Visual Promptsas

Story Starters

By Shannon Buckholt

Jacinto City Elementary- Galena Park ISD

Greater Houston Area Writing Project-2005

Carol Avery (2002)

“Three assumptions about primary writers: they can write, they want to write, and they possess the knowledge , interests, and experiences to write.”

Using Images to Write

“Truly a picture is worth a thousand words – and then some!”

-Creative-Journal

Ekphrasis

Definition- a term used to denote poetry or poetic writing concerning itself with the visual arts, artistic objects, and/or highly visual scenes.

Prompts:

A trigger designed to help students begin to explore a topic for writing.

• Picture Books• Picture Cards• Art• Student Drawings• Jigsaw puzzles

Lesson plan

• Cumulative project

• Done at the end of the year.

• Allow the students to choose a picture card.

• Discuss the picture they have chosen with their table group.

• Before they write, they are to think about the questions….

Questions

What do you have?

Describe it by telling me the color, size, or shape.

What can you do with it? Or what can it be used for?

What does it remind you of?

Lesson plan continued…

• Students draw a picture of the item.

• Begin their writing.

• After they write, students share their work.

• One-on-one conferencing.

• Opportunity to revise.

• Place in portfolio or journal.

Adaptations

G/T students

-allow them to formulate their own questions.

-many of them do their own revisions.

-Some chose their own topics.

504 Students/ Special Ed.

-peer grouping.

-tape recording of stories.

-require less writing.

Works Cited….

• http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~clark9/ekphrasis/definition.htm

• http://www.theeducatorsnetwork.com/webpages/thewritersource/minilessonideas.htm

• http://www.creative-journal.com/visual

• Culham, R. (2005). 6+1 traits of writing:the complete guide for the primary grades. New York: scholastic.