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.  As the teacher, I model what it’s like to plan and compose first drafts.  I talk about what I would change and ask questions of my student reader to gauge where I need to clarify or add description.  In turn, my 3rd and 4th grade students learn to ask questions and become more open to taking risks and experimenting with different versions of the same story.

I have found that photographs help writers compose stories.  There is no problem with facing a blank piece of paper. Instead, there is a photo that can be used to create characters, setting, and plot.  Students learn that one photograph can generate many different stories.  This allows for more free exploration, and students begin to expand their writing, adding details, dialogue, and vivid language.

Gallery Dancers

by Mrs. Emery

It was time for the great gallery dance.  Twyla, Martha, and Isadora were excited to be dancing this year.  They were sisters.  And more specifically, they were triplets.  They looked exactly alike and liked all the same things.  When they got to the art gallery, they sat down on a bench and waited for the show to begin. All around them was beautiful artwork.  After a few minutes, Twyla said, “I’m bored!  Let’s walk around till the show starts.”

“No way, Twyla,” Martha frowned, “Mom told us to wait until they call our names.  We don’t want to miss our turn.”

Isadora patted Twyla’s knee, “I know it is hard for you to sit still.  Just close your eyes and imagine yourself dancing.”

Twyla closed her eyes and started to see herself twirling in space.  She was free and happy.  Suddenly, she opened her eyes again. “Now, can we go look at the art?” she asked.

“Oh, Twyla,” Martha and Isadora shouted as they shook their heads.

Twyla stood up and glided across the floor. Her sisters called after her, but she swiftly moved from one part of the gallery to another.  Color, line, and form were swirling all around her.  Art was dancing with her.  She leaped in the air, and when she landed, she realized she was in a space she didn’t recognize.  She didn’t know how to get back to the bench and her sisters.  Was it this way or that?

Then in the distance, she heard clapping. She ran to the sound.  Did she miss the performance? She should have listened to her sisters!  The clapping got louder and louder.  Then Twyla saw the bench, and it was empty. No sisters!  Where could they be?

“We have a treat for you tonight, ladies and gentlemen,” the announcer declared.

Twyla raced to the stage. There were her two sisters almost in tears.  When they saw her, they reached out their arms and pulled her towards them.  They circled around and around, laughing and spinning.  The audience thought it was part of the performance.  Twyla, Martha, and Isadora kept dancing.  They began the routine they had practiced. It was the best gallery dance they had ever performed.  The audience gave them a standing ovation, and they won first prize.

Twyla vowed to never wander again.  But her sisters knew that that would NEVER happen.  Twyla was born to move!

Gallery Dancers

by Maddie

OMG! You guys will not believe what Emma, Chloe, and I did last Saturday! Our ballet teacher, Ms. Sarah, took our whole class to the super fancy art museum downtown. But instead of just walking around looking bored like everyone else, we decided to make it an adventure. We secretly packed our golden masquerade masks from Chloe’s birthday party in our dance bags!

While Ms. Sarah was busy talking to a museum guide about a painting that literally just looked like big blue and orange squares, the three of us snuck away. We found this giant, comfy velvet bench right in front of this awesome painting with bright blue dancing paper cutouts. It totally looked like something we would make in art class, but way cooler.

We giggled so hard as we tied our golden masks on. People walking by were totally staring at us, probably because we looked like secret spy ballerinas on a mission! An old man with a camera even smiled and took our picture.

We sat there for a long time, practicing our perfect ballet feet, and whispering about which painting we would steal if we were professional art thieves. (Definitely the one with the crazy shapes!) It was the absolute best field trip ever, even if we did get in a tiny bit of trouble for eating snacks on the bus ride home.

Gallery Dancers

by Violet

My two best friends, Sophie and Avery, are in ballet class with me. Today was the best day ever because we got to wear our pink tutus to the art museum! It had super high ceilings and huge pictures on the walls. The one behind us looked like a blue dancer with bright shapes swirling around her.

Avery brought three shiny gold masks in her backpack. She said they were magical princess masks from a secret castle. When our moms were busy looking at a big painting with lots of colors, we ran over to a giant bench and put them on. We had to be super quiet because you are supposed to whisper in museums.

We sat in a row and crossed our legs just like our ballet teacher showed us. We pretended we were secret museum statues that only came alive when nobody was looking. Every time someone walked past, we froze and didn’t even blink! Then the museum guard walked by and said we looked like beautiful artwork. We giggled. I wish we could wear our gold magical masks every single day!

Teaching Reflection

As I read these three pieces, I realized that my writing is incredibly tight and formal.  It was difficult for me to conjure up a childlike voice.  My triplets are way too grown-up and introspective.  Maddie and Violet’s writing allowed me to hear that magical child-voice once again.  Their writing seemed to be much more authentic.  My writing was trying to teach a lesson. Their writing was fun and entertaining.  Of course, my writing from the start had all the proper writing conventions, while the girls’ writing had many more spelling and grammatical errors at first.  I found that the conventions were not as important as the imagination and the details.  The conventions could be taught in tandem with the descriptive writing and dialogue so that the girls would be able to internalize grammar and spelling rules more easily.  The photograph gave the students a springboard on which to launch their writing, and their writing was much more descriptive than it would have been without the visual prompt.  This summer writing project is not only to bolster student writing, but it is also to help me improve my teaching and how I approach creative composition.