A writing marathon is a great way to practice writing fluency and creativity. It was first introduced to me in a creative writing class in college by professor Don Daiker.
At the start of the activity, each student writes down a prompt idea on an index card...from serious to crazy. How did you like these prompts?
Yep, teddy bear apocalypse and people turning into zombies... Hey, they got kiddos writing!
I pull 3-4 prompts per round and students can either write about one, a combination, or their own idea. The only rule is they have to be writing.
We do 3 or 4 rounds, depending on stamina, then have a massive sharing time. I love how excited students get to read their work.
I keep all of the prompts, whether they were read or not, in a basket in my room for stumped journallers. They love seeing student-generated topic ideas. And it's totally free & easy!
We've done a few writing marathons year and students actually cheer when I announce we'll be doing one.
In fact, it cracked me up when one of my students walked in yesterday, looked at the board with our agenda and said, "Oh, so we're just having fun today?" I love that a half an hour of writing and an economics activity made it into the "fun category!"
To end our week of testing, we also had a tasty visit from the ice cream truck! What a fun day :)
Have a great weekend!
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