Your Creative English Mind - VWO 4

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 4

Your Creative English Mind

(for Year 4)

Lesson Goals

When you have to write in any foreign language, your limited knowledge of it means it is hard to write texts that are not repetitive or simple, and this often makes what you write sound boring.  In this lesson we are going to help you experiment with English to develop the skill to write in it in a lively and interesting manner.  Although most of the writing here will be creative, it will help you to write your essays, reports and memos as well. 

Lesson Plan

This lesson consists of a few creative tasks to let you experiment with English.  It is the idea that you work alone, so that everyone creates their own answers, but of course, afterwards the answers will be shared so you can see what your classmates have done.   There are no wrong answers in this lesson, just answers that are original, but may have some grammar or spelling errors.

Task 1: Imaginary words

On the next slide, you will see two words.  These words do not exist in English, and therefore have no meaning.  It is up to you to write definitions for what you think each word might mean, depending on how it sounds to you.  

Example: Saccellet: a small animal that looks like a paper bag and crawls over the ground.

Create definitions for these 2 words:
Gloop and grile

Task 2: Haiku (1)

A haiku is a small poem, originally from Japan, consisting of 3 lines: The first line has 5 syllables ("lettergrepen"), the second has 7.  The first and second line together usually describe something real.  The last line is also 5 syllables, and usually says something about someone's feelings or thoughts. 

The next slide gives two examples. 

Haiku (2)

   1    2       3      4 -5

The wind blows softly

   1 - 2   3    4        5 - 6    7

Against the hard wooden door.

1  2    3   4       5

I wish it were spring.

   1     2  3   4      5  

Don't try to stop me.

1  2    3 -  4  5    6    7        

I am headed for the goal.

 1    2       3       4   5

My team cheers for me.

Notice the syllable count. 5 syllables on line 1 and 3, 7 on line 2

Haiku (3)

The wind blows softly

Against the hard wooden door.

I wish it were spring.

Don't try to stop me.

I am headed for the goal.

My team cheers for me.

Notice the first two lines describe an action.  The last line describes a feeling.

Write two haikus about two different things, for example, nature, a place, a person, an activity.

Task 3: Found poetry

A "found poem" is one that is not created from nothing, but which is formed from an existing text.  For example, read the following article: 

If you're looking for a reason to care about tree loss, this summer's record-breaking heat waves might be it. Trees can lower summer daytime temperatures by as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit, according to a recent study.

But tree cover in US cities is shrinking. A study published last year by the US Forest Service found that we lost 36 million trees annually from urban and rural communities over a five-year period. That's a 1% drop from 2009 to 2014.

If we continue on this path, "cities will become warmer, more polluted and generally more

unhealthy for inhabitants," said David Nowak, a senior US Forest Service scientist and co-author of the study.

Nowak says there are many reasons our tree canopy is declining, including hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, insects and disease. But the one reason for tree loss that humans can control is sensible development.

"We see the tree cover being swapped out for impervious cover, which means when we look at the photographs, what was there is now replaced with a parking lot or a building," Nowak said.

Making a poem from this text

The poem is made by selecting words and phrases from the text, in the order they appear, and using them to form new ideas.  The poem may be related to the topic, or it may not.  See the two examples. 

IF YOU CARE

If you care about trees,

this might be it.

Tree cover is shrinking,

cities become warmer.

Many hurricanes, fires, insects and disease.

The tree, replaced with a building. 

If you're looking for a reason to care about tree loss, this summer's record-breaking heat waves might be it. Trees can lower summer daytime temperatures by as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit, according to a recent study.

But tree cover in US cities is shrinking. A study published last year by the US Forest Service found that we lost 36 million trees annually from urban and rural communities over a five-year period. That's a 1% drop from 2009 to 2014.

If we continue on this path, "cities will become warmer, more polluted and generally more

unhealthy for inhabitants," said David Nowak, a senior US Forest Service scientist and co-author of the study.

Nowak says there are many reasons our tree canopy is declining, including hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, insects and disease. But the one reason for tree loss that humans can control is sensible development.

"We see the tree cover being swapped out for impervious cover, which means when we look at the photographs, what was there is now replaced with a parking lot or a building," Nowak said.

Looking for summer

If you look for summer, 

waves might be it.

Low temperatures lost.

Our canopy is sensible.

Look at the photographs.

If you're looking for a reason to care about tree loss, this summer's record-breaking heat waves might be it. Trees can lower summer daytime temperatures by as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit, according to a recent study.

But tree cover in US cities is shrinking. A study published last year by the US Forest Service found that we lost 36 million trees annually from urban and rural communities over a five-year period. That's a 1% drop from 2009 to 2014.

If we continue on this path, "cities will become warmer, more polluted and generally more

unhealthy for inhabitants," said David Nowak, a senior US Forest Service scientist and co-author of the study.

Nowak says there are many reasons our tree canopy is declining, including hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, insects and disease. But the one reason for tree loss that humans can control is sensible development.

"We see the tree cover being swapped out for impervious cover, which means when we look at the photographs, what was there is now replaced with a parking lot or a building," Nowak said.

Found Poetry: Your turn

On the next page, you will find a text.  Use it in the same manner to write a poem of similar length to the two above (20-30 words, 5-6 lines), using only words taken from the text.  The poem you write does not have to be about the same topic as the text.

"Despite months of persuasion, despite intensive media campaigns, despite discussions in various media we have not succeeded in convincing enough people to get vaccinated." Those were the words of former Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg last month as he announced the first nationwide vaccine mandate in Europe.

Now, Germany looks set to follow where Austria has led.

Others have made vaccines mandatory for parts of the population and imposed restrictions that increasingly

explicitly target the unvaccinated, as Europe battles the twin challenges of sharply rising Covid figures and plateauing vaccination rates.

Nearly one year into the EU's vaccination campaign, and with around one in three Europeans still unvaccinated, it is not so much hesitancy that European governments are now facing as outright opposition, with the danger that as governments get tougher so too will popular anger towards them.

Write your poem here. 20-30 words, 5-6 lines. It does not have to rhyme. Everyone should have their own original poem.

Task 5: Write a story

The "flash fiction challenge" is a world-wide contest to write a complete story with beginning, middle and end in 100 words.  See the examples on the following pages.

Story by Max. 16 year. 100 words

She glances at the clock on the wall. Only seven minutes have passed. Why is she desperate to leave? She had belonged here. Around her, her friends are laughing and playing. Again and again, she tries to step into their world, but she can’t. No, she won’t. Theirs is a child’s world, full of jokes and judgments. These games aren’t fun anymore, and she wonders how they ever were. Her gaze returns to the clock, and she gets to her feet. It is time. Stepping over the remnants of her past, she frees herself. The door closes softly behind her.

Story by Iris, 13 year.  100 words

“Hey, boy! I have the key, let me through!” She shoved a dirty iron key into my face, as if she wasn’t clear enough. I could barely see her face, splattered with scars, in the dim lantern-light. She shoved the key closer impatiently, almost hitting me. She, the seventh, was a brash girl, but her amber eyes overflowed with fierce determination and I could sense unconditional kindness in her heart. I smiled faintly, stepping aside. She rushed towards the towering stone gate, without hesitation. I watched her disappear, overcome with both pride and melancholy as my body faded into light.

Tips

• Don't introduce the characters, start in the middle of the action: "Bart was ready to fall asleep". 
• Don't give descriptions in their own sentences, but use them as part of the action: "He slipped on his brown winter coat and left". 
• Only use dialogue if it furthers the action: "Hey, are you following me?" instead of "what are you doing".  
• Keep it simple, not too many characters.  One, two or at most three. 

And now, your story: 100 words. Start with the line ".... was in a rush."

Reflection: how will what you've done today help you to be more original when you write in English?