Creative Writing

     Creative writing is a technique that teachers use to encourage students to write. There is a variety of creative writing genre that can be used in secondary English classes and still maintain a focus to the curriculum. Students gain a deeper understanding of character voice and audience through creative writing. Creative writing piques students’ interest and encourages dialogue (Knoeller, 2003).

         Teachers as researchers play an important role in developing strategies that encourage students to write. A unit that one teacher/researcher developed with her class involved using their imaginations to envision possibilities beyond the realm of the classroom. As a group they imagined the possibilities of playing at school through writing and illustration. The students culminated the unit by doing written investigations about innovative people who have been influential in the development of our modern society. The students were more engaged in their writing because they were empowered to choose and create within the context of the curriculum (Glenn, 2003).

     Another study suggests using a strategy called the WRITE (Writing for Resilience to Increase Self-Esteem) program to improve adolescents’ self esteem and self efficacy. This is a two-step, stimulus-response strategy. The adolescents first respond to a collection of objects and then to specific writing instructions. The writing is analyzed for memory, affect, and ideas. Adolescents were shown to have enjoyed the process. They wrote more because the writing was facilitated rather that directed (Chadler, 1999).