LEHMAN COLLEGE
INSTITUTE FOR LITERACY STUDIES
Tel: (718) 960-8758
THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
250 Bedford Park Blvd. West
Fax: (718) 960-8054
Bronx, NY 10468-1589
NEW YORK CITY WRITING PROJECT
Pre-Writing
Purpose
Finding a topic or beginning a piece of writing can be a difficult task. When students face a blank piece of paper and freeze, it may be for a variety of reasons. They may believe that they should know everything they want to say before beginning to write. Or, they may think they have nothing to say. Others may lack confidence in their own language, editing even before words form on their papers. Many teachers have found the pre-writing activities help students overcome the difficulties they encounter when they begin to write. Three valuable pre-writing activities are free writing, the bubble outline, and word game.
Procedure
- Will someone share a memory?
- Will someone share a fantasy?
- Will someone share a sensory impression?
I am like a _____________because_____________________________.
If I were a _____________, I would be a ____________because__________.
I am a ___________________. I _____________________________.
Which is smarter, a nail or a screw?
Which is happier, a bus or a truck?
Which is softer, cotton or a kiss?
Sources
Dodd, Ann Wescott, Write Now! New York: Globe Book Company, Inc., 1973.
Elbow, Peter. Writing Without Teachers. New York: Oxford University Press, 1973.
Moffett, James and Betty Jane Wagner. Student Centered Language Arts, K-13. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1976.
Acknowledgements: An earlier version of this presentation was prepared by Johanna Mosca.
© 1982 by The New York City Writing Project
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