How Do You Fill 70 Minutes Of In-Class Writing Time?
Bring in several random objects, the weirder or sillier the better. Have them write a story that incorporates all the objects. Similar: assign each student to bring in a random object which has sentimental value or a goofy/interesting story associated with it in their lives, and tell them to be prepared to write about it. BUT when they arrive to class, have them pass the object to the person next to them — each person must now make up a “personal” anecdote or backstory based on someone else’s object (as if it were their own). Later, students may compare the “true” stories with the invented ones. They may also discuss their invented stories and how they came up with them, which bits came from real life and which are made up, etc. Have one student start a story by writing ONE sentence. Pass it to the next person, who adds another ONE sentence, etc. all the way around the room (perhaps several times). Since they’re just writing one sentence every few minutes, this can be done while they’
