An artistic prewriting exercise helps young students visualize a scene they are preparing to write about, expressing aspects of detail and special positioning within the scene through art. This can include drawings, finger painting projects or a sculpture project using clay or craft dough. The art will give students a visual reference to use as a guide while describing a scene or explaining the actions within a section of their writing. Use this prewriting strategy to help students develop detail writing skills in their narrative assignments.
A visual chart is a sequential drawing, listing specific actions within a story in the specific order the writer intends for them to occur. This tool helps students plan the sequence of events in their narrative stories. Visual charts also can simplify the action in complex plots, helping the writer remember specific details as she writes and giving her a clear point in the story when various plot lines converge. Use this strategy to help students organize their writing into a specific, clear plot line.
While visual charts help organize a complex plot, mind mapping helps students develop the plot itself. Mind mapping is a prewriting brainstorming process, where writers make connections between ideas to discover issues characters might face, how characters might feel about a plot event and how the plot affects others. For instance, if a student is wring a mystery plot, he can write “mystery” in the middle of a piece of paper, with a line to “detective.” From “detective,” the student can draw lines to qualities of the detective, such as “trench coat” and “quiet type,” or to other characters, such as “detective’s sister” or “detective’s best friend.”
Free writing is a dual process prewriting strategy, developing ideas for a plot, while preparing the writer’s mind for the writing process. Set a timer for 5 minutes and have students begin writing, as fast as they can until time is up. Punctuation is not necessary during this exercise, and each writer is free to write about any subject that comes to mind. Students can direct this process by spending a few minutes prior to the exercise thinking about the assignment. The only rule is that once students begin, they cannot stop writing until the timer goes off. Use this strategy to help students develop new ideas for their writing while preparing their minds to write creatively afterward.