Writing is a creative art form. To be creative, people need to have a strong sense of imagination. In an era where digital media seem to be dulling everything down, children can still be creative and conjure up extraordinarily surreal and imaginative things.
However, teaching creative writing to young children can often be tricky. There are a lot of precautions that teachers need to take. This guide can help you find the perfect way to approach this.
Assign Open-Ended Topics
Closed-ended topics that are too specific will often restrict children. They are limited to certain situations and have trouble coming up with something. The best thing to do here would be to assign open-ended topics. Here, the students can be as creative as they want, which is precisely what you should want.
Assess Through a Framework
It can be challenging to assess creative writing for young children. If you’re too critical of their ideas, they might experience developmental problems.
After all, creativity should be encouraged. Therefore, it is better to assess them through a framework. Give feedback on their organization of ideas or the way they described their narrative.
Encourage Peer Feedback
Because your understanding level is higher, it is useful to have children review their peers. They can read each other’s stories and give their opinions. This will also help them realize different ways that the topic could have been interpreted. This will only fuel their imagination and help everyone get better at writing.
Publish Their Work
To make students feel like they are good at writing, you could publish their work. Most schools have school newspapers or monthly magazines. You can submit the best work to the paper and have it published. Reading their own work in newspapers like this will help children develop better things the next time.
They will understand their own shortfalls and give you a better result. There is no harm in everyone working a little harder, but make sure that you’re giving everyone a fair chance.
Concluding Thoughts
These were some of the few steps that you could take to teach creative writing. When you’ve read and graded their work, you can give them valuable feedback. Tell them about their opening and their closing. Ask them about the structure. Teach them techniques.
All these teaching ways will help them become better creative writers. It will be a feat that you will celebrate, and so will they. Be the reason that they feel proud of coming up with fantastic stories and original ideas. It will be the best feeling you will experience in the whole world.