Action writing activities for Seven Steps classrooms
Are you using these Action Activities?
Over the years we've shared thousands of ways to make writing fun. Here are just a few of them. Some are in the Teacher Manuals, some are in the Teacher PD and a great many have been shared by teachers from their own classrooms. We call them the Action Activities.
We created this list as a reminder to help teachers who have shared the PD with us.
Step 1: Plan for Perfection
- Discover how telling jokes actually works as plot practice
- Should you know the ending before you write?
- How backfill works to pull readers right into the story
- Characters or plot – what should you start with?
- Discover how TV ads show perfect plotting - in 30 seconds
- Get a unique story graph to show exactly how to plot
- The Chatterbox - a fantastic game to brainstorm over 500 story ideas!
Step 2: Sizzling Starts
- Write five story starts in five minutes – and want to do more!
- Over 20 different story ideas to practise starts
- Where do you begin - in the morning or at the disco?
- Learn why movies start with a bang
- Write the 'worst story start' and discover what NOT to do
- Discover why authors always begin at the 'Moment of Change'.
Step 3: Tightening Tension
- Create a powerful tension scene with two other people – in minutes
- Discover the Six Senses for tension scenes
- Learn how the 'list of three' in jokes works to create tension
- Take a roller coaster ride to give you a unique 'Fear Factor' list.
Step 4: Dialogue
- Find out why starting with dialogue instantly reveals character
- Try acting out scenes to give great dialogue
- Learn why you start in the 'middle' of a conversation
- Get instant starts with scaffolding lines
- Try out a five minute fight scene – on paper!
- 20 topics to practise starting your scenes with dialogue
- Play Train Talks - great for dropping clues in mystery stories
Step 5: Show, Don't Tell
- Can you pass the 'seeing is believing' test?
- Discover why actions speak louder than words in writing
- Play a great game to 'Show me a Secret' (7-10 years)
- What 'shows' a person is on a diet?
- Observe body language to 'show' not 'tell'
- Why baking cakes is better than 'telling' about relationships
- Have fun and be convincing, 'telling' the moods of teenagers
Step 6: Ban the Boring Bits
- What are 'food fetishes' and why do kids always write about them?
- How can you avoid the boring bus and car trips?
- What are the professional authors cheats to make stories move fast?
- How can editing old writing fast track current skills?
- What does everyone do - and no-one writes about?
- Discover how DVD's can help with editing easily.
Step 7: Exciting Endings
- What's a 'quick fix' ending and why should writers avoid it?
- Do you always have to know your ending? Share the expert's way
- Why does working backwards give you strong endings?
- Play lateral thinking games and end stories with a twist
- Practise the 'Sticky Situations' and easily write great endings