Author: Santosh Kumar Biswa, Sr. Teacher, Damphu CS, Tsirang, Bhutan
The secondary school
curriculum should include creative writing because it gives students a chance
to improve their writing skills, express themselves creatively, and interact
with the world more innovatively and thoughtfully. It offers substitutes for
the conventional methods of discussing texts (Morrissey, n.d.). The process of
writing creatively in a variety of genres and forms, such as poetry, fiction,
non-fiction, and theatre, that involves using one's imagination to produce
unique works of literature that are both entertaining and thought-provoking, is
what I perceive creative writing for secondary students to be. I typically
believe that students should be encouraged to explore their own thoughts,
ideas, and feelings in creative writing and to express them in a manner that is
particular to them. This can include using inventive and captivating language,
experimenting with form and structure, and developing characters and locations.
Yet there are also certain difficulties while trying to teach it. Giving
students plenty of opportunities to write creatively and demonstrating strong writing
habits, in my opinion, are the two strategies that will work best in my
selected curriculum area for teaching creative writing to my students.
Providing students
with ample opportunities to write creatively
Drilling and practising help
students learn because they rapidly and effectively cement newly acquired
skills (Lewis, 2020). To help students improve their writing abilities and
promote their creativity, I think it's crucial to provide them with lots of
chances to write creatively. I must thus provide my students regular
opportunities to exercise their writing abilities if I want to help them become
more creative writers. I must provide students with a variety of creative
writing assignments for this, including daily journals, creative writing chores
for short stories, poetry, portfolios, or personal essays, group writing
assignments, and writing prompts. For instance, encouraging daily journaling
will provide them with the habit of writing in a diary, giving them a place to
freely express their thoughts, feelings, and ideas. Then, by giving them
creative writing assignments, I will be able to push them to think
imaginatively and creatively. They could produce a poem on a certain feeling or
experience or a short tale from the viewpoint of anyone. Encouraging students
to consider, this will increase their creative thinking (Temizkan, 2011).
Finally, I will be able to inspire them to think creatively and outside the box
by involving them through writing prompts.
I should always keep in mind
to give them questions, brainstorming exercises, and criticism on their writing
to help them get better while helping them in the classroom. As they develop
their creativity and writing skills and grow confidence in their capacity to
express themselves via writing, such activities in the classroom will enable
them to experiment with different writing styles and strategies, establish
their distinctive voice, and achieve self-awareness.
Modelling good
writing practices
Teaching secondary students
to write creatively includes modelling effective writing techniques. In my
opinion, as a published author of fifteen books with wide distribution both
domestically and abroad, I should serve as an example of effective writing for
my students by sharing my work and experiences. This will help them to
understand that even seasoned authors encounter difficulties in the writing
process and may encourage them to try new things with their writing. The
writing process may also be broken down into smaller parts in the classroom, and
I can show students how to write, revise, and edit written work in addition to
encouraging them to read and study literature to better comprehend various
writing styles and strategies. To help students comprehend the style,
organization, and techniques utilized in writing, I should, nevertheless, offer
models and examples of effective writing in the chosen content area. Students
can learn to identify the components of great writing and use them in their writing
by dissecting and debating examples.
I should remember to mentor
them in both of the aforementioned situations by providing advice and
encouragement. To help students get better at writing, they require criticism.
To help my students find areas for growth, offer suggestions for adjustment, and
recognize their strengths, I need to give them constructive comments. To assist
students in developing their confidence in their writing ability, it should be
accompanied by support and encouragement.
Some challenges, I
believe, may be associated with implementing these strategies.
Although teaching creative
writing to secondary students by emulating effective approaches can be
successful, there are several difficulties I can encounter in the classroom.
The main difficulty we have in school is the time limitations. It can be
difficult to find enough time to give students regular writing assignments and
one-on-one feedback, especially when I have a lot of work to do at school. In
addition, because of the vast number of students in my class and their varying ability
levels, it can be difficult for me to offer each student individualized
criticism and help when it comes to creative writing. Motivating my students is
one of the major challenges I can have because some students might not be
engaged in creative writing. Due to their disinterest in writing activities and
negative attitudes toward writing (Senel, 2018), it can be difficult for me to
inspire them to participate. Finally, evaluating students' creative writing can
be subjective, and teachers may find it challenging to come up with objective
and fair methods of doing so.
As
a conclusion, I should make an effort to be innovative in how I teach students
to write well, for example, by integrating writing activities into other
disciplines or utilizing technology to expand the resources available. I might
also need to come up with some original strategies for inspiring these
students, like relating writing assignments to their personal passions or
giving them a choice of writing topics, as well as different techniques for
assessing student work, like peer review, self-evaluation, or the use of
rubrics that concentrate on particular writing abilities.
References
Lewis, V. (2020, June
5). The Advantages & Disadvantages of Practice & Drills in Teaching.
Classroom Synonym.
https://classroom.synonym.com/advantages-disadvantages-practice-drills-teaching-8716462.html
Morrissey, F.A.
(n.d.). Write on!- Creative writing as language practice. University of
Berne. http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/write-creative-writing-language-practice
Senel, E. (2018). The
Integration of Creative Writing into Academic Writing Skills in EFL Classes. International
Journal of Languages Education 1(Volume 6 Issue 2):115-120. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326063103_The_Integration_of_Creative_Writing_into_Academic_Writing_Skills_in_EFL_Classes
Temizkan, M. (2011).
The Effect of Creative Writing Activities on the Story Writing Skill. Educational
Sciences: Theory & Practice - 11(1). https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ927384.pdf
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