by Matthew J. Geiger

Created on: March 05, 2010

Developing literacy skills requires students to become better readers and writers while writing allows us to communicate with others more effectively.  Different writing presentations require different skills.  Accordingly, a true master of the writing art must be able to produce compositions capable of effectively communicating the writer’s ideas without readers convoluting his or her meaning.  Creative writing, for example, forces writers to utilize and develop these skills, thus young students need creative writing experiences to become better writers.

The most significant impact of creative writing is that the writer must find a way to express what he or she envisions into written words.  Translating thought in language, which is then visualized by the reader, requires great skills, thus creative writing assignments serve as invaluable practice for developing communication skills.  Meanwhile, these exercises force creative thinking, problem solving, and better organization.  As such, young students will benefit from all forms of creative writing, so assignments should be diverse and experimental.  One set of assignments might focus on developing specific aspects of writing style like character descriptions.

Meanwhile, creative writing spans myriads of genres and formats.  For elementary students, poetry, short shorts, and short stories are perfect.  At the same time, writing children’s books can be valuable exercises that benefit the entire the community of the school.  If young students share their work with even younger students or adults, such as senior citizens, everyone is enriched.  As for poetry, structure, for example, is an important part of learning how to write, thus experimenting with basic structures can help students improve their organizational skills.  Free verse can be used, but teachers must recognize it is actually an advanced form of writing that requires great skill to master.

In regards to prose, shorter assignments fit perfectly into the day or week.  Asking students to write a page long short short on a picture or based on a handful of vocabulary words can be fun.  For longer assignments, short story assignments can be developed by students.   Having them take something in their day or the life of someone else, especially somebody who lives in a different community, then turn it into a biographical account or fictional adventure is a great to encourage creative writing.  Experiencing these forms of creative expression, researching subjects, and understanding others can be done all with a touch of entertainment.

Creative writing is entertainment.  On the other hand, this brand of entertainment allows students to develop communication skills as well as encourage broader thinking.  Creative writing assignments can be short or long, yet they all take the lessons out of the classroom by allowing students to explore the world through their thoughts.  The greatest of these assignments will actually be the ones that students devise, so teachers should use their lessons to give students the freedom to explore their creativity.  Even as groups, students can come together to produce meaningful creative writing assignments.

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