Because students often struggle to create vivid imagery out of thin air, they frequently fall back on clichés or stare blankly at a white page. However, using a concrete visual prompt, such as a photograph of a girl splashing under a backyard sprinkler, can instantly unlock their imagination. This image helps student to tap into their own memories, stretch their vocabulary, and express themselves through poetry.
Month: July 2026
Visual Prompts to Teach Plot Structure: Ocean Bubble
This week’s teacher-student collaborative writing went to the beach. I shared an image of a giant translucent bubble sitting on the edge of the shoreline. The photo serves as launchpad for another creative writing journey designed by my third and fourth-grade students. I was hoping to engage these reluctant writers with a magical image that they could use as a blueprint for storytelling. My intention was for students to learn to see narrative structure not as a rigid set of rules, but as an expanding world of possibilities.
Visual Prompts to Enhance Student Writing
To help students keep up their writing skills, I often create a collection of visual prompts to spark their imaginations and help them write. I create stories with them, and we share what we have created back and forth all summer long. Besides giving students practice writing, they also get practice reading and critiquing what I have written. This summer writing project becomes an important collaboration where both student and teacher take risks, think creatively, and revise their work based on mutual feedback.
Finding Fútbol and Fireworks
I have never been a sports fan, not really. There was a time in high school when I cheered on our football team on Friday nights. And I was an avid basketball fan for a short time in college, but I am not the type to tailgate and have a team to follow, whether that be football, baseball, basketball, or hockey. However, this summer changed all that. At first, I wasn’t even sure what FIFA was and thought soccer was something kids played in the park. A few short weeks in June and July, and I’m now an avid fútbol fan.Â
Word Dancer: Literature, the Arts, & Education 