroom. Involving 6 out of 20 teacher workshop participants in Hawaii, this exploratory case study utilised observations, interview, and portfolio analyses of teacher and student work. Findings from the study showed that some teachers relished moving away from everyday ‘typical’ practice and increased student voice and choice. Other teachers, however, found it difficult to take risks and hence respond to student needs and ideas.

Dobson and Stephenson’s ( 2020 ) study focussed on the professional development of primary school teachers using drama to develop creative writing across the curriculum. The project was sponsored by the United Kingdom Literacy Association and ran for two terms in a school year. Researchers based the research on a collaborative approach involving academics and four teachers working with theatre educators to use process drama. Data sets included lesson observations, notes taken during learning conversations, and interviews with the teachers. The findings showed that three of the four teachers resisted some of the methods used such as performance; resulting in a lack of child-centred learning. The remaining teacher could take on board innovative practice, which the researchers attributed to his disposition. The study argued that these teachers, while a small participant group, needed more support in feeling confident in implementing new and creative approaches to teaching writing.

The final study, identified as addressing creative pedagogies for creative writing, was carried out by Yoo and Carter ( 2017 ) as professional development for teachers. Data included teacher survey responses and field notes taken by the researchers at each workshop (note: number of workshops and participants is unknown). The program aimed to investigate how emotions play a role in teachers’ work when teaching creative writing. The researchers found that intuitive joint construction of meaning was important to meet the needs of both primary and secondary teachers. A community of practice was established to support teachers’ identities as writers (see also Cremin et al., 2020 ). Findings showed that teachers who already identified as writers engaged more positively in the workshop.

These studies presented some approaches for teachers to consider how to teach creative writing. For example, the need to value unique spaces for students to write, including authentic connections with people and places outside of school environments was shared. Further, the need for quality stimuli and time for writing was acknowledged. Several other studies identified that blended teaching approaches to support student learning outcomes in the area of creative writing is important for schools and teachers to consider. We do acknowledge there may be other methods available to support students in creative writing, however, understanding what types of SEPs are impacting on teaching creative writing is an important step in determining improvements in schools.

Cultural emergent properties

Christianakis ( 2011a , 2011b ) wrote two papers about children’s creative text development with an emphasis on the cultural aspects. The first was an ethnographic study across 8 months with a year five class in East San Francisco Bay. The study included audio recording the students’ conversations and analysing over 900 samples of work. In the classroom, students were involved in a range of meaning-making practices including those that were arts-based and multimodal. The conversations with the students involved the researcher asking questions such: tell me more about this drawing, how did you come up with the idea? or why did you make this choice? The study found that there was a need for schools to reconceptualise the teaching of writing ‘to include not only orthographic symbols, but also the wide array of communicative tools that children bring to writing’ (p. 22). The author argued that unless corresponding institutional practices and ideologies were interrogated then improved practice was unlikely.

Christianakis’ ( 2011b ) second article, from the same project, explored more specifically the creation of hybrid rap poems by the children. She explicated how educators needed to negotiate and challenge dominant practices in primary classroom literacy learning. Like many studies before, a strong recommendation was to be more inclusive of youth popular cultures and culturally relevant literacies for students to be more engaged in creative writing practices. For Christianakis, culturally relevant literacies meant practices that embraced diversity in class and race and accounted for, and challenged, the dominant hegemonic curriculum that ‘privileges a traditional canon’ (p. 1140).

In summary, we found several themes under PEPs that could be considered for further research including those outlined in Table 3 below.

Discussion and implications for classroom practice

From this systematic literature review, several positions were exposed about the personal, structural, and cultural influences (Archer, 2012 ; Ryan, 2014 ) on teaching creative writing. These include limited teacher and student knowledge of what constitutes creative writing (Personal Emergent Properties [PEPs]), and no shared understanding or expectation in relation to creative writing pedagogy in their context (Cultural Emergent Properties [CEPs]). The negative impact of standardised testing and trending approaches on how teachers teach writing (CEP; Structural Emergent Properties [SEPs]) could also be considered (see AUTHORS 1 and 3, 2014 for example). In addition, teachers’ poor self-efficacy in terms of teaching creative writing (PEP); a paucity of quality professional development about teaching and assessing creative writing (SEP); and issues related to the sustainability of creative approaches to teach writing (SEP; CEP) need to be considered by leaders and teachers in schools. Our literature review advances knowledge about creative writing by revealing two interconnected areas that affect creative writing practices. Findings suggest that a parallel focus on personal conditions and contextual conditions—including structural and cultural—has the potential to improve creative writing in general. Below, we share some implications and recommendations for improved practice by focussing on both (1) personal views about creative writing and (2) the structural and cultural aspects that affect creative writing practices at schools.

Focussing on personal views about creative writing

School leaders and teachers must clearly define what creative writing is, what key skills constitute creative writing.

From our search it was apparent that schools and their educators often do not have a clear idea or indeed a shared idea as to what constitutes creative writing in relation to their own context. Without a well-defined focus for creative writing students may find it difficult to know what is required in classroom tasks and assessment. In addition, when planning for creative writing in school programs, teachers should consider flexible learning opportunities and choice for their students when developing their creative writing skills. Such flexibility should also involve choice of topic, ways of working (e.g. peer collaboration, individual activities etc.), and open discussions led by students in the classroom as shown throughout this paper. It would also be important for leaders and teachers to interrogate current approaches to teaching writing which we argued in the introduction to be formulaic and genre based.

Improve teacher self-efficacy, confidence, and content knowledge in teaching writing

Many of our studies showed that teachers who lacked confidence about writing themselves had less knowledge and skills to teach writing than those that may have participated in projects encouraging ‘teachers as writers’. Further, improved knowledge of grammar (as highlighted in Macken-Horarik’s, 2012 work); talk about writing in the classroom and other spaces (Cremin et al., 2020 ) and the writing process (see Ryan, 2014 ) could assist teachers in becoming more confident to take risks in the classroom with their students. Above all being playful about writing through extended conversations and practices is required.

Focussing on the structural and cultural resources

Improve training and further professional development and learning about teaching and assessing creative writing.

In order for the above personal attributes to be improved, further professional development and learning are required. Many of the papers presented throughout this review demonstrated the powerful impact of immersive professional learning for teachers. Working alongside professional authors, researchers, drama practitioners, visual artists, poets, for example, provided positive opportunities for teachers to learn about writing but also to feel more confident to teach it without imposing strict boundaries on students. We argue for professional development to be both formal and informal including such approaches as coaching and mentoring in the classroom. Demonstrated practice alongside the teacher is also recommended. This, in turn, would address the ongoing issue of creative writing being stifled for students in the classroom context.

Consider sustainability of creative pedagogic approaches and spaces for creative writing in curriculum planning

Many of the studies throughout this paper shared creative approaches to teaching writing but there were concerns that some of these methods may not be sustainable. It is important for school leaders to support the work of teachers in relation to teaching creative writing. We acknowledge that there is increasing uncertainty and scrutiny surrounding teachers’ everyday work (Knight, 2020 ), however, continued engagement in learning about and participating in creative pedagogy for writing is highly recommended. In addition, the studies suggested the provision of appropriate and authentic spaces in which students could creatively write and these often included spaces outside of the normal classroom environment and arts-based approaches implemented in such spaces. Teachers should be encouraged to collaborate and take risks rather than follow predetermined strategies for every lesson. A whole of school practice can be developed with important conversations about the ideologies that inform the school’s approach to writing.

Schools should not stifle creativity in the classroom due to the infiltration of standardised and/or trending approaches to teaching and assessing writing

It is evident that pedagogical approaches to teaching writing have been stifled by more formulaic methods aiming to meet expectations of standardised tests despite other evidence showing the benefits of more productive, engaging, and creative approaches to teaching writing as highlighted above. This can be particularly the case for students from non-dominant backgrounds where writing about cultural and life experiences through innovative practices has been proven to empower their voices (Johnson, 2021 ). The research shows that when students are offered rigid structures of texts, no choice of genres, and indeed word lists, their own decisions about writing are diminished (Ryan & Barton, 2013 ). It has been proven that students’ engagement and motivation to write can increase when they are able to write directly from their own experience or in social groups. It is therefore recommended that school leaders and teachers reconsider their ideologies about writing and explicitly indicate the importance of real-world purposes for writing—not just formulised, quick writing as usually included in external tests—but also those that encourage students’ growth in imagination, creativity, and innovative thought.

This systematic review used a lens of reflexivity to situate writing as a process of active and creative design whereby students make conscious decisions about their writing, with guidance from their teachers. As explained, we see creative writing as writing that engages a reader and, therefore, requires knowledge of authorial voice and appropriate word choice. This involves reflexive decisions relating to personal, structural, and cultural emergent properties. Predominant in the literature was the striking influence of CEPs or the values and expectations ascribed to writing, which in turn influence the strategies and resources (SEPs) and the experiences and motivations of students and teachers in the classroom (PEPs). Writing is about more than a series of perfectly formed sentences in a recognisable structure, which dominates conceptions of writing through high-stakes testing globally. It is about engagement with the expressive self, emergent identities, and relationships to places and people and above all communicating to and/or entertaining a reader. Without quality education in creative writing, society is at risk of losing an art form that is important for cultural practice and expression (Watson, 2016 ).

We do foresee several limitations with such a review, largely related to the positive nature of the studies in relation to creative approaches to teaching writing as well as the relatively small numbers of participants in some of the studies. Most of the studies reported favourably on the approaches taken by teachers to influence student motivation towards writing with limited comments about adverse effects. In terms of contributions, the notion that students need to draw on creative thought and ideas when writing means that teachers and leaders must think about diverse ways to teach writing. We argue, on the basis of the findings, that inquiry-based and reflexive professional learning projects about creativity are crucial for primary classrooms: what creativity means in different contexts and for different writers; how it is enabled; and the decisions and actions that emerge when creative and reflexive design guide our approach to classroom writing. Without quality knowledge and understanding of what creative writing is and how it is taught, we would be at risk of diminishing students’ self-expression and ability to communicate meaning to others in literary forms.

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Open Access funding enabled and organized by CAUL and its Member Institutions. The project that informed this systematic review was on the teaching of writing and funded by the Australian Research Council. The views expressed here are in no way reflective of the ARC.

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Barton, G., Khosronejad, M., Ryan, M. et al. Teaching creative writing in primary schools: a systematic review of the literature through the lens of reflexivity. Aust. Educ. Res. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-023-00641-9

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Received : 19 July 2022

Accepted : 26 May 2023

Published : 17 June 2023

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-023-00641-9

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Creative writing for schools

Practical resources, fun activities and tips to help teachers embed creative writing in the classroom

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Self-published textbook gets practical with creative writing

When Reia Ali found her secondary students struggling with learning English and passing the CXC exam she was inspired to write a creative writing textbook. And her textbook would go on to be used by teachers in schools across the country.

Ali recently released a revised edition to the textbook, Teaching Creative Writing for Primary Schools Standards 4&5, and spoke with Newsday about the journey.

Love of lit

She said she always wanted to do literature as she long had a passion for reading and writing. The secondary school she attended, however, did not offer literature at form five or form six. She decided to take literature on her own and also wrote it as an additional A-level subject. When she enrolled at the University of West Indies (UWI) the only major she wanted to do was Literatures in English.

"I was not particularly sure about teaching. I had great ambitions to do law. But my mother felt it was not a profession for a woman who wants to have a family."

After dabbling in politics and "a bunch of things" Ali applied and was successful in attaining a teaching position at UWI Sixth Form. She recalled the then principal, Annette Akra, who recently passed, felt she would be perfect to teach literature and communication studies.

"It just came naturally. There was no effort."

This inspired her to get into teaching full-time and she applied to the Education ministry. The next year, 2007, the ministry called and informed her she had been placed at Barrackpore East Secondary.

"The transition from sixth form to Barrackpore East was alarming. For sixth form, I stood in front of a class and lectured and they grasped the information. At Barrackpore East I realised teaching was a lot more than standing and talking."

She recalled she had remedial students who could hardly read and at that point the first seeds of the book were planted. At the time she had a group of boys who were only doing technical/vocational subjects and were very demotivated about learning English.

"They felt like they couldn't do anything, that they were not smart enough or good enough. But teaching is not just teaching. It is about how you make them feel. Encouraging them. You have to deal with their emotional and social problems. I had to touch all those things to get them motivated."

Ali found her passion for her students' success overwhelming.

"I would come home crying and can't sleep. I just wanted them to learn and pass English."

Her experience with the boys made her flashback to her days attending the rural Lengua TIA Primary School.

"I remembered walking to school. There was a particular area I had to pass where there was some seriously abject poverty. Some of the boys (I taught) came from there. I connected well with that. I wanted to bring them out and I knew the importance of an education to bring them out of the situation."

Getting creative

Ali spent months thinking about how to get the boys to write the English exam and pass. From that brainstorming she developed formulas that would be incorporated into the book.

"I took what I knew and married it to the practical."

She found utilising acronyms worked well and was easy for the students to follow. In 2008, when she began implementing her new formulas, 17 students wrote exams and 11 passed, with some only passing English.

"The principal asked 'what did you do?' I said, 'Miss, I tried my best with them.'"

From that point, the principal always gave her form four and form five. And over the years she refined and added to her formulas.

"I was able to try and test on my own secondary level."

In 2017 she entered the primary level via teaching Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) lessons. The following year she wrote the first edition of Teaching Creative Writing for Primary Schools Standards 4&5 and then released it in 2019.

She recalled the textbook took her one month to write and explained through the SEA lessons she was able to try and test her formulas at the primary level. And with her teaching at the secondary level she was able to develop a "seamless programme" for creative writing from primary to secondary.

"It is not just doing the SEA exam but they can use the concepts straight to form five."

She estimated the first edition sold more than 1,000 copies.

"The text was so successful because it gives a practical approach to every component and aspect. And this is something that did not happen before."

She said everything in the book made it user-friendly to parents, teachers and students. She also received feedback from those who used the book that it was easy to follow and had easy models to work with.

"Parents and teachers were extremely happy with it."

The year after the book was published covid19 hit and Ali took the opportunity to refine and improve the book. She self-published the revised edition on August 10, 2021, two days after her birthday.

"I consider it a birthday present. And divinely guided."

Since releasing the revised edition just over two weeks ago Ali has already sold 500 copies. She has been doing direct deliveries and 90 per cent of the people she has interacted with have been teachers.

"They have been so nice and so kind."

She has sold the book to teachers from various areas including Rio Claro, San Fernando, St Joseph, Sangre Grande, Mayaro, Penal, Woodland, Tortuga, Port of Spain, Carenage, Chaguanas, California, Princes Town, Arima, Trincity, Couva, Fyzabad, and Point Fortin. She has also done two workshops in Point Fortin.

"Sometimes teachers want guidance and direction. They don't teach how to teach. You learn a lot of theory. But when you get in the field the practical application is a little different. And this is across the board for most professions."

Next chapter

And how does one write a textbook and get it into the nation's schools? Ali explained there are two routes, firstly through the Education ministry's approved textbook committee, and secondly by having teachers take the book back to their schools and seek the principal's approval to add it to the textbook list. Teachers can also recommend to parents to purchase the books.

With the revised edition, Ali released it after schools' book list had been finalised and would therefore have to be sold via recommendations.

"To get the response I did was absolutely overwhelming. To see the response over the past few days told me this was needed, was necessary."

She added that being approached by teachers in top schools from south was confirmation it is "an excellent teaching tool."

She said teachers have been very appreciative of the book and have asked her to write a standard three book. She noted this was the next step for her and she also has plans to take the revised edition regionally and get it on Amazon.

The textbook is available at bookstores. Ali said the book has a large following in Tobago and she hopes to get it into bookstores there as well.

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Post news is dead, mp haynes alleyne responds to kamla: i requested absence from house, daylight murders, shootings ignite fear in capital city, radiographer crowned point fortin borough queen, "self-published textbook gets practical with creative writing", more in this section, the evening the 99% won at first citizens national poetry slam, point fortin, grenada celebrate roots on may 1, mamma mia comes to naparima bowl in may, queen of the pack patra is back.

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51 Creative Writing Activities For The Classroom: Comics, Prompts, Games, And Pretend Play

January 4, 2024 //  by  Milka Kariuki

Creative writing can be tough for learners of any age. From knowing where to start to establishing the vocabulary to develop their story, there are a bunch of different skills they’ll need to perfect their creative writing pieces. There are so many creative writing activities out there, but which ones are best for your kiddos? Our list of 51 creative writing activities is the perfect place to start looking if you’ve got a creative writing unit coming up! Read on and see which ones might grab your little writers’ attention!

1. Make Your Own Comic Books

We bet your kiddos just love comic books! Let them create their very own in the style of the super popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid books! Encourage your students to come up with their own plot, dialogue, and illustrations to spark their creativity. Even your most reluctant writers will love this fun activity! 

Learn More: Puffin Schools

2. Mad Libs

Using Mad Libs is a super popular way to develop your little creative writers! Use these free printables to get their creative juices flowing as they try to come up with words to fill the gaps to create weird and wonderful new stories. The best thing is that you can use these printables as many times as you like as their answers will be different each time!

Learn More: Teacher Vision

3. Flash Fiction

Flash fiction is a fantastic way to get your kiddies writing creatively while keeping things short and sweet! Use the range you prompts included in this resource to challenge them to write a creative story in less than 100 words. Flash fiction is amazing because your students won’t be overwhelmed by a huge writing task and it also means that your more confident writers will need to focus on the quality of their work, not the quantity! 

Learn More: TES

4. Write a Story Based on the Ending

Test your students’ creativity by providing them with writing prompts that start at the end! In backward story writing, your budding writers will need to plan and pen a story that eventually leads to the ending you give them. This idea is a fantastic way to turn your traditional creative writing lesson on its head and in many ways take the pressure off your kids, as ending their stories is often the most difficult part for them!

Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers

5. Found Poetry

Your learners will love this fun and creative found poetry activity. You can encourage them to collect words or a group of words from a favorite story or song then write them on a piece of paper or cut them out of a printed page. The overall goal is to have them rearrange the words differently to make an interesting poem with a unique writing style or genre!

Learn More: Homeschooling Ideas

6. Picture Dictionary

A picture dictionary is a brilliant way to support every member of your younger elementary class in their creative writing. The words paired with pictures give your writers a ‘dictionary’ that they can use pretty independently, so your less confident writers or non-native English-speaking students can still access your writing lessons! 

Learn More: Twinkl

7. Creative Journal Writing

Why not start a creative journal with your kiddos? Have them engage in daily journaling activities by giving them a different creative prompt each day. For instance, write a story about what would happen if dogs took over the world or what would you do if you were the security guard at a zoo and someone stole an animal? The fun is never-ending with these prompts!  

Learn More: Think Written  

8. Roll a Story

Roll-a-Story is one of the best ways to help any of your kids who are suffering from a bout of writer’s block! They’ll roll the dice to discover the character, setting, and problem for their story then set to work weaving their creative tale! It could be a story about a wise doctor being chased by a mysterious creature in a casino, or maybe a rich artist losing their wallet in a library. Then it’s up to your students to fill in the gaps!

Learn More: TPT

9. Pass-it-on Story Writing

There’s no telling quite where this fun writing game will end up! Start by writing the first sentence of a story on a piece of paper then pass it around your class, having your kids come up with a sentence that continues the story. The paper is then passed around the whole class until every student has contributed. Finally, once it makes its way back to you, read out your collaborative story to the whole class!

Learn More: Minds In Bloom

10. Picture Writing Prompts

Creative writing prompts activities test not only your little ones’ imaginations but also their ability to craft a story and dialogue from that. Display an intriguing picture prompt for your class and have a discussion about it, recording their ideas. You could discuss what the person or animal in the picture is doing or what they’re thinking, where they think the picture was taken, and much more. They can use your collective notes to inspire their story!

Learn More: Pandora Post

11. What’s the Question?

What’s the Question is a simple, yet super engaging game that requires your young learners to think creatively. Spark their creativity by writing an answer on the whiteboard such as “the moon would explode,” and task your kiddos with coming up with a question to match it. There’ll be lots of laughs as everyone shares what they came up with!

Learn More: That Afterschool Life

12. Creative Writing Printables

This website is absolutely full of quick and fun graphics for children that’ll encourage their creative writing! The cute graphics and simple directions make it an easy bellringer activity for your writing class. Just print out some of these cool sheets and let your students get creative as they write thank-you notes to helpful heroes or finish little cartoon comics!

Learn More: Jarrett Lerner

13. Paint Chip Poetry

Nothing says creative writing quite like figurative language! Grab some of these free paint swatches from your local home improvement store and have your students create metaphors about their chosen color! We love this low-prep activity as once your kids have finished their poems, they’re a ready-made multi-colored display that’ll brighten the walls of your classroom! 

Learn More: Fabulous In Fifth

14. Story Storm Activities

Once again, these Jarrett Lerner activities do not disappoint! Your students will have a blast pretending they are the principal for a day and they’ll get to create their very own rules for the school. Not only will this be an engaging writing exercise that we’re sure they’ll love getting creative with, but it also challenges children to think about why rules in school are important.

Learn More: Tara Lazar

15. Story Bag

Story bags are a fantastic way to destroy any kind of writer’s block! Grab an assortment of random objects from your home or classroom and pop them into the story bag. Next, gather your students around and pull out all the objects in the bag. Can they then write a story connecting all the items? Be sure to leave time to let them share their stories at the end of the lesson!

Learn More: Life Hack

16. Change the Ending

An easy way to ease your kiddos into the writing process is by having them rewrite part of a story. Grab their favorite read-aloud, and challenge them to come up with a new ending! They’ll need to finish the story in a way that makes sense, but aside from that, they can be as creative as they like! Your reluctant readers will like this one as much of the work on setting and characters has already been done! 

Learn More: Make Beliefs Comix

17. Plot Twist Writing Prompts

BUT WAIT – there’s a twist…This fun writing practice is perfect for older middle or high school but could also be simplified for younger students. Write these twist prompts on notecards and have your kids draw one each before letting them go off and write a story around their chosen twist! They’ll be eager to share their finished work with classmates at the end. After all, who doesn’t love a good plot twist?

Learn More: Pinterest

18.  Craft Box Craft

Every kid loves the book The Day the Crayons Quit for its creative narrative about this familiar box of coloring supplies! This extension activity rolls art and creative writing into one! Your students will have fun coming up with dialogue for each of the different crayons and you could even make it into a fun display for your classroom walls!

Learn More: Buggy And Buddy

19. Dialogue Pictures

Personalizing writing activities always makes it more engaging for kids! Print out a picture of yourself with a blank speech bubble, and model how to add in some dialogue. Then, let your kiddos practice speech bubbling with a photo of themselves, a pet, or a favorite celebrity, and have them come up with some interesting things for each of their subjects to say!

Learn More: SSS Teaching

20. Figurative Language Tasting

Your students will be creative writers in no time after practicing their figurative language with food tasting! Not only do tasty treats make this activity incredibly fun, but it also brings the writing process of metaphors and hyperbole to life. Just give each of your kids a few pieces of candy or snacks, and have them practice writing figures of speech relating to each one! They’ll have the words on the tip of their tongue- literally! 

Learn More: It’s Lit Teaching

21. Explode the Moment

One of my favorite writing concepts as a teacher is ‘exploding the moment’. This method is perfect for showing your kiddies that even the smallest moment can be turned into an imaginative, descriptive story! Start by having them brainstorm some ideas and expand on tiny memories like losing a tooth, getting a pet, or making a winning goal in a soccer game!

Learn More: Raise The Bar Reading

22. Round-Robin Storytelling

Round-robin storytelling is the perfect collaborative creative writing activity! This one can be done verbally or in writing, and it challenges your class to build a story using a given set of words. They’ll have a fun and challenging time figuring out how to incorporate each piece into one cohesive story.

Learn More: Random Acts Of Kindness

23. Acrostic Poems

Acrostic poetry is one of the least intimidating creative writing exercises as there are no rules other than starting each line with the letter from a word. Challenge your kiddies to use each letter in their name to write lines of poetry about themselves, or they could choose to write about their favorite food or animal!

Learn More: Surfin’ Through Second

24. Sentence Sticks

This exercise requires minimal prep and can be used in so many different ways. All you’ll need are some craft sticks in which you will write sentences with blanks and word banks. Your young writers can then pull a stick and fill in the blanks to practice creative thinking! Task them with a different goal each time; can they make the sentence silly or sad for example?

Learn More: Liz’s Early Learning Spot

25. Conversation Prompts

These fun prompts require your kids to think creatively and answer a range of interesting questions. They’ll be excited to write stories about waking up with a mermaid tail or describe what is in a mystery package delivered to their doorstep! These creative prompts are perfect for bellringers or transitions throughout the school day!

Learn More: Twitter

26. Pretend Play Writing

Do you remember playing with fake money and fake food when you were younger? This idea takes it a step further by incorporating some writing practice! All you’ll have to do is print the templates for dollars, shopping lists, and recipes then let your little learners have fun with these play-pretend writing ideas!

Learn More: Prekinders

27. Question Cubes

Your class will be on a roll with these amazing question cubes! Whether the cubes are used for responding to a story, brainstorming the plot of a story, or practicing speech and listening, they are an easy, affordable tool for your little readers and writers! You can snag some foam dice at the dollar store and hot glue questions on each side to spark some creative writing ideas for your class.

Learn More: A Love 4 Teaching

28. Balderdash

Not only is Balderdash an addicting board game, but it can even be used in the classroom! Your little learners will have a blast as they create made-up, imaginative definitions for words, important people, and dates. Whoever guesses the real answer out of the mix wins the points!

Learn More: EB Academics

29. Two Sentence Horror Story

This creative writing exercise is best for older students and would be a great one to try out around Halloween! You’ll be challenging your learners to write a story that runs chills up their readers’ spines, but there’s a twist…the story can only be two sentences long! Your kiddos will love writing and sharing their writing to see who can come up with the spookiest short story!

30. Telephone Pictionary

Another game that your kids will be begging to play over and over again is telephone pictionary! The first player will write down a random phrase, and the next person must draw their interpretation of the phrase. The third player will write what they think the picture is and so on!

Learn More: Imagine Forest

31. Consequences

You need at least two players for this fun creative writing game. Each pair or group of kids will start by having one person write a random phrase and conceal it by folding the paper. Then, they pass it to the next student to fill in the blank using the prompt. Once all the blanks are filled in, let them unfold the paper and get ready to reveal some seriously silly stories!

32. Story Wands

​​Story wands are a fun way to have your kids respond to stories and study what makes something their favorite. Responding to what they’re reading is a super helpful exercise in preparing them for creative writing as it allows your students to connect to their favorite stories. By figuring out what elements make stories great, this is sure to help them in their own creative writing assignments!

Learn More: Little Lifelong Learners

33. The Best Part of Me

Probably my favorite creative writing activity, this one is infused with social-emotional learning and self-esteem building! Let your students get to choose their favorite physical characteristics about themselves; whether it be their eyes, hands, feet, etc. Then, they take a picture to attach to their written reasoning! Make sure to boost the creative element of this writing task by encouraging your learners to use a bunch of adjectives and some figurative language!

Learn More: Sarah Gardner Teaching

34. Me From A-Z

Challenge your kiddos to get creative by coming up with 26 different words to describe themselves! Me From A-Z gives your students the opportunity to explore who they are by coming up with words describing them in some way using each letter of the alphabet. Why not let them decorate their lists and turn them into a display celebrating the uniqueness of each of your class members?

35. How to Make Hot Chocolate

How-to writing is a great way to get the creative writing wheels turning in your kiddies’ brains! They’ll have a fun time coming up with their instructions and ways to explain how to make hot chocolate! Do they have a secret recipe that’ll make the best-ever hot cocoa!? Once they’ve written their instructions, be sure to try them out and do a taste-test of their recipes!

Learn More: Teacher Mama

36. Give Yourself a Hand

Hands up if you love this idea! For this creative writing activity, have your little ones trace their hand on a piece of paper and decorate it with accessories. Then, encourage them to write a list of all the different things they do with their hands all over their tracing! This is a great warm-up to get the creative gears turning.

Learn More: Write Now Troup

37. Word Picture Poem

A word picture poem is a fantastic way to challenge your kids to write descriptive poetry about a common object! Your little poets will learn to find beauty in ordinary things and strengthen their sensory language skills and their vocabulary. For some added fun, you can even task them with writing a short story about the item as well! The results are sure to be fun to read!

Learn More: Teaching With Terhune

38. Shape Poem

Shape poems are some of the most creative poetry as they combine words and art into one! First, your young poets can choose an object to use as their muse and lightly trace an outline onto some paper. Then, they’ll write words along the outlined shape in the form of a poem that describes the object! The result is a bunch of fun and striking poems that’ll look great displayed around your classroom!

39. Crazy Hair Poetry

Here’s another one that combines writing and art! Start by guiding your kiddos in drawing a self-portrait then adding some crazy hair by blowing watercolor paints around! After the paint dries, have your kids come up with a short but creative poem describing their hair art.

Learn More: Grade School Giggles

40. Fingerprint Poetry

Nothing is more creative than getting your kiddies to let down the barriers in their mind and tap into their stream of consciousness! Show them how to pick a topic and then let their words flow straight from mind to paper in a swirling pattern. This fingerprint idea can be used for a get-to-know-you activity as well!

Learn More: Kristen Dembroski

41. Doggie Haiku Poems

Put a fun twist on classic haiku poetry! Your students will have a paw-some time writing three-line poems about dogs which they can then illustrate afterwards! Before starting the activity, you can use Dogku by Andrew Clements as a read-aloud to get your class hooked on this idea!

Learn More: Teaching Fourth

42. Fractured Fairy Tale

Ever wondered if the Big Bad Wolf was framed? Or if Sleeping Beauty was actually a snorer? Your writers in training will have a fun time taking a classic fairytale and putting their own spin on it! Following five simple steps, your kids will be funky fairytale authors in no time!

43. Letter Writing

These creative letter-writing prompts are sure to boost your kiddies’ imaginative writing skills! Whether writing to a pen pal or a favorite celebrity, letter writing is a great way to practice handwriting, word flow, descriptive language, and communicating all rolled into one! Have your writers grab their pencils and let the creativity flow as they write fun response letters to these prompts!

44. Hersey’s Kisses Similes

Teach sensory language and similes by connecting this tasty treat with the sense of taste! Your students will have a lovely time brainstorming how chocolate connects to each of our senses and applying that knowledge by writing some sweet similies! What a fantastic way to teach them how to use these essential creative writing tools!

Learn More: Teacher By The Beach

45. Sensory Poetry

Another great way to teach sensory details is to have your learners write poems about their favorite foods! Task them with writing a line for each sense to describe the food! Everyone will be hungry after this creative writing lesson so it might be a good idea to have some snacks on hand!

Learn More: Mrs. Tice’s Class

46. Season Personification

Each season of weather has an array of characteristics making this the perfect activity to practice personification in creative writing! Allow your little writers to choose a season to write about as if it were a person with human characteristics. Winter is a no-brainer! It’s Elsa!

Learn More: Write Shop

47. Class Book of Character Traits

To be creative writers, your kids need to know how to create realistic characters for their stories. For this class book, you’ll start by giving each student two opposing character traits. Next, have them demonstrate these traits by illustrating two characters and displaying them through dialogue!

Learn More: Crafting Connections

48. Socialgrams

With Instagram being all the rage these days, your kiddos will have a fun time creating a ‘socialgram’ on paper! Challenge them to create a descriptive and engaging caption to go along with their “photo” in the post. Then, classmates can comment on each other’s work! 

Learn More: Breezy Special Ed

49. Story Introduction Worksheets

Creative writing worksheets are a simple, minimal-prep tool to use in your creative writing units. Print out a variety of options, and have your kids practice their skills by finishing imaginative story introductions. By giving them a place to start their story, you can really take the pressure off your kids which will help ease them into the creative writing process!

Learn More: Lanternfish ESL

50. Dialogue Worksheets

Here’s another low-prep option for the last-minute planners! Pre-written dialogue can help guide the mood of the story and allow your kiddies to just focus on filling in the characters’ actions. This is also a great way to model how dialogue is spaced out and balanced in a story!

Learn More: ESL Writing Worksheets

51. Character Trait Posters

In this personalized character trait activity, your students will create a poster of themselves and label it with a bunch of different character traits. Descriptive, interesting characters are what make a story captivating, so this is a great introduction to understanding characters and their physical as well as personality traits! This is an activity that’s sure to help them build a strong foundation for their creative writing skills to build from!

Learn More: Life In First Grade

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What is creative writing?

Narrative or creative writing will be developed throughout a child's time at primary school. This table gives a rough idea of how story structure, sentence structure, description and punctuation are developed through story-writing lessons at school. (Please note: expectations will vary from school to school. This table is intended as an approximate guide.)

Download a FREE Creative Writing toolkit!

• KS1 & KS2 workbooks
• Bursting with fill-in prompt sheets and inspiring ideas
• Story structure tips, style guides and editing suggestions

Creative writing in primary school

Story structure Events in a story in an order that makes sense. 

Sentence structure Joining two clauses in a sentence with the word 'and.'

Description Simple  adjectives  to describe people and places. 

Punctuation Use of capitals, full stops, exclamation marks and question marks.

Year 2 Story structure Stories sequenced with time-related words such as: then, later, afterwards, next.

Sentence structure Starting to use sentences with two  clauses  connected by 'and,' 'but,' 'so,' 'when,' 'if' and 'then.' Keeping the tense of the writing consistent.

Description Using a broader range of adjectives. 

Punctuation Using capital letters, full stops , question marks , exclamation marks , commas for lists and apostrophes for contracted forms (e.g. they're) and the possessive (e.g. 'Sarah's pen').

Year 3 Story structure Stories structured with a clear beginning, middle and end. Starting to write in paragraphs.

Sentence structure Continuing to use sentences with two parts, linked with  connectives  such as 'because', 'but' and 'so'.

Description Broad range of adjectives plus some  powerful verbs . 

Punctuation Using all of the punctuation above. Starting to use some speech punctuation .

Story structure Gaining confidence with structuring a story and with organising  paragraphs .

Sentence structure Using sentences connected with more sophisticated connectives such as because,' 'however,' 'meanwhile' and 'although.' 

Description Using a range of adjectives, powerful verbs and adverbs. Some use of  similes . Using fronted adverbials (placing the adverb at the start of the sentence, e.g. 'Quickly, the children stood up'). 

Punctuation Increasingly accurate use of speech punctuation. Using commas after fronted adverbials .

Story structure Good structure of description of settings , characters and atmosphere. Integrating dialogue to advance the action. Using time connectives to help the piece of writing to come together. 

Sentence structure Using a range of connectives to connect parts of sentences.  

Description Using adjectives, powerful verbs and adverbs. Possibly some use of figurative language such as  metaphors , similes and personification . 

Punctuation Using brackets , dashes or commas to indicate parenthesis .

Story structure Continuing to structure stories confidently. Using adverbials such as: in contrast, on the other hand, as a consequence.

Sentence structure Using more sophisticated connectives like 'although,' 'meanwhile' and 'therefore.' Using the  passive form. Using the subjunctive . 

Description Continuing to use a range of descriptive language (see above) confidently. 

Punctuation Using all of the previously mentioned punctuation correctly. Using semi-colons , colons and dashes to mark the boundary between clauses.

How creative writing is taught in primary schools

When teachers teach creative writing, they usually follow the units suggested by the literacy framework,  including the following:

• stories with familiar settings
• stories from other cultures
• fairy tales (also known as traditional tales )
• fantasy stories
• myths and legends
• adventure and mystery
• stories with historical settings.

Teachers will start with a text that they are confident will engage the interest of the class. It is often a good idea to find a well-illustrated text to bring the story alive further. They will spend a week or two 'loitering on the text', which will involve tasks where characters and scenarios from the text are explored in-depth. These tasks may include:

• Drawing a story map or mountain to get an idea of the structure of the story
• Writing a letter from one character to another
• In pairs, improvising a conversation between two characters in the story
• Making notes on a spider diagram about a particular character
• Writing the thoughts of a character at a particular point in the story
• Writing a diary entry as one character in the story

Once teachers feel that the text has been thoroughly explored, they will guide the children in writing their own version of the story . This involves planning the story, brainstorming characters and setting and then writing a draft of the story. Children will then be encouraged to edit and re-write their draft.  Teachers may mark the draft and write their own suggestions on it, or they may ask children to swap their writing with their partner and encourage them to make suggestions on each other's work. Throughout this process, teachers are aiming to encourage children to develop skills in the above four sections of the table: story structure, sentence structure, description and punctuation.

Finally, children will write up a 'neat' finished version of their writing. Teachers often give children a format for doing this, such as bordered paper on which they can add illustrations, or a booklet for which they can design a front cover.

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Top 10 books about creative writing

From linguistics to essays by Zadie Smith and Toni Morrison, poet Anthony Anaxagorou recommends some ‘lateral’ ways in to a demanding craft

T he poet Rita Dove was once asked what makes poetry successful. She went on to illuminate three key areas: First, the heart of the writer; the things they wish to say – their politics and overarching sensibilities. Second, their tools: how they work language to organise and position words. And the third, the love a person must have for books: “To read, read, read.”

When I started mapping out How to Write It , I wanted to focus on the aspects of writing development that took in both theoretical and interpersonal aspects. No writer lives in a vacuum, their job is an endless task of paying attention.

How do I get myself an agent? What’s the best way to approach a publisher? Should I self-publish? There is never one way to assuage the concerns of those looking to make a career out of writing. Many labour tirelessly for decades on manuscripts that never make it to print. The UK on average publishes around 185,000 new titles per year, ranking us the third largest publishing market in the world, yet the number of aspiring writers is substantially greater.

Writers writing about writing can become a supercilious endeavour; I’m more interested in the process of making work and the writer’s perspectives that substantiate the framework.

There’s no single authority, anything is possible. All that’s required are some words and an idea – which makes the art of writing enticing but also difficult and daunting. The books listed below, diverse in their central arguments and genres, guide us towards more interesting and lateral ways to think about what we want to say, and ultimately, how we choose to say it.

1. The Hatred of Poetry by Ben Lerner An intellectual meditation on the cultural function of poetry. Less idealistic than other poetry criticism, Lerner puts forward a richly layered case for the reasons writers and readers alike turn to poetry, probing into why it’s often misconceived as elitist or tedious, and asks that we reconsider the value we place on the art form today.

2. Find Your Voice by Angie Thomas One of the hardest things about creative writing is developing a voice and not compromising your vision for the sake of public appeal. Thomas offers sharp advice to those wrestling with novels or Young Adult fiction. She writes with appealing honesty, taking in everything from writer’s block to deciding what a final draft should look like. The book also comes interspersed with prompts and writing exercises alongside other tips and suggestions to help airlift writers out of the mud.

3. Linguistics: Why It Matters by Geoffrey K Pullum If language is in a constant state of flux, and rules governing sentence construction, meaning and logic are always at a point of contention, what then can conventional modes of language and linguistics tell us about ourselves, our cultures and our relationship to the material world? Pullum addresses a number of philosophical questions through the scientific study of human languages – their grammars, clauses and limitations. An approachable, fascinating resource for those interested in the mechanics of words.

4. Madness, Rack, and Honey by Mary Ruefle The collected lectures of poet and professor Mary Ruefle present us with an erudite inquiry into some of the major aspects of a writer’s mind and craft. Ruefle possesses an uncanny ability to excavate broad and complex subjects with such unforced and original lucidity that you come away feeling as if you’ve acquired an entirely new perspective from only a few pages. Themes range from sentimentality in poetry, to fear, beginnings and – a topic she returns to throughout the book – wonder. “A poem is a finished work of the mind, it is not the work of a finished mind.”

5. Feel Free by Zadie Smith These astute and topical essays dating from 2010 to 2017 demonstrate Smith’s forensic ability to navigate and unpack everything from Brexit to Justin Bieber. Dissecting high philosophical works then bringing the focus back on to her own practice as a fiction writer, her essay The I Who Is Not Me sees Smith extrapolate on how autobiography shapes novel writing, and elucidates her approach to thinking around British society’s tenuous and often binary perspectives on race, class and ethnicity.

6. Threads by Sandeep Parmar, Nisha Ramayya and Bhanu Kapil Who occupies the “I” in poetry? When poets write, are they personally embodying their speakers or are they intended to be emblematic of something larger and more complex? Is the “I” assumed to be immutable or is it more porous? These are the questions posited in Threads, which illuminates the function of the lyric “I” in relation to whiteness, maleness and Britishness. Its short but acute essays interrogate whiteness’s hegemony in literature and language, revealing how writers from outside the dominant paradigm are often made to reckon with the positions and perspectives they write from.

7. Mouth Full of Blood by Toni Morrison An urgent set of essays and lectures from the late Nobel prize winner that collates her most discerning musings around citizenship, race and art, as well as offering invaluable insight into the craft of writing. She reflects on revisions made to her most famous novel, Beloved, while also reflecting on the ways vernaculars can shape new stories. One of my favourite aphorisms written by Morrison sits on my desk and declares: “As writers, what we do is remember. And to remember this world is to create it.”

8. On Poetry by Jonathan Davidson Poetry can be thought of as something arduous or an exercise in analysis, existing either within small artistic enclaves or secondary school classrooms. One of the many strengths of Davidson’s writing is how he makes poetry feel intimate and personal, neither dry or remote. His approach to thinking around ways that certain poems affect us is well measured without being exclusive. A timely and resourceful book for writers interested in how poems go on to live with us throughout our lives.

9. Essays by Lydia Davis From flash fiction to stories, Davis is recognised as one of the preeminent writers of short-form fiction. In these essays, spanning several decades, she tracks much of her writing process and her relationship to experimentalism, form and the ways language can work when pushed to its outer limits. How we read into lines is something Davis returns to, as is the idea of risk and brevity within micro-fiction.

10. Essayism by Brian Dillon Dillon summarises the essay as an “experiment in attention”. This dynamic and robust consideration of the form sheds light on how and why certain essays have changed the cultural and political landscape, from the end of the Middle Ages to the present time. A sharp and curious disquisition on one of the more popular yet challenging writing enterprises.

How to Write It by Anthony Anaxagorou is published by Merky Books. To order a copy, go to guardianbookshop.com .

• Creative writing
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• Zadie Smith
• Lydia Davis

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Primary Creative Writing

Primary creative english writing class.

In our most popular and highly-effective Primary Creative Writing Classes, we employ a dual-pronged approach of skills-based and thematic-based lessons as we prepare children for the Composition Writing component in Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE).

Creative Writing Skills & New Vocabulary

Students are taught how to apply a consistent set of Creative Writing skills in their compositions. New vocabulary is introduced through different story topics each week.

Small Class Size Of 6-8 Students

Honing their writing skills in a small, conducive class size of 6-8 students will give students the space to fully develop their craft. Teachers are also able to give individual students close attention and guidance in their writing.

Students Progress

Students will be faced with more writing challenges as they progress to the next school level. They will thus be exposed to, and learn more complex skills like “foreshadowing” and “building suspense”.

As students progress up each level, we prepare them by introducing more skills progressively.

Composition Writing

Students complete a full composition in class every 1-2 weeks. Each student will receive detailed, written feedback at the end of each lesson. Our lessons are structured according to skills-based, guided writing, and independent writing classes.

Guided Writing Lessons

Together with our teachers, students will explore a comprehensive list of topics and themes found commonly in MOE School, Prelim, and PSLE are covered. They will also be exposed to model essays with captivating plots, whilst learning to apply them with relevant vocabulary across various topics.

Students are taught systematically how to craft a well-developed story.

• Explore a comprehensive list of topics and themes
• Exposure to model essays with captivating plots
• Learn relevant vocabulary across various topics
• Reinforcement of WE skills and plot elements throughout term
• Vocabulary exercises assigned after each guided practice to encourage retention
• Common MOE School, Prelim and PSLE topics covered

Independent Writing Lessons

Students will put what they have learnt to the test. They will come up with plot ideas for each topic independently with minimum help from their teachers or materials.

• Students to attempt to use 1, 2, or 3 pictures as a focal point in the story
• Students will have the chance to apply skills and vocabulary learnt independently to their writing.
• Parents are encouraged to bring school practices for teachers to evaluate their learning progress
• Mock Assessments are conducted for P1-P4 students in Term 2; P5 & P6 students in Term 2 and 3

Download Our Curriculum Showcase

At Write Edge, teachers spend a substantial amount of time to teach the children a set of Creative Writing Skills (such as Show-Not-Tell, 5 Senses, Speech + Speech tag + Action Tag, Varied Sentence Structures, Ways to say “Said”, Personification etc.) These skills are reinforced weekly to ensure that they are familiar with how to use and apply them in their work.

Through the teachers’ close guidance and clear, instructional materials, we help our students apply these skills to their writing weekly.

Students will write a composition every week and we cover as many themes/topics/story ideas as we can throughout the year. For more complex topics like ‘dilemma’ or ‘loyalty’, the compositions will be completed across two weeks. As the students progress up each level from Primary 1 to 6, more advanced skills, phrases and themes will be introduced to them.

We strictly run small classes of 6-8 students and this promotes higher interaction between the teachers and the students. Not many centres offer such a low student-teacher ratio.

Our small classes of 6-8 allow our teachers to give every individual close attention and guidance.

This is particularly helpful and important for writing classes. Teachers are able to do detailed marking and give meticulous feedback on your child’s progress.

Our learning materials are also specially curated by our curriculum specialists and senior teachers. They are improved frequently to ensure clarity and effectiveness.

We are also up to date with the latest MOE syllabus.

Our teachers are trained, dedicated and passionate! We do our best to ensure that every child learns at Write Edge regardless of ability.

Yes. Your child may attend a trial class before deciding if our programme is suitable for him/her.

Yes. All students are required to do a draft 2 of every composition written in class. Draft 2 is the corrected copy of their draft 1. This helps them to learn from their mistakes, revise their story plot, impressive phrases, sentence structures and other skills taught in class.

If the student is unable to finish what was tasked for that day, they will have paragraphs to complete at home. Over time, as they familiarise themselves with the skills, phrases and the writing duration, they should be able to finish what is tasked for the lesson.

As we run a small class of 6-8 students, the teacher is typically able to give enough attention to all students, including the students who might not be able to catch up as quickly as the rest.

Attending a creative writing class should help to improve your child’s overall English Language competency. Through the writing process, they are able to put practice their usage of grammar, spelling, punctuation and vocabulary.

Over time, as the students practise what is taught in class and learn to apply them in school, they should be able to see an improvement in their composition grades.

However, there are some instances where we recommend students to attend a regular English class instead of a Creative Writing class.

We strongly encourage that students attend all four terms as we teach different creative writing skills and cover different topics every term. Attending the classes for the whole year will provide the students with a well-rounded experience at Write Edge.

Progress differs from child to child. Some students see good improvement within 3 to 6 months of attending Write Edge, while others take longer. For children who have a weaker foundation in their sentence structures, grammar, spelling, punctuations, teachers will spend more time building their foundation before focusing on other more complex aspects of writing.

Ultimately, beyond attaining stellar grades, we believe that providing the platform for students to write, practise, make mistakes and revise their drafts weekly will benefit them in the long run. The important language and writing skills acquired will prepare them for their examinations and beyond.

– Lessons are conducted as usual during the MOE school holidays (March, June and September). Our term ends in November ie: no classes during December holiday.

– With the exception of Chinese New Year, New Year and Christmas, lessons will be conducted as usual for any other Public Holiday that falls on a Saturday or Sunday,

– Classes will not be scheduled on gazetted Public Holidays that falls on weekdays and fees will be prorated accordingly.

Replacement lessons are scheduled within the week at a maximum of twice a term and is subjected to availability.

Worksheets will be given if there are no suitable timings for replacement.

Strictly no prorate, credit or refund for lesson missed.

Most Primary 1s are suitable for Write Edge’s creative writing programme. Students are exposed to a wide range of interesting story plots, good language and writing skills.

As young writers, a lot of guidance is given throughout the lesson. It is common for some P1s to struggle with spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence construction and coming up with logical plot ideas. With practice and guidance from our teachers in a small class, they should see gradual improvement in these areas.

However, there are instances where we recommend students to attend a regular English class before joining our creative writing class.

We will suggest for the student to try for about a term so we can more accurately assess if he/she is suitable for the class.

Have other questions in mind?

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Activity: Story Mountain

Complete the story mountain to plan your sotry with a beginning, middle, and end.

Activity: Character profile

Come up with lots of interesting details about the lead character in your story.

Video: How to develop storytelling skills

Suzy Ditchburn offers practical tips for improving storytelling confidence.

5. Find story inspiration

You can find fun story ideas anywhere! Why not raid your kitchen cupboards or hunt through the attic to find lost treasures? Anything from an old hat to a telescope will do the trick. What could the object be used for? Who might be looking for it? What secrets could it hold? Suggest different genres such as mystery or science fiction and discuss how the item might be used in this kind of story.

Real-world facts can also be a great source of inspiration. For example, did you know a jumping flea can accelerate faster than a space rocket taking off into orbit? What crazy story can your child make out of this fact? Newspapers and news websites can be great for finding these sorts of ideas.

If your child prefers non-fiction, use the facts you find to create a fact sheet, a poster or a mini-book.

6. Get drawing

If your child isn’t sure where to start, it can sometimes be helpful to sketch out their ideas first. For instance, can they draw a picture of a dastardly villain or a brave hero? How about a scary woodland or an enchanted castle? Can they draw the shark or spider they want to write an information book about?

Your child might also find it useful to draw maps or diagrams. What are all the different areas of their fantasy landscape called? How is the baddie’s base organised? Or for non-fiction, where does their shark or spider live?

Some children might enjoy taking this idea a step further and drawing their own comics. This is great practice – it stretches your child’s creativity, gets them thinking about plot, character, and dialogue, and is a big confidence boost once they’ve finished and have an amazing story to look back on.

For more ideas on writing stories, look at our Creative Writing page or check out our Creative writing books .

What your child will learn at school

Click on the links below to find out about the writing skills children practise year by year.

Writing Composition in Year 1 (age 5–6)

In Year 1, your child will learn:

• to write simple sentences
• to say a sentence out loud before writing it down
• to put sentences into the right order to tell a short story
• to re-read what they have written to check that it makes sense
• to talk about their writing with their teacher or classmates
• to read their writing out loud to their teacher or the class.

Writing Composition in Year 2 (age 6–7)

In Year 2, your child will learn:

• to write about things that have happened to them
• to make up simple stories
• to write about real events
• to write simple poems
• to write non-fiction for different purposes
• to plan their writing by either talking about what they want to write or by writing down key words
• to read their own writing and make changes to it
• to read their writing out loud.

Writing Composition in Year 3 (age 7–8)

In Year 3, your child will learn:

• to talk about similar pieces of writing, and using these to help them plan their own
• to plan their writing by talking about it or writing down key words
• to use a rich vocabulary and a range of sentence structures to make their writing interesting
• to create settings, characters, and plots for stories
• to use simple organisational devices (for example, headings and sub-headings) when writing non-fiction
• to proof-reading their writing for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors

Writing Composition in Year 4 (age 8–9)

In Year 4, your child will continue to practise the skills they learnt in Year 3. They will:

• talk about similar pieces of writing, and using these to help them plan their own
• plan their writing by talking about it or writing down key words
• use a rich vocabulary and a range of sentence structures to make their writing interesting
• create settings, characters, and plots for stories
• use simple organisational devices (for example, headings and sub-headings) when writing non-fiction
• proof-reading their writing for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors
• read their writing out loud.

Writing Composition in Year 5 (age 9–10)

In Year 5, your child will learn to:

• decide who they are writing for and what this means for their writing
• plan their writing before they start
• choose the right style and structure to match the type of text they are writing
• choose the right vocabulary and grammar for their writing
• write a story with interesting vocabulary and dialogue
• write non-fiction with features such as headings, captions, bullet points, subheadings and diagrams
• use a consistent tense throughout their piece
• check their own writing and the writing of their classmates, making useful comments.

Writing Composition in Year 6 (age 10–11)

In Year 6, your child will learn to:

• write non-fiction with features such as headings, captions, bullet points, subheadings, diagrams

10 Best Creative Writing Books to Read in 2023

Introduction:.

The world of creative writing possesses an extraordinary ability to unleash imagination, craft narratives, and evoke emotions that resonate with readers. Whether you're an aspiring writer or simply someone who appreciates the art of storytelling, consider Oxford Summer Courses. Embark on a transformative journey through our Creative Writing summer school, where you will have the opportunity to explore the art of crafting compelling narratives, experimenting with various writing styles, and honing your literary skills.

Disclaimer:

Please note that the following list of books is recommended reading to broaden your knowledge and deepen your appreciation of creative writing and literature. While some of these books may be included in the Oxford Summer Courses curriculum, the specific content of the summer school can vary. If you wish to study these subjects with us, you can apply to our Creative Writing summer school.

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive helpful tips, tutorials, and thought-provoking articles that can inform and inspire your creative writing journey at Oxford Summer Courses. Sign up here.

1. On Writing, by Stephen King

• "Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration; the rest of us just get up and go to work."
• Published in 2000, "On Writing" by Stephen King is a masterclass in the craft of storytelling. It combines King's personal journey as a writer with practical advice on honing your writing skills during your time at Oxford Summer Courses.
• Discussion: How can Stephen King's advice on discipline and the writing process benefit aspiring writers at Oxford Summer Courses today?

2. Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott

• "Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere."
• Anne Lamott's "Bird by Bird" is an encouraging guide for writers facing the daunting task of putting words on the page. Through humor and personal anecdotes, she offers valuable insights into the writing process during your Creative Writing summer school at Oxford Summer Courses.
• Discussion: How does Lamott's emphasis on "shitty first drafts" resonate with your own experiences as a writer at Oxford Summer Courses?

3. The Elements of Style, by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White

• "Omit needless words."
• A timeless classic, "The Elements of Style" is a concise guide to writing well. It provides essential rules of grammar and composition that every writer should know, especially during their time at Oxford Summer Courses.
• Discussion: How do the principles outlined in "The Elements of Style" apply to various forms of creative writing, from fiction to poetry, at Oxford Summer Courses?

4. The story, by Robert McKee

• "Stories are the creative conversion of life itself into a more powerful, clearer, more meaningful experience. They are the currency of human contact."
• Robert McKee's "Story" is a comprehensive exploration of the principles behind effective storytelling. It's a must-read for anyone looking to understand the structure and elements of compelling narratives during their time at Oxford Summer Courses.
• Discussion: How can the insights from "Story" enhance your ability to construct engaging and impactful stories during your Creative Writing summer school at Oxford Summer Courses?

5. Big Magic, by Elizabeth Gilbert

• "Do whatever brings you to life, then. Follow your own fascinations, obsessions, and compulsions. Trust them. Create whatever causes a revolution in your heart."
• In "Big Magic," Elizabeth Gilbert delves into the creative process and encourages writers to embrace their creativity with courage and curiosity, a valuable lesson during your time at Oxford Summer Courses.
• Discussion: How can Gilbert's philosophy on creativity inspire you to approach your writing with a sense of wonder and daring at Oxford Summer Courses?

6. The Art of Fiction, by John Gardner

• "Fiction seeks out truth. The writer has to go into the dark, quiet spaces of himself and feel around for the truth."
• John Gardner's "The Art of Fiction" offers profound insights into the art and craft of writing fiction. It explores the intricacies of character development, plot, and the writer's role in conveying truth through storytelling during your Creative Writing summer school at Oxford Summer Courses.
• Discussion: How can Gardner's exploration of truth in fiction inform your own creative writing endeavors at Oxford Summer Courses?

7. Writing Down the Bones, by Natalie Goldberg

• "Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open."
• Natalie Goldberg's "Writing Down the Bones" is a meditative guide to writing practice. It encourages writers to tap into their innermost thoughts and emotions during their Creative Writing summer school at Oxford Summer Courses.
• Discussion: How can Goldberg's approach to writing as a form of meditation help you access deeper layers of creativity in your work at Oxford Summer Courses?

8. The Elements of Eloquence, by Mark Forsyth

• "Rhetoric is the art of dressing up some unimportant matter to fool the audience for the moment."
• "The Elements of Eloquence" explores the art of rhetoric and language play. Mark Forsyth's witty and informative book will inspire you to experiment with language in your writing during your time at Oxford Summer Courses.
• Discussion: How can a deeper understanding of rhetorical devices enhance your ability to craft persuasive and evocative prose at Oxford Summer Courses?

9. Zen in the Art of Writing, by Ray Bradbury

• "Every morning I jump out of bed and step on a landmine. The landmine is me. After the explosion, I spent the rest of the day putting the pieces together."
• Ray Bradbury's "Zen in the Art of Writing" is a collection of essays that celebrate the joy and passion of writing. Bradbury shares his insights on creativity and the writing life during your Creative Writing summer school at Oxford Summer Courses.
• Discussion: How can Bradbury's enthusiasm for writing infuse your own creative process with energy and purpose at Oxford Summer Courses?

10. The Nighttime Novelist, by Joseph Bates

• "Writing is an exploration of the heart."
• "The Nighttime Novelist" by Joseph Bates is a practical guide for writers who balance their craft with busy lives. It offers strategies for maximizing your writing time and making progress on your projects during your time at Oxford Summer Courses.
• Discussion: How can the techniques outlined in "The Nighttime Novelist" help you maintain a consistent and productive writing practice at Oxford Summer Courses?

Oxford Summer Courses invites you to immerse yourself in the enchanting world of creative writing during your time at our summer school. In this blog post, we present a meticulously curated list of 10 classic books that will ignite your imagination and deepen your understanding of the art of storytelling. From Stephen King's practical wisdom in "On Writing" to Ray Bradbury's celebration of the writing life in "Zen in the Art of Writing," these books will serve as your companions on your creative writing journey at Oxford Summer Courses. Through our Creative Writing program, you will have the opportunity to explore these influential texts, share your insights with fellow writers, and refine your craft. Join us on this literary adventure and embark on a transformative experience that will shape your writing skills and inspire your creative spirit during your time at Oxford Summer Courses. Who knows, you might just discover a newfound passion for the art of storytelling and create narratives that resonate with readers for generations to come.

Apply now to join the Oxford Summer Courses Creative Writing summer school and embark on a journey of self-expression and creativity during your time at Oxford Summer Courses. Join a community of passionate writers from around the world and unlock your potential as a storyteller. Apply here.

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Ignite your passion for creative writing at Oxford Summer Courses. Immerse yourself in a carefully curated list of books that will spark your creativity, refine your storytelling abilities, and help you embark on a transformative journey as a writer.

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Open Schools BC

Categories: Age 6-9 years , All FKB Books , Beginner English , Children , Creative Commons , English Language , English Worksheets , Grade 1 to Grade 3 , Learning to Write , Non-Fiction , Open Educational Resources , Open School BC

This ELA activity book is suitable for Grade 2 English First Language students and can be used for developing grammar in English Second Language students who have already developed an understanding of the language. The book contains 29 different grammar activities, each one of the 29 topics contains a Guided Practice (“GP”) exercise and an …

Grade 1 ELA Activity Book – OSBC

Open School BC

Categories: Age 2-5 Years , Age 6-9 years , All FKB Books , Beginner English , Children , Creative Commons , English Language , English Worksheets , Grade 1 to Grade 3 , Learning to Write , Non-Fiction , Open Educational Resources , Open School BC

This is a Grade 1 ELA Activity book for learning grammar. The activities include ordering words in a sentence, forming questions, suffixes “ing” and “ed”, plurals, contractions, compound words, a and an, ownership, and alphabet order. This is a great activity book for school or homeschool use, or for extra homework to improve skills at …

Similar Words Reading List

Categories: Dyslexic Font , Files , Learning to Read , Learning to Write

Similar Words Reading List – How frustrating is it to try to remember there, their, hare, hear, and here. This file provides 3 pages of word tables that will help children learn similar patterns in English words, to help spelling and sounding out skills.     See more books perfect for children learning to read …

Spelling and Writing Workbook 2 Grade 1 – Editable Workbook

Danielle Bruckert

Categories: Editable Files , English Language , Files , Learning to Read , Learning to Write

Spelling and Writing Workbook 2 Grade 1 – Editable Workbook – This is the editable version of the Sight Words Book on our main home page, here: https://freekidsbooks.org/sight-words-reading-lists/. This common words spelling and writing workbook is the second in a series of 3. Author: Danielle Bruckert Links to all books in the series: Spelling and …

Writing Worksheets – Editable Version

Categories: Alphabet , Editable Files , Files , Grade K and Pre K , Learning to Write

This is the original soft version of our Writing Worksheets in editable open document format (odt extension for editing in native open office, or any other word processor program that supports this file type).     See more Editable Files like this Writing Worksheets below    

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• As Creatives – Creative Learning for Creative Classrooms
• As Creatives Connect – Creative Learning for Creative Classrooms
• Big Maths Days – Maths Activity Days for Secondary Schools
• Book Week Scotland 2024 – School Workshops
• British Science Week 2025 – Reserve your date!
• Creative CPD and INSETs for Teachers
• Creative Literacy Programmes for Primary Schools
• Creative Literacy Workshops for Primary Schools in Scotland – Author Visits, Workshops & Assemblies
• Creative Literacy Workshops for Secondary Schools – Workshops & Assemblies
• Creative Maths Workshops for Primary Schools
• CSI: Maths and Literacy Workshops for Primary and Secondary Schools
• Designed Resources
• Family Maths Workshops – A Creative Approach to Securing Parental Support for Maths Priorities
• History Workshops and Shows for Primary Schools
• Holocaust Memorial Day School Workshops
• International Women’s Day – School Workshops
• Learning Outside the Classroom CPD – Outdoor Learning INSET
• Learning Outside the Classroom Workshops – Outdoor Learning
• Libraries – Library Learning with As Creatives
• Literacy Workshops for Secondary Schools in Scotland
• Literacy Workshops Ireland – School Character Workshops and Visits to Support the Literacy Curriculum
• Maths Workshops for Primary Schools in Scotland
• Maths Workshops for Secondary Schools – Creative Maths Workshops for KS3 / KS4 – S1 / S5
• Maths Workshops for Secondary Schools in Ireland
• Maths Workshops for Secondary Schools in Scotland – Maths Week Scotland
• Maths Workshops for Special Schools
• Maths Workshops Primary Schools in Ireland
• National Collaborative Outreach Programme – Live Webinars, Digital Packages and Resource Packs
• National Storytelling Week 2024 – School Workshops
• Poetry Workshops, Visits and Assemblies for Schools – National Poetry Day
• Recovery Education – Catch Up Premium Funding – Workshops and Programmes
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• Events and Key Dates
• Learning Outside the Classroom
• International Schools
• School Workshops
• Science Workshops for Primary Schools – British Science Week 2025
• Science Workshops for Primary Schools in Scotland
• Science Workshops for Schools in Ireland
• Science Workshops for Secondary Schools – Creative Science Workshops for KS3 and KS4
• Shakespeare Workshops for Schools – KS1/KS2/KS3/KS4 – The Play’s The Thing!
• Summer School Programmes – School Workshops & Programmes
• Teaching Resources
• Trainee Teacher Courses and Universities
• Whole School Maths Day – Whole School Maths Challenges
• World Book Day 2025 – Whole-School Workshops
• World Space Week 2024 – Space Workshops for Schools, Activities and Assemblies for World Space Week
• World War One Schools Play and Workshops – Living with the War
• Year 6 Transition | Activities and Workshops for Primary Schools
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Creativity is at the core of reading and writing, at the heart of speaking and listening. So our range of Creative Literacy programmes offers pupils opportunities to explore and experiment with words in different contexts - and appreciate how effective spelling, punctuation and grammar act as the very foundations of language and communication.

Experiential, exciting and empowering, our imaginative and cross-curricular approaches harness tried and trusted approaches from the worlds of drama, visual art and creative writing and are all rooted in the Curriculum. Approaches specifically developed to support EYFS - KS2 / P1 - P7 children in developing their reading and writing skills – and to boost motivation, build on existing knowledge and enhance progression.

School Workshops during 2024

In-person literacy workshops.

Engaging and Exciting Literacy workshops delivered in your school. Many of which are available for a whole-school in one day! Please get in touch to discuss how we could work in your school. 

Live Streamed Workshops

Enjoy one of our Shakespeare, Poetry or Literacy workshops live streamed into your classrooms by one of our expert team of practitioners. Bookings can be for a half or full day and we're happy to deliver these sessions over whichever digital platform your school is using.

Literacy Teaching Resource Package

Teaching Resource packages allowing you to deliver a whole-school Literacy "wow" day! packs include: A Visit from Bookman and The Extraordinary Adventures of Fillolog

Bring the whole-school together to celebrate World Book Day , Shakespeare Week , Storytelling Week or National Poetry Day with one of our inspiring Literacy workshops! 

Collaborative Poetry 

These workshops can last between 30 and 90-minutes, depending on the number of classes you would like to take part – and, as they can lead to poems on any subject of your choice, they provide a fantastic way of linking poetry to other areas of the curriculum! After exploring what makes a poem a poem, and the subject of theirs, pupils will be guided through an activity designed to support them in developing their ideas. Experimenting with rhyme and rhythm, they’ll then get the opportunity to write their own poems. Younger children will contribute to some collaborative poetry – with older pupils composing their own verses! And, for extra flexibility, workshops can be streamed into classrooms and/or pupils’ homes.

Spotlight on Shakespeare 

Our passion for Shakespeare shines through in our exciting and highly participatory workshops - suitable even for very young children. And, lending pupils our “actor’s eye view” of the plays, our workshops see them up on their feet, telling the story of your chosen play themselves, through a series of carefully structured drama activities. Never afraid to dive into the original text, we explore the backstories of Shakespeare’s characters, how those characters drive his plots - and how all the different elements join together.

Our Shakespeare programmes will this year also be available as live, streamed workshops, making sure that pupils can still learn about and enjoy Shakespeare’s plays – even in this “winter of discontent”. Offering a uniquely “actor’s eye view”,  the approaches adopted in Streaming Shakespeare work with any of the texts, exploring a play’s backstory, key themes and principal players. These workshops can last between 30 and 90-minutes, depending on the number of classes you would like to take part - and, in longer sessions, pupils can be introduced to a framework and technique for writing poems about their favourite characters!

Choose from …

Introducing Shakespeare: The ideal way for your students to begin to get to know both the man and his works, Introducing Shakespeare gives an actor's perspective on the writer and the writing

Spotlight on Shakespeare: This experiential and highly active workshop sees pupils being introduced to a number of drama activities and approaches as we take them right through the play, exploring the backstory, meeting the main characters and bringing key moments to life. 

Teacher CPD - Top Tips for Shakespeare: Our hugely successful Shakespeare CPD events for teachers take active approaches to exploring ways of working with the Bard with children of all ages. Get in touch if you’d like to find out more – or to book an event at your own school.

Exploring (depending on age, focus and time): backstories, narrative structure, characterisation, cause and effect, simple stagecraft, the roles of verse and prose, iambic pentameter, the power of metaphor, theatre history, “hidden stage directions”, Shakespearean conventions.

Duration: 1 hour – 1 day, depending on focus and number of classes.

"Every year, Jackson baffles me with his energy and passion. His in-depth knowledge of the play, his enthusiasm and professionalism is outstanding. As he talks about himself too, and all the actors he’s worked with and all the plays he’s done, the children are in awe of him. The children in our year love it every year and we will be booking for next year very soon." Hasland Junior School

"Huge thanks to Jo and all the team at As Creatives - the schools in our Manchester Hub have been delighted with the workshops. You have delivered some amazing sessions (as always!). Thank you so much for all your hard work - we really do love working with As Creatives!" Shakespeare Birthplace Trust

View our full range of Shakespeare workshops here

Read about our work with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust

A Visit from Bookman

Bryan Bukman is a contented librarian who, with the help of his friend Betty, can transform himself into homemade superhero Bookman – with the power to bring stories to life! Unfortunately, though, there’s just one blot on the landscape … The village grump, hates anything that sparks people’s imaginations – and that includes books! He’s managed to wipe Bookman’s memory clean of all the stories he knew and loved – which is causing no end of trouble. Bookman needs the children to help him begin rebuilding his memory … and regain his superpower! We can plan a timetable that allows up to 7 classes to take part in just one day!

The Extraordinary Adventures of Fillolog! (also available as teaching resource pack from ( www.ascreativesconnect.com )

Whatever book our friend Vistie was reading as a little girl (and she read a lot of them!), it always featured Fillolog, an extraordinary creature with an extraordinary appetite for stories. They were there in the forest, as she read of wolves, owls and eagles. They were there in the sea as she devoured tales of pirates, shipwrecks and treasure islands. And they were there in the distance as she read of adventure, action and mystery. Fillolog also had their own story to tell - but now that Vistie has got older, it’s faded to the back of her memory. And that’s where you come in! Because you and your pupils have the chance to help her by writing a unique and extraordinary whole-school story - with Fillolog at its heart!

 The Extraordinary Adventures of Fillolog can accommodate the whole of up to a two-form entry in a single day*, comprising an interactive assembly, workshops (one per year group) and follow-up literacy activities designed to put flesh on the bones of the story.

The workshops see children participating in related and age-appropriate drama-based activities before working together to solve literary clues revealing key aspects of Fillolog’s story.

• Nursery children (where appropriate) will be the  Locksmiths  - literally looking for the key to the story …
• Reception classes/P1, the  Story Openers  - discovering where the adventure starts …
• Year 1 pupils/P2 – the  Explorers  - will want to know where the Secret Doorway leads …
• Year 2/P3, the  Friend Makers  will provide a companion for Fillolog …
• Year 3/P4 classes will be the  Questors , searching for an object vital to the success of the story …
• Year 4/P5 pupils, the  Intrepids , will need to unravel the threads to discover the problem that Fillolog and their friend will face …
• Year 5/P6 children – the  Problem Solvers  – will be helping Fillolog overcome the challenge they’re faced with …
• Year 6/P7 classes, the  Bridgers , will provide a bridge to the next part of the story by finding a cliffhanger ending to the tale so far!

Poetry Assemblies for Schools

Assemblies are a great way, of course, of launching your National Poetry Day celebrations - and ours are guaranteed to create a real buzz about the wonder of words! So we're happy to lead whole-school poetry assemblies at the start of a day of any of our poetry workshops, sharing some of our favourite verses and providing opportunities for pupils to join in - and all at no extra cost!

 View our full range of poetry programmes here

A Celebration in Rhyme

Working with up to 420 children to create and perform a School Poem in just one day!

A celebration in Rhyme has been developed to help celebrate the stories your pupils love in verse - by writing and performing a collaborative School Poem in just a single day! After a quick assembly sharing our love of poetry and issuing the overall challenge, children will participate in collaborative writing workshops, usually for a year group at a time. Using our unique “RunAround” methodology, KS2 classes will choose the themes and content, creating the lines as they go - with EYFS and KS1 providing the chorus. And the outcome? A beautifully crafted poem extolling the wonder of stories that’s unique to your school - and that will get its very first performance at a second, celebratory assembly at the end of the day!

Soundscape Poetry 

Those pupils who said they don’t like poetry will be writing furiously at the end of this magical workshop. Realising the power of “sound”, they’ll design and perform contrasting soundscapes on a text or theme of your choice – then be guided through a structure that will help them create poems that tell both individual and collective stories.

Longer workshops will see them gaining experience in presentation skills as we support them in exploring the most effective ways to deliver their poems vocally.

Exploring (according to age):   onomatopoeia, alliteration, descriptive writing, contrasts, rhythm, tone, pace.

Duration: 1½ - 2½ hours, depending on how many classes.

 “The poems look amazing and I am really excited to send these home with the children who took part in the workshop. The day was a huge success and all of the pupils have commented how fantastic it was. Similarly, the teachers really enjoyed the CPD. Thank you again for such a wonderful experience.” Mapledene School

Personification Poetry

What would the world look like from the point of view of a Roman Legion’s eagle figurehead? How would it sound to the gravestone that William trips over at the start of “Goodnight Mr Tom”? What would be the memories of Stonehenge? And what might the clock on your classroom wall dream of as it gazes down on all the learning below? This highly imaginative and interactive workshop allows children to harvest the fruits of both their own and their classmates’ imaginations as they explore notions of empathy to construct some uniquely moving poetry. Longer workshops will see them gaining experience in presentation skills as we support them in exploring the most effective ways to deliver their poems vocally.

Exploring (according to age):  empathy, personification, subtext, descriptive writing, contrasts, rhythm, tone, pace.

Duration: 1 - 2 hours, depending on how many classes.

"The students, particularly those who don't normally enjoy reading, found a new way to look at stories. They also loved the active trail which was part of the families session." St Peter's Catholic Primary School

The Poet-Tree 

From tiny acorns … great verses grow …

Every tree starts as a seed – a seed that germinates and flourishes. And every poem starts with an idea – an idea that finds its form in words. In both cases, the journey to fruition is an organic one. And while neither topiarist nor poet can know what the final outcome will be until it’s there in all it’s glory, they both shape and prune their creations carefully.

This enchanting workshop supports children and young people in appreciating how a poem evolves from the pen of its writer – and offers them scaffolds allowing ideas and words to take root and grow. We’ll provide them with stimuli to start the process off, enable them to think structurally as they begin to piece their poems together – and emphasise the role that “choice” plays in poetry as they select the words, phrases, similes, metaphors and personifications that best suit their needs.  

Suitable for:  KS1 – KS3

Duration:  60minutes – half a day

Exploring (according to age):  descriptive writing, connection-making, simile, metaphor, poetic structure.

Outdoor Poetry 

Across both the centuries and the continents, poets have taken inspiration from the outdoor world. And this intriguing workshop gives your children the chance to do the same! Using your own school grounds as a resource in themselves, we'll guide pupils through a process enabling them to see ordinary things in extraordinary ways - and weave magical tapestries of words.

“Thank you again for your work with Year 2 and Year 4. We’ll get loads of writing out of this - and will definitely be contacting you in the future for further work!” The Beacon Primary

“The children loved the workshops. There was a fantastic buzz around the school and as children left their session they said how much fun the session was. Ady was so enthusiastic, passionate and positive - it was infectious!" Bookman workshops at The  Willows School

Family Literacy (add-on session at the end of the day)

We all know how much family support benefits children's learning. So, our Family Literacy workshops have been specifically developed to gain and cement that support by offering a fun and friendly environment in which parents/carers work alongside their children on activities designed to highlight the joys to be found in books and stories! And, by tackling our Best Books Trail , they'll discover just how much they actually know about the wonderful characters that only exist in their pages! Carefully structured drama activities will support participants to further explore some of these and choral speaking reminds all involved of the playful pleasure in the spoken word.

Family Literacy workshops are available in a range of formats - but if you book one at the end of a day of workshops with pupils, we'll be happy to offer you a healthy discount!

"The families loved the after-school workshop (Literacy Trail), enjoying time with their children." St Peter's Catholic Primary School

Purposeful Writing – With Pirates! - Character Visit 

It’s widely recognised that people write best from experience – and this applies just as much to children as to adults, of course. So this colourful programme places pupils at the heart of a fictional world when they receive a surprise visit from our friendly pirate, Captain Morgan – who needs their help in recruiting new crew members for his ship. After meeting everyone at an assembly, the Captain will work with each year group at a time – in workshops that prepare for pupils for writing to entertain, writing to inform, writing to persuade or writing to discuss (the choice is yours). And as they return to class, he’ll throw down a Writing Challenge to help him overcome his problems.

Suitable for: EYFS - Year 6. Up to 60 children at a time 

Exploring: speaking and listening; writing to entertain (poetry, short stories, play scripts), writing to inform (recipes, job descriptions, risk assessments), writing to persuade (speeches, advertising campaigns) or writing to discuss (reports for The Pirate Panel).

"The writing tasks were challenging - but the children were enthused by the approaches used!” Holy Family Primary  

World Book Day 

World Book Day  celebrates the joy and value of books and reading – and we’ve put together an exciting portfolio of programmes that does just that! No-one is ever too young, too old or too cool to enjoy a journey with books and stories, so our drama and visual arts workshops have been carefully developed to promote a lifelong love of reading. And, whether you’re looking for a character visit, an opportunity to learn more about well-loved characters through drawing and illustration or some magical ways of inspiring pupils to tell their own tales, you’ll find something to suit you here!

View the full list of World Book Day workshops here

CSI: Bookmark

The Book Review Competition at Little Podmore Library received record entries this year – but someone snuck in before judging was complete, and jumbled up all the entries! In a series of age-differentiated workshops, we’ll be asking your children to indulge in a frenzy of connection-making, using their knowledge of a range of well-loved tales to make sense of it all!

CSI: Reading Skills 

Pupils who tell us they don’t like “reading” are always amazed when they realise quite how much skillful reading they’ve accomplished by the end of this fun and busy workshop. From inference and deduction to skimming and scanning, from previewing to predicting and from context to content, CSI: Reading Skills makes no bones in drawing connections between the everyday skills required to interpret infographics and play computer games and those required to delve into more formal texts.

Specifically designed to support pupils in making those connections between different ways of “reading”, CSI: Reading Skills sees them working in small teams to help out in a time of national emergency – because a briefcase containing some Top Secret plans was discovered on the 8.42 to Little Padworth, destined for an Enemy Power. The only clues to the identity of the traitor are to be found in a pile of old train tickets, recipe, book reviews and faded photographs. If “read” correctly, however, they’ll allow the pupils to discover who took the plans and why. KS1 pupils will travel to Storyland and use their reading skills to work out who it is that's been sending secret messages to the Big Bad Wolf!  

Suitable for: Years 1 - 6 (up to 30 students at a time)

Exploring: generic and transferable “reading” skills; the roles of speculation, inference and deduction in reading.

Duration: 1½ hours – half a day.

CSI: Reading Skills - The Sequel! 

Developed by popular demand for schools who have already enjoyed and benefitted from CSI: Reading Skills, this engaging workshop sees students reacquainting themselves with the secret agents they've already investigated. This time, though, there's a plum job going - but only one of them can get it! Confronted with some of the candidates' work, students will need to recall their knowledge of famous books and authors, analyse spelling, read for context and use their powers of inference and deduction to decide which of them should be rewarded.

The Great Grammar Adventure! 

An energetic way to actively explore spelling, punctuation and grammar!

We've spent some time perfecting the recipe, experimenting with different ingredients and trying a range of ways of blending them together. So  The Great Grammar Adventure  gives pupils a unique environment in which to practice and explore spelling, punctuation and grammar.

Chef Grantham Grant makes the perfect Spaghetti Bolognese - but needs to brush up on SPAG skills to get it on the menu. In a series of fast-paced challenges, children will have opportunities to practice and show off their understanding of SPAG - and to help Grantham stop making such a meal of it all!

Exploring (according to age):  Spelling, punctuation, capitalisation, paragraphs, nouns, pronouns, noun phrases, verbs, modal verbs, adjectives, adverbs, fronted adverbials, prepositions, verb prefixes, suffixes, connectives, conjunctions, clauses, subordinate clauses, possession, tenses (including present perfect), cohesive devices.

Suitable For: KS1, KS2

Duration: 60 minutes - half a day

Fiction Fusion 

How does a cover make you want to open the book? Through exploring this question, children will create their own  unique bookplates – each one representing a hybrid of two of their favourite works!

Suitable for: Years 1 - 6 

Exploring: Characterisation, prior knowledge, creative thinking and fine motor skills. 

Interested in our Literacy Workshops for Primary Schools?

Find out more or book a workshop, related workshops.

Shakespeare Workshops for Schools

Our immersive approaches engage even the most reluctant pupils, offering them fun and exciting environments in which to enrich their knowledge and understanding of Shakespeare.

Find out more...

Poetry Workshops for EYFS - KS4

Our popular poetry workshops are available all year round as well as on key annual events such World Poetry Day, World Book Day, National Poetry Day and Shakespeare Week.  

World Book Day Workshops and Visits

Our Extraordinary World   of Books  workshops have been specially designed to help you and your pupils celebrate this special anniversary by bringing your favourite books to life.

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The Best Books for Teaching High School Writing

Writing for Learning and the Love of It

“…up until around a week ago I had never found much joy doing research for an essay and inputting information from a source into my writing. That is until I wrote my first essay in my college writing class… it was the first time I had a feeling of joy and wasn’t just ‘getting it over with'" (College English student reflection essay)

Books for Renewing Purpose and Vision for Writing

Books to Help You Empower Writers

Books to Think About the Big Picture: Philosophy for Learning, for Life

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