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Writing Inspirations
Ideal for tutorials -- it's photocopyable! 176 writing-topic activity cards, containing over 600 writing tasks to choose from, for students of all ages, interests, and skill levels. They are presented ready to be photocopied and mounted on 8x5 index cards, often with a lively photo or illustration or a piece of virtual realia - maps, ads, forms, articles. The cards can then be kept in a Fundex, a standard index card file box full of fun writing inspirations. That way they are easy to store and easy for you or your students to flip through looking for ideas. The topics are both entertaining and simple to understand, so that students working on their own at home or in a study hall or library will want to take on the challenge and write. Among the 15 fun activity types are:
Fundex tasks involve the use of whole language in individual, pair, and small group work. Though primarily writing tasks, they may also include discussion and planning, information gathering, research, and reading. "I've used Writing Inspirations in high school multi-level ESL classes. I found it particularly helpful with students who had a hard time getting started writing. Instead of assigning them one of the cards, I would pick out all the cards on a certain theme like "Writing Stories: Superstitions" and ask the student(s) to choose one prompt that interested them. They were always able to find one they liked, and the writing process would begin. I like the variety of themes and writing styles represented in the cards. You can go in many different directions according to student needs and interests. It was a bit labor-intensive to cut out all the cards and have them
laminated, but well worth the effort.
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Response Writing -The
Daily Paper