Here’s a simple writing activity that I use to help students build and practice their vocabulary skills while thinking creatively.
Write the letters of your name in a column (like an acrostic poem).
J
A
N
E
Pass your paper to the left. Look at the letters on your new paper and write a word starting with each letter.
Jump
Angry
North
Elephant
Pass your paper to the left again. Now, look at the words on your new paper and use each word in a different sentence.
Kangaroos like to jump.
You won’t like me when I’m angry.
I want to go to North Vancouver.
Did you ride an elephant?
Depending on the language level/age of your students and the length of your program, have students write their first and/or last names. My last name has 11 letters, and I am lazy, so for the purpose of this example we’ll be sticking with first names only.
You can change this assignment up in all sorts of ways to suit different topics, themes or language levels. Ask students to use specific tenses in their writing (simple past, present continuous, etc.), or amp up the challenge by asking students to create paragraphs using all of the words on their paper. This could be a great warm up activity for a creative writing class.
I used this activity with my ESL students, but I’m sure it would be a fun little writing prompt or ice breaker for students of all levels. Enjoy!
Raincity Librarian 