• stories inspired by funny or interesting videos seen on the Internet ;
• stories based on song lyrics ;
• stories based on local myths ;
• stories based on a quirky character ;
• family stories ;
• stories based on pictures or paintings for visual learners ;
• stories based on sound recordings for auditory learners ;
• stories based on solving problems for kinaesthetic learners .
Story circles Apart from the activities mentioned above story circles are popular techniques for creating an enjoyable ambiance in the classroom and for encouraging cooperative writing . In The practice of English language teaching , Jeremy Harmer offers an example of the story circle technique . ( 265 ) Students are asked to sit in a circle . The teacher dictates the first sentence of a story such as : The next morning , when Paul woke up , he heard an unfamiliar voice coming from the living room .
Each student has to come up with the next sentence and has to write it at the top of their piece of paper . After writing the sentence , the students are asked to pass their piece of paper to the person on their left . At this point , each student has to write the next sentence based on the one which has just been passed to them and then pass their paper to the person on their left . This procedure continues until every piece of paper returns to their original owners . In the final stage of the activity , students are invited to provide an ending to their story . Reading out the stories turns this activity into an extremely amusing one .
Poetry In the foreword section of his book , The ode less travelled , Stephen Fry declares : I have a dark and dreadful secret . I write poetry . This is an embarrassing confession for an adult to make . We could argue for or against Fry ’ s opinion but there is no need in doing this when talking about young learners . By providing our students with guidance and a solid framework we can overcome any sort of impediment . The following activity , described by Jeremy Harmer in How to teach writing , is worthy of note .
The activity took place in a poetry workshop for primary school learners in Cambridge . Students were asked to think of someone they loved . They had to write the person ’ s name at the top of their page and to start the first line of the poem with the word You . They were then asked to write about their person as if they were a type of food . In the next lines of the poem , they had to write about that person as if they were a type of weather , and then a piece of furniture , a means of transport , a clothing item , etc . This activity was carried out by elementary level students . However , it could be suitable for any type of level . “ To Philip You are creamy garlic cheese Wind as it rushes in the trees . You are an untidy desk with paper spilling on the floor A friendly train , old and dirty Boots in a shade of green , torn at the edges . You ’ re a door that needs oiling
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