INVESTICE DO ROZVOJE VZDĚLÁVÁNÍ

Projekt Síť vzdělavatelů učitelů cizích jazyků NEFLT registrační číslo CZ.1.07/2.4.00/31.0074

je součástí IPRM Ústí nad Labem Centrum.

Tento projekt je spolufinancován Evropským sociálním fondem a státním rozpočtem České republiky

Projekt Síť vzdělavatelů učitelů cizích jazyků NEFLT registrační číslo CZ.1.07/2.4.00/31.0074

Creative Writing

Tato publikace byla vytvořena na Pedagogické fakultě Masarykovy university v Brně v

rámci projektu NEFLT (Network of Educators of Foreign Language Teachers).

Projekt je zaměřen „na prohloubení vazeb mezi vzdělavateli budoucích učitelů cizích

jazyků na veřejných vysokých školách a následně vazeb na učitele samotné. Cílem projektu je

spolupráce mezi institucemi a oboustranný transfer zkušeností, tj. ze strany aplikační sféry

soubor aktuálních problémů a potřeb (zejména v kontextu reformy školství a globalizačních

tendencí) - ze strany terciárního školství reakce v rámci výuky a odborná pomoc skrze

workshopy, semináře, odborné studijní materiály, kontaktní platformy a metodická centra“

(http://neflt.ujep.cz/).

Jedním z výstupů projektu je série příruček a brožur pro učitele cizích jazyků, v nichž

autoři předkládají nové nápady pro výuku. Tato série se snaží pokrýt celou škálu úrovní a

typů vzdělávacích institucí. Čtenáři v ní najdou např. nové přístupy k práci s překladem,

učitelé mladších žáků typy pro komunikativní výuku prostřednictvím her a aktivit založených

na dětském příběhu. Jiné materiály přicházejí s nápady, jak tvořivě pracovat s písněmi, poezií

a literárními texty. Konkrétní postupy a návody popsané krok za krokem jsou většinou

doplněny o kopírovatelné pracovní listy připravené k přímému použití ve třídě a přinášejí

osvěživé činnosti, které nelze běžně najít v učebnicích.

Tato příručka nabízí několik aktivit zaměřených na tvůrčí psaní, které mohou být

zařazeny do výuky anglického jazyka na středních školách. Většina těchto aktivit může být

upravena i pro nižší a vyšší stupeň základního vzdělávání. Věříme, že vzdělávání má

podněcovat tvořivost a doufáme, že aktivity v této brožuře k tomu přispějí.

This publication has been created at the Faculty of Education, Masaryk University,

Brno within the framework of the NEFLT project.

The Network of Educators of Foreign Language Teachers is aimed at “creating a

cooperative network of relationships between the tertiary education of future teachers of

foreign languages and the practical or applied sphere, i.e. between extramural, secondary,

primary, and pre-school educational levels, deepening the ties between the educators of

future foreign language teachers in public schools of higher education and the resulting ties

with the teachers themselves and enhancing cooperation between institutions and the

mutual transfer of experience, i.e. from the applied sphere - a set of real problems and

requirements (especially in the context of school reforms and globalizing tendencies), and

from the tertiary school sphere - reactions within the framework of instruction and expertise

through workshops, seminars, scholarly study materials, contact platforms, and

methodological advisory centres” (http://neflt.ujep.cz/en).

One of the outcomes of the project is a series of handbooks and booklets for teachers

of foreign languages in which the authors provide new ideas for the lessons. This series tries

to address the whole range of levels and types of educational institutions. The readers will

find, for example, new approaches to working with translation; teachers of young learners

will get a lot of tips for communicative teaching through games and activities based on a

children’s story. Other materials provide new ideas on how to work creatively with songs,

poetry and literary texts. Procedures and step-by-step instructions are mostly completed by

photocopiable worksheets ready to be used in the classroom and offer creative activities

which cannot be usually found in textbooks.

This handbook provides a series of creative writing activities for the language

classroom at secondary schools. Many of these activities can be easily adapted for primary

and lower secondary levels, too. We believe that creativity is a vital ability that should be

encouraged in students. Hopefully, the following activities will help you in this goal.

Topic

ACROSTIC POEM

Objectives

Students will - write at least one acrostic poem - share their poems with classmates - introduce themselves

Age group

Upper-secondary

Level

B1 – B2

Time

15 mins

Procedure

1 Introducting acrostic poetry An acrostic is a poem in which the first letters in each line form a name, a word or a message. Since you will ask students to write an acrostic using their names, you can introduce an acrostic poem using your name as an example. PAVLA Pretty worn out outside Always smiling inside Vulnerable Loves coffee, literature And cats

2 Ask students to write free-verse acrostic poems about themselves using their first names. They will start by writing their names vertically on the paper, and then start each line of the poem with the letters they wrote.

3 Students share their poems in pairs, providing each other with comments and suggestions. If necessary, students revise their poems

4 Students read their poems aloud

5 Variation It is possible to write an acrostic poem about favourite activities, animals, movies, books etc. Students do not use their name, but the name of their favourite literary character, writer, favourite movie, as the basis of the poem. Teacher can prepare worksheets with pictures for younger students

Sample worksheet for lower primary students

E ……………………………………………………………….

L ……………………………………………………………….

E ……………………………………………………………….

P ……………………………………………………………….

H ……………………………………………………………….

A ……………………………………………………………….

N ……………………………………………………………….

T ……………………………………………………………….

S ……………………………………………………………….

Q ……………………………………………………………….

U ……………………………………………………………….

I ……………………………………………………………….

R ……………………………………………………………….

R ……………………………………………………………….

E ……………………………………………………………….

L ……………………………………………………………….

Topic

CONDUCTING AN INTERVIEW

Objectives

Students will - learn about their classmates - learn to ask suitable questions - develop interviewing techniques

Age group

Upper-secondary

Level

B1 – B2

Time

40 -50 mins

Procedure

1 Tell your students that they will conduct interviews with their classmates. Their task is to find out something interesting about the other person, encourage the person to talk about this aspect of his/her life and finally write down the interview.

2 Encourage students to think about what makes a good interview. What should the interviewer do before and during the interview? Brainstorm with students the possible questions they could ask. Is it good to stick consistently to the prepared set of questions during the interview? When is it suitable to ask follow-up questions?

3 Students individually prepare their questions for the interview

4 Students work in pairs to interview other students they do not know so well. During the interview, students take notes.

5 Students write down the interview. They will start with a short introduction of the interviewed person (based on introductory questions), and then 3-5 questions and responses about one topic. (This can be done as homework)

6 Having finished their interview, students exchange them with their partners for peer editing and authorizing. The finished interviews can be displayed on the notice board.

7 Extension Students can conduct the interviews with their parents on the given topic, e.g. their parents’ childhood, schooling, life in the communist regime, etc.

Possible interview questions:

When and where were you born?

Where did you grow up? What was your childhood like?

What was your favourite toy?

What are your parents’ occupations?

What languages do you speak?

What is your favourite school subject?

What are your favourite songs and music?

What are your favourite movies?

The above questions can serve as a basis for a short introduction of the interviewed person.

Where would you like to live? Why?

What are your personal heroes? Why?

What do you like to do in your free time?

What accomplishments are you most proud of?

What is the one thing you want people to remember about you?

Topic

WRITING MICROFICTION

Objectives

Students will - learn about a new literary genre - write their own original short story on the given topic - learn to edit and re-edit their writing

Age group

Upper-secondary

Level

B1 – B2

Time

40 mins

Procedure

1 Let students read 2 or 3 samples of micro fiction. You can find many stories on the internet: http://www.mini-fiction.com/ http://www.theguardian.com/books/series/shortshortstories Explain that this is the new genre of micro fiction, also called flash fiction, sudden fiction, or the short short story. Encourage students to say the characteristic features of the genre, basing their reasoning on the stories they have read. The fundamental feature of these stories is that they are extremely brief, although they contain all the usual elements of a short story. Micro fiction is also often humorous, with an abrupt beginning and unexpected ending.

2 Distribute the worksheet and tell students to write their own original short story using only 50 words (prepositions, definite and indefinite articles also count as one word). It is better to assign the topic of the story, especially for students not skilled in creative writing. The topic, however, should be broad enough and open to many possible interpretations, e.g. The Last Day, or Unlikely Meeting. Set the time limit for the writing (15 - 20 minutes). During this time, students do not only write but also re-write and edit the text since they must stick to the precise number of words.

3 Students read their stories aloud in the class.

4 Variation Students write a 50-word story based on a novel they’ve read recently (It could be a compulsory reading for Czech literature classes) or a film they have seen. While writing, they try to capture the gist and atmosphere of the story.

Examples of microfiction:

Martha Phillips: ONE YEAR LATER

"Good morning, Eva."

"Morning, Sheryl."

"So how’s your garden doing?"

"Growing like a weed!"

They laughed.

"I’m sure it’s given you a lot of comfort since Henry disappeared," said Sheryl

kindly.

"Actually," said Eva, "I often feel he never really left me at all."

Her roses were unusually large that summer.

Source: http://www.newtimesslo.com/55_fiction/55_story.html

Dave Eggers: True Story, 1986, Midwest, USA, Tuesday

The boy-man is 16 years old and the gym teacher is distributing towels. The boy-man

is 16 and in swimming class and the gym teacher, squinting, is distributing towels, one by

one by one. The class has been given swimsuits to wear in the pool - they must all wear

standard-issue swimsuits, tight, threadbare and bruise-blue. The boy-man is 16 and the gym

teacher is, one by one, distributing towels after class while the boy-man, all the boys, are

naked among the cold tile. The boy-man is surrounded by other boy-men, each washing the

chlorine out of his hair while knowing. The boy-man is 16, cold, among the other boy-men,

and the gym teacher is standing at the end of the row of showers, distributing towels, and

the boys are not sure they know. The boy-man is 16, knows and is cold, while all the boys

have peeled off their bruise-blue suits and have deposited them, threadbare but heavy, in

the sagging bone-white bin. The boy-man has not reached puberty, and is naked, and the

gym teacher is waiting to distribute towels, orange, one per boy. The boy-man is 16, old, is

late for so many things, and the boys must walk seven steps across the cold tile to reach the

gym teacher, who is stout and silver-haired and who watches as they approach, eyes closed,

for their towels, orange. The boy-man is 16 years old and the gym teacher is distributing

towels to the boys as they walk toward him, as he watches, as he squints and answers the

boy-man who knows. When the boy-man, 16, asks why the silver-haired gym teacher must

stand in the showers, watching, handing the towels to the boys personally as they walk

toward him, he says, eyes disappearing in the steam, that otherwise the boys might take not

one towel but two, and not one but two will just not do.

Source: The Guardian, Saturday 27 November 2004

Worksheet for a 50 word story

Title of the story:

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Topic

POINT OF VIEW

Objectives

Students will - discover the importance of point of view in literature - compose alternative points of view of a selected text

Age group

Upper-secondary

Level

B2 – C1

Time

90 mins

Procedure

1 Students read a short story written from a limited point of view, either using first-person or third-person narrator, such as Edgar Allan Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart, short stories by F. S. Fitzgerald, William Faulkner, Sandra Cisneros, Louise Erdrich. Students can read the story in class or at home.

2 Classroom discussion about the story. What is the story about? Who is the narrator? Who are the other characters in the story? Why does the narrator tell the story the way it is told? How would the story change if told by someone else?

3 Classroom discussion about the characters in the story, in the case of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart these would be: the old man, the neighbours, the policemen. What kind of story would they tell? How do they see the narrator? Which events would they highlight? What language would they use?

4 Students work in groups. Each group chooses one type of character (the old man, the neighbours, the policemen) and re-writes the story from this character’s point of view.

Text for classroom reading

Edgar Allan Poe : THE TELL-TALE HEART (1843)

TRUE! --nervous --very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you

say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses --not destroyed --not dulled them.

Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I

heard many things in hell. How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily --how

calmly I can tell you the whole story.

It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it

haunted me day and night. Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old

man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I

think it was his eye! yes, it was this! He had the eye of a vulture --a pale blue eye, with a film

over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees --very gradually --I

made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever.

Now this is the point. You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should

have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded --with what caution --with

what foresight --with what dissimulation I went to work! I was never kinder to the old man

than during the whole week before I killed him. And every night, about midnight, I turned

the latch of his door and opened it --oh so gently! And then, when I had made an opening

sufficient for my head, I put in a dark lantern, all closed, closed, that no light shone out, and

then I thrust in my head. Oh, you would have laughed to see how cunningly I thrust it in! I

moved it slowly --very, very slowly, so that I might not disturb the old man's sleep. It took me

an hour to place my whole head within the opening so far that I could see him as he lay upon

his bed. Ha! would a madman have been so wise as this, And then, when my head was well

in the room, I undid the lantern cautiously-oh, so cautiously --cautiously (for the hinges

creaked) --I undid it just so much that a single thin ray fell upon the vulture eye. And this I

did for seven long nights --every night just at midnight --but I found the eye always closed;

and so it was impossible to do the work; for it was not the old man who vexed me, but his

Evil Eye. And every morning, when the day broke, I went boldly into the chamber, and spoke

courageously to him, calling him by name in a hearty tone, and inquiring how he has passed

the night. So you see he would have been a very profound old man, indeed, to suspect that

every night, just at twelve, I looked in upon him while he slept.

Upon the eighth night I was more than usually cautious in opening the door. A

watch's minute hand moves more quickly than did mine. Never before that night had I felt

the extent of my own powers --of my sagacity. I could scarcely contain my feelings of

triumph. To think that there I was, opening the door, little by little, and he not even to

dream of my secret deeds or thoughts. I fairly chuckled at the idea; and perhaps he heard

me; for he moved on the bed suddenly, as if startled. Now you may think that I drew back --

but no. His room was as black as pitch with the thick darkness, (for the shutters were close

fastened, through fear of robbers,) and so I knew that he could not see the opening of the

door, and I kept pushing it on steadily, steadily.

I had my head in, and was about to open the lantern, when my thumb slipped upon

the tin fastening, and the old man sprang up in bed, crying out --"Who's there?"

I kept quite still and said nothing. For a whole hour I did not move a muscle, and in

the meantime I did not hear him lie down. He was still sitting up in the bed listening; --just as

I have done, night after night, hearkening to the death watches in the wall.

Presently I heard a slight groan, and I knew it was the groan of mortal terror. It was

not a groan of pain or of grief --oh, no! --it was the low stifled sound that arises from the

bottom of the soul when overcharged with awe. I knew the sound well. Many a night, just at

midnight, when all the world slept, it has welled up from my own bosom, deepening, with its

dreadful echo, the terrors that distracted me. I say I knew it well. I knew what the old man

felt, and pitied him, although I chuckled at heart. I knew that he had been lying awake ever

since the first slight noise, when he had turned in the bed. His fears had been ever since

growing upon him. He had been trying to fancy them causeless, but could not. He had been

saying to himself --"It is nothing but the wind in the chimney --it is only a mouse crossing the

floor," or "It is merely a cricket which has made a single chirp." Yes, he had been trying to

comfort himself with these suppositions: but he had found all in vain. All in vain; because

Death, in approaching him had stalked with his black shadow before him, and enveloped the

victim. And it was the mournful influence of the unperceived shadow that caused him to feel

--although he neither saw nor heard --to feel the presence of my head within the room.

When I had waited a long time, very patiently, without hearing him lie down, I

resolved to open a little --a very, very little crevice in the lantern. So I opened it --you cannot

imagine how stealthily, stealthily --until, at length a simple dim ray, like the thread of the

spider, shot from out the crevice and fell full upon the vulture eye.

It was open --wide, wide open --and I grew furious as I gazed upon it. I saw it with

perfect distinctness --all a dull blue, with a hideous veil over it that chilled the very marrow

in my bones; but I could see nothing else of the old man's face or person: for I had directed

the ray as if by instinct, precisely upon the damned spot.

And have I not told you that what you mistake for madness is but over-acuteness of

the sense? --now, I say, there came to my ears a low, dull, quick sound, such as a watch

makes when enveloped in cotton. I knew that sound well, too. It was the beating of the old

man's heart. It increased my fury, as the beating of a drum stimulates the soldier into

courage.

But even yet I refrained and kept still. I scarcely breathed. I held the lantern

motionless. I tried how steadily I could maintain the ray upon the eve. Meantime the hellish

tattoo of the heart increased. It grew quicker and quicker, and louder and louder every

instant. The old man's terror must have been extreme! It grew louder, I say, louder every

moment! --do you mark me well I have told you that I am nervous: so I am. And now at the

dead hour of the night, amid the dreadful silence of that old house, so strange a noise as this

excited me to uncontrollable terror. Yet, for some minutes longer I refrained and stood still.

But the beating grew louder, louder! I thought the heart must burst. And now a new anxiety

seized me --the sound would be heard by a neighbour! The old man's hour had come! With a

loud yell, I threw open the lantern and leaped into the room. He shrieked once --once only.

In an instant I dragged him to the floor, and pulled the heavy bed over him. I then smiled

gaily, to find the deed so far done. But, for many minutes, the heart beat on with a muffled

sound. This, however, did not vex me; it would not be heard through the wall. At length it

ceased. The old man was dead. I removed the bed and examined the corpse. Yes, he was

stone, stone dead. I placed my hand upon the heart and held it there many minutes. There

was no pulsation. He was stone dead. His eve would trouble me no more.

If still you think me mad, you will think so no longer when I describe the wise

precautions I took for the concealment of the body. The night waned, and I worked hastily,

but in silence. First of all I dismembered the corpse. I cut off the head and the arms and the

legs.

I then took up three planks from the flooring of the chamber, and deposited all

between the scantlings. I then replaced the boards so cleverly, so cunningly, that no human

eye --not even his --could have detected any thing wrong. There was nothing to wash out --

no stain of any kind --no blood-spot whatever. I had been too wary for that. A tub had

caught all --ha! ha!

When I had made an end of these labors, it was four o'clock --still dark as midnight.

As the bell sounded the hour, there came a knocking at the street door. I went down to open

it with a light heart, --for what had I now to fear? There entered three men, who introduced

themselves, with perfect suavity, as officers of the police. A shriek had been heard by a

neighbour during the night; suspicion of foul play had been aroused; information had been

lodged at the police office, and they (the officers) had been deputed to search the premises.

I smiled, --for what had I to fear? I bade the gentlemen welcome. The shriek, I said,

was my own in a dream. The old man, I mentioned, was absent in the country. I took my

visitors all over the house. I bade them search --search well. I led them, at length, to his

chamber. I showed them his treasures, secure, undisturbed. In the enthusiasm of my

confidence, I brought chairs into the room, and desired them here to rest from their

fatigues, while I myself, in the wild audacity of my perfect triumph, placed my own seat upon

the very spot beneath which reposed the corpse of the victim.

The officers were satisfied. My manner had convinced them. I was singularly at ease.

They sat, and while I answered cheerily, they chatted of familiar things. But, ere long, I felt

myself getting pale and wished them gone. My head ached, and I fancied a ringing in my

ears: but still they sat and still chatted. The ringing became more distinct: --It continued and

became more distinct: I talked more freely to get rid of the feeling: but it continued and

gained definiteness --until, at length, I found that the noise was not within my ears.

No doubt I now grew very pale; --but I talked more fluently, and with a heightened

voice. Yet the sound increased --and what could I do? It was a low, dull, quick sound --much

such a sound as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton. I gasped for breath --and yet the

officers heard it not. I talked more quickly --more vehemently; but the noise steadily

increased. I arose and argued about trifles, in a high key and with violent gesticulations; but

the noise steadily increased. Why would they not be gone? I paced the floor to and fro with

heavy strides, as if excited to fury by the observations of the men --but the noise steadily

increased. Oh God! what could I do? I foamed --I raved --I swore! I swung the chair upon

which I had been sitting, and grated it upon the boards, but the noise arose over all and

continually increased. It grew louder --louder --louder! And still the men chatted pleasantly,

and smiled. Was it possible they heard not? Almighty God! --no, no! They heard! --they

suspected! --they knew! --they were making a mockery of my horror!-this I thought, and this

I think. But anything was better than this agony! Anything was more tolerable than this

derision! I could bear those hypocritical smiles no longer! I felt that I must scream or die!

and now --again! --hark! louder! louder! louder! louder!

"Villains!" I shrieked, "dissemble no more! I admit the deed! --tear up the planks!

here, here! --It is the beating of his hideous heart!"

Topic

REWRITING FAIRY TALES

Objectives

Students will - explore stereotypes in fairy tales - re-write a traditional fairy tale

Age group

Upper-secondary

Level

B1 – B2

Time

40 mins

Procedure

1 Classroom discussion Write the word “stereotype” on the board and ask students what they think it means. Where can we come across stereotypes? What are some examples of stereotypes we or others might have? Can stereotypes be beneficial in some cases? How can they be harmful? Then write the word “discrimination” on the board, and ask students to define the concept and share some examples of discrimination they have experienced or seen. Encourage them to think of the connection between stereotypes and discrimination. Can stereotypes lead to discrimination?

2 Write some typical fairy tale characters on the board: the king, the queen, the witch, the princess, the prince, the step-mother. Ask students to write some typical qualities of those fairy tale characters. Students work in groups.

3 Students share their findings.

4 Start a discussion about the fairy tale characters. To what extent are the characters (as students presented them) stereotyped? How can those stereotypical qualities and behaviors influence the readers? The most common stereotypes in fairy tales are gender stereotypes. Are the gender stereotypes present in traditional fairy tales outdated? Is is useful if girls believe that they should patiently endure unfavourable conditions and wait to be rescued by a prince? Are all women with power evil and ugly? Is the ultimate goal of each girl to get married and “live happily ever after”? How would students change these fairy tales to reflect the contemporary times and issues?

5 Group work Students brainstorm possible twists and changes in the tales and write a contemporary version of a traditional fairy tale.

Topic

EXAMINING METAPHORS

Objectives

Students will - learn to appreciate the use of metaphors in poetry - interpret the meaning of metaphors in poetry - write short poems in the form of extended visual metaphors

Age group

Upper-secondary

Level

B1 – B2

Time

30 mins

Procedure

1 Students read Craig Raine’s poem A Martian Sends a Postcard Home.

2 Introduce Martian poetry movement briefly. Martian poets used unusual visual metaphors in their poems. They aimed to describe familiar things (e.g. books, cars, dreaming) in unfamiliar ways, as if seen through the eyes of a Martian.

3 Let students read the poem again, stanza by stanza. After each stanza let students find the metaphors. What is the meaning of the metaphors? What might “eyes melting” and “body shrieking without pain” mean? What are the objects or activities being described in individual stanzas?

4 Students add one stanza to the poem A Martian Sends a Postcard Home. They choose an object or activity that is not described in the original poem, and describe it using visual metaphors. Students work individually.

5 Students read the poems aloud to the class. Other students then try to identify what is being described.

Craig Raine: A Martian Sends a Postcard Home (1979)

Caxtons are mechanical birds with many wings and some are treasured for their markings—

they cause the eyes to melt or the body to shriek without pain. I have never seen one fly, but sometimes they perch on the hand. Mist is when the sky is tired of flight and rests its soft machine on the ground: then the world is dim and bookish like engravings under tissue paper. Rain is when the earth is television. It has the properites of making colours darker. Model T is a room with the lock inside -- a key is turned to free the world for movement, so quick there is a film to watch for anything missed. But time is tied to the wrist or kept in a box, ticking with impatience. In homes, a haunted apparatus sleeps, that snores when you pick it up. If the ghost cries, they carry it to their lips and soothe it to sleep with sounds. And yet, they wake it up deliberately, by tickling with a finger. Only the young are allowed to suffer openly. Adults go to a punishment room with water but nothing to eat. They lock the door and suffer the noises alone. No one is exempt and everyone's pain has a different smell. At night, when all the colours die, they hide in pairs and read about themselves -- in colour, with their eyelids shut.

Topic

PAINTING AS A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION

Objectives

Students will - explore Pieter Bruegel’s painting Landscape with the Fall of Icarus - write a poem inspired by this painting

Age group

Upper-secondary

Level

B1 – B2

Time

30 mins

Procedure

1 Ask students what they know about the myth of Icarus. Let them tell the story.

2 Let students google Pieter Bruegel’s painting Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, or show the painting using a data projector. Image in high quality: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Bruegel%2C_Pieter_de_Oude_-_De_val_van_icarus_-_hi_res.jpg

3 Students describe what they see in the painting. What is highlighted in the painting? Who or what is in focus? How does Breughel’s version of the Icarus story compare with what students know about Icarus from Greek mythology?

4 Students write their own original poems inspired by Pieter Bruegel’s painting. They can share them by reading them out in the class.

5 Distribute copies of William Carlos Williams’s poem Landscape With the Fall of Icarus inspired also by Pieter Bruegel’s painting. Read it in the class.

6 Extension Using paintings as a source of inspiration, students can explore various artistic styles or painters. The teacher can for example introduce the cubist style and the work of Pablo Picasso. Students then use the google image search, choose one Picasso painting that catches their attention, and write a poem inspired by the painting.

William Carlos Williams: Landscape With the Fall of Icarus

According to Brueghel

when Icarus fell

it was spring

a farmer was ploughing

his field

the whole pageantry

of the year was

awake tingling

near

the edge of the sea

concerned

with itself

sweating in the sun

that melted

the wings' wax

unsignificantly

off the coast

there was

a splash quite unnoticed

this was

Icarus drowning

Pieter Bruegel: Landscape with the Fall of Icarus

Topic

CREATING FICTIONAL CHARACTERS

Objectives

Students will - understand how to create a fictional character - use descriptive strategies - use the Create Your Character Worksheet as a springboard for story ideas

Age group

Upper-secondary

Level

B1 – B2

Time

60 mins

Procedure

1 Tell students that writers often create character sketches before they start writing a short story or a novel. This helps them to imagine how the characters would act in different situations.

2 Distribute the Create Your Character Worksheet and tell students they they will create their fictional character. Students fill in the worksheet individually.

3 Students work in pairs or groups of three. They introduce the characters they created to their classmates.

4 Students work in the same groups. They imagine what could happen to the characters they have just created. Where could they meet? Under what circumstances? How would they respond to each other? Students brainstorm for possible episodes or stories, and finally write down a basic outline of the story which involves all the characters they created (that is two or three characters, depending if they work in pairs or groups of three).

5 Students share the outlines of the stories with the class.

6 Once students have created their fictional character, the teacher can use it as a springboard for other creative writing activities: Extention 1 Students work in pairs. If they do not know their partners’ fictional characters, they briefly introduce the characters. Tell students that their characters should spend one summer week together. Students discuss what they could do for about 5 minutes, bearing in mind the likes and dislikes and economic situation of their characters. The goal is not to reach a consensus but to get into the mind of the character and start to think and speak like him/her. After the discussion, tell students to work individually and transcribe the dialogue they’ve just had. Having done this, students can share the dialogue in pairs, paying attention to the differences in their dialogues. Why are the dialogues

different? Is it only due to memory? Do we all perceive reality in the same way? If not, how is subjectivity reflected in literature?

7 Extention 2 Students write in roles. They can for example write a letter to their mother in the role of their fictional character; they can describe a recurring dream of their character, or write a journal entry as their character. Students can make lists: a list of books their character would like to read, a list of items in the refridgerator, a list of favourite and least favourite school subjects. All those activities are a good way to get into the character’s head.

8 Variation Depending on the age and language level of students, you can prepare alternative worksheets (see worksheet 2 for lower primary level). After filling in the information, children can run interviews in pairs, one student being a journalist, asking questions such as: What is your favourite food? What is your favourite music? What do you like to do in your free time? The interviewed student answers in the role of his/her character.

Create Your Character Worksheet 1

Name:

Age:

Physical appearance (hair, height, weight, etc):

Marital status:

Current home:

Occupation:

Parents, siblings and other relatives (their significant traits and their relation/attitude to your

character) :

Childhood (happy, sad, traumatic):

Education:

What talents or skills does your character have?

What does your character like to do in his/her free time?

What makes your character happy and why?

What is his/her major accomplishment?

What are his/her secrets?

What is your character’s greatest flaw?

What is s/he afraid of?

Create Your Character Worksheet 2

Name of your character:

Age of your character:

What are your character’s special skills or superpowers?

What does your character like? What does your character hate?

favourite least favourite

Food

Animal

Hobby

Sport

Famous person

School subject

Type of clothes