How To Teach Creative Writing To Middle Schools

Some middle school students are seeking ways to express themselves creatively. They tend to go for writing assignments. Other middle school students would like to run as far away from a writing assignment as their youthful legs would take them. As a teacher of creative writing you are tasked with bringing all of your students into a world where writing is used to express ideas, emotions and stories in a real way. Read on for some advice on how to go about teaching creative writing to middle school students.
Determine Your Goals
Determine beforehand what you want your students to know when they leave your class. Write these things down as a list of objectives. Consider any curriculum obligations as well as your own ideas. Work with a plan towards realistic goals for all your students.
Keep Classes Interesting
Make things interesting in your classroom, for example, keep your classes active, positive, enthusiastic, relaxed and open. Introduce your students to two kind of writing exercises, those which encourage free style spilling and those which focus on form and structure. These two exercises will be dubbed for our purpose here as "Time to Spill" and "Time to Chill".
Combine Different Exercises
Think of yourself as a chef. You do not want to feed your students the same thing all of the time. Combine "Time to Spill" exercises with "Time to Chill" assignments. Encourage your students to learn how to open up emotionally and also how to structure that output.
Give Regular Assignments
Your students should write and share their work with each other. Be demanding. Ignore the groans when you give them a writing assignment. The more your students practice to write, the more they will like writing and their skills will also improve. Be flexible in requiring reluctant students to share their work. Find a way for each student to be comfortable with when it comes to sharing.
Share Your Own Feelings
Do not be afraid to put yourself out there. If you share some of your feelings in a "Time to Spill" exercise, you will motivate your class. Teach your students to write and rewrite. The first draft is never the final draft, it is a beginning. After all, practice makes perfect. The more they try out different styles of writing, the sooner they will find one matching their own.