Writing Prompt
Calling Writers and Teachers
An insightful (and fun:-) writing prompt
Calling all ELA teachers, parents, poets, and writers! Do you want to:
- explore the inner terrain of you
- connect with your students/child/children
- inspire self-exploration and self-awareness
If the answer is a resounding YES to any or all of the above, you’ll want to keep reading:-)
For the Educator
Whether you are an ESL secondary teacher or Language Arts teacher to 1st graders, the activity I’m shortly going to suggest will boost:
- insight
- emotional intelligence
- creativity
- language development
- self-esteem
So, what’s the activity? Hold onto your academic seats…
I Am From
Students of all ages love a creative activity that offers a rare combination of form and freedom. Enter the I Am From writing prompt.
Just having a sentence stem soothes yet challenges the novice to the experienced writer.
Bonus points — while your students are waxing creative, two big things are developing:
- a positive association with writing
- a connection between teacher and student
When a student is given the verbal water wings of a sentence stem, they can “swim” with an idea.
Sentence stems promote students’ confidence and provide a focused theme for them to explore.
For the Lover of Words
The I Am From is no ordinary I Am prompt. Oh dear lover of words, just look at the beckoning use of the preposition “from” teasing us to respond.
The I Am From writing prompt is an invitation to explore our soul’s journey.
This is your chance to weave those unspoken thoughts into a tapestry of verbal color as intricate and mesmerizing as wonderful you.
I’ll be running a writing camp for the next couple of weeks. Their ages range from 5–14. So, I’ve created an I Am From poem as a model for them.
Poetry is to writing what a trailer is to a movie.
Poetry gets to the heart of a matter, literally pulling on the gamut of emotional strings just long enough to let us know there’s more lying many leagues below the sea of our psyche.
Poetry is the sampler; prose is the buffet.
My Poetry Sampler
I am from metal swings, plastic-covered couches, and station wagons
I am from dogs barking at mailmen, 8 millimeter films, and fireflies on summer nights
I am from 45 records, playing hopscotch, and Mr. Softy’s ice cream truck
I am from building forts cartwheels, and the end of the Vietnam War
A Call to Action
Whether you are a teacher or lover of words (or both:-), I hope you find the I Am From prompt inspiring. I ask the following writers to consider sharing their responses or thoughts (and if I didn’t include you, please join the fun!):
Carolyn Hastings Jan Sebastian 🖐👩🦰 Ossiana Tepfenhart Yana Bostongirl Jason Edmunds Joejohn Black Karen Schwartz David Perlmutter Shereen Bingham Sahil Patel Ravyne Hawke Dr. Roopleen