NaNoWriMo

This month, 6B are participating in the NaNoWriMo challenge. NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month, where students spend the month of November writing a novel. Each student in 6B has been preparing characters, settings, and plotlines for their novel. Everyone has set themselves an individualised writing target, with a word count goal for their novel. We have worked out how many words we need to write each day to help motivate us during the month. Each day in November, we will have a set amount of time dedicated to writing our novels. Students are welcome to bring in a device each day to type their novel, or they can take home their novel workbook each night to write in for homework.

This morning we started the countdown for NaNoWriMo! I can’t wait to read these wonderful stories and see 6B smash their daily goals!

Weekly Imaginative Writing Prompts

6B have voted for two imaginative writing prompts this week that they will be working on during class time and for homework. Remember that quality writers show, don’t tell. Try writing using some or all of the 5 senses (smell, taste, touch, hear, sight), and adding in some figurative devices (metaphor, simile, personification, pun, alliteration, etc.). Publish your writing on your student blog once you have edited and revised it.

338 another collaboration with Houston
Image source: http://68.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvct5z7UJe1qee12to1_1280.png
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Image source: http://68.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ls7t9kyFjM1qee12to1_1280.png

Weekly Imaginative Writing Prompt: The $5 Island

Below is our Weekly Imaginative Writing Prompt, The $5 Island. Create an imaginative narrative based on this picture. Remember that quality writers show, don’t tell. Try writing using some or all of the 5 senses (smell, taste, touch, hear, sight), and adding in some figurative devices (metaphor, simile, personification, pun, alliteration, etc.). Make sure your story has a solid resolution and doesn’t end too abruptly (no waking up from a dream endings please). We will also be working on this in class throughout the week. Publish your writing on your student blog once you have edited and revised it. I am excited about reading your imaginative ideas, 6B!

#784five-dollar island
Image source: http://writingprompts.tumblr.com/post/65065405912/784-five-dollar-island

Happy Halloween: 2-sentence horror stories

Image result for 2 sentence horror storiesTo celebrate Halloween, Stage 3 listened to 2-sentence horror stories, then had a go at writing their own. Here are our creepy tales. Disclaimer: do not read right before you to go bed!

I asked my Mum, “Who built the cemetery across the road?” She looked at me blankly and said, “What cemetery?” – Tyson

I saw my little sister in my room, laughing. Then I remembered she had died 4 years ago… – Tyson

I was home alone and I started to whistle. When I stopped, the whistling continued. – Asher

There is a teddy bear that sits on the window sill that I was looking at. When I sat down I noticed that the bear was now sitting next to me. – Asher

As I looked in the mirror, I realised there was no reflection. Was I ever there? – Chloe and India

I look in the mirror and I see my little brother behind me. I don’t live with him anymore. – Imogen P

I write in my diary, “The light switches off then back on.” The diary writes back, “Leave while you still can.” – Imogen P

I drew a smiley face on some paper. I looked away for a second and looked back to see a sad face with a speech bubble saying, “Run.” – Finlay and Jude

I couldn’t sleep because the twigs from the tree outside my window were scratching the glass. Then I remembered the tree was cut down 2 months ago. – Finlay and Jude

I had a big day at school. When I got home, I looked in the mirror to wipe the sweat off my face, until I realised that I was actually tearing my face to shreds. – India

There was a knock at the door and Mum asked me to go and answer it. As I opened the door my Mum was standing outside asking, “Why was I locked out?” – Makaylah and Shayla

As I was falling asleep, something started shaking me, saying “Wake up!” I live alone. – Cooper

I was walking in a main street late at night when I got a text from a stranger, reading “Lights out.” Suddenly, the streetlights shattered. – Olivia

Blackout Poetry

Today, 5B were treated to a Creative Writing session from the Callaghan College, Waratah Campus English faculty as part of a taster lesson program. We worked on creating blackout poetry. We talked about poetry in general and what it means. Then we were shown some examples of blackout poems and discussed the process of creating one. Firstly, you take an old book (or newspaper, or another type of text) and rip a random page out of it. The messier the rip, the more artistic your blackout poem will appear. Next, scan the text on the page and find a word that jumps out at you. Circle the word with a pencil. This is your anchor word. Your anchor word will help you choose other words or phrases in the text to create your poem with. Next, read through the other words on the page and circle words or phrases that you think would make an interesting poem. Finally, once you have selected as many words/phrases as you are happy with, use a black marker to blackout the remaining words. You can be as creative as you want with this last step and even create pictures. It was an extremely engaging lesson and I was very impressed with the poems that 5B created. Have a look at these photos from the process below.