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Break the panic of writer’s block with this visual imaging project! Ask students to draw a detailed sketch or diagram of a familiar place and then imagine several characters interacting there.
How are fiction writers able to “make up” so many vivid details when describing a setting? Most rely on reality, mixing details from various real places they have seen or heard about.
Provide students with scrap paper, white drawing paper, Crayola® Erasable Colored Pencils or Washable Markers, and a piece of lined paper. Reassure them that they need not be great artists for this activity but that they will simply be doing some visual note taking.
Ask them to use the scrap paper to brainstorm a list of specific places that are familiar to them which might make a good setting for a story. Give a few examples such as: your grandmother’s kitchen, Kelley’s Diner, the playground on 8th Street, etc. Then ask each to choose one of these for this activity.
Have students close their eyes and picture the chosen place. Ask questions to encourage visualization. “Are you inside or outside? What do you see in front of you? Picture as many details as possible – colors, shapes, textures.... Look to your left, your right…. What else do you see? Are there any smells or aromas? How do you feel in this place?
When you feel they are ready, ask students to begin sketching the place on white drawing paper including as many specific details as possible. The point is to get as many details noted as possible, so tell them they have only a limited time for this so no one gets caught up in drawing only a few things too “perfectly.”
After 10-15 minutes, ask them to add a last few details and then stop drawing. Ask students to discuss the activity. Did they recall more details than they thought they would? What was difficult about the activity? What was easy?
Now ask them to take 10-15 minutes to write what could be a short scene from a story taking place in this environment. It could be based loosely on something that really did happen there, or it could be a “what if” story. What if a crowd of travelers became snowbound at Kelley’s Diner? What if Dad took us along to clean out the house Great Aunt Lorraine left to him in her will?
Before class ends, allow several volunteers to share what they have written. Ask students how the drawing activity impacted their writing. Invite those who feel rushed to finish at home and bring their stories back to share tomorrow.
This powerful diorama pays tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebrate his historic civil rights speech on the step
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Open the golden door of Ellis Island and explore the history of immigration in the United States.
Build an imaginative fortress, castle, or chateau using Crayola® Model Magic®.
Delve into the history and culture of China! Research geography, inventions, or other aspects, then sculpt a symbolic di
Explore cultures through clothing, using a variety of Crayola Colored Pencils and construction paper to make 3-D models
Invite students to get presidential with Crayola Model Magic® finger puppets! Then practice questioning skills with pres
Learn about Japan---its geography, culture, sports, and industries? Decorate a fan with symbols of the country, past or
Update an ancient craft with contemporary designs and art materials. These holiday ornaments are light and unbreakable,