This document provides instructions and examples for students to complete creative and formal writing exercises as part of a rich task assignment. It includes guidelines for formal writing styles and features, as well as prompts and examples for various creative writing genres and forms, including poems, stories, and a pantoum poetic structure. Students are assigned to write a letter to the editor on a provided topic and to submit a portfolio including different types of creative writing pieces.

1. YEAR 10 WRITING RICH TASK Formal and Creative Writing Christine Wells

2. STUDENT INSTRUCTIONS In this rich task you will complete a number of exercises, some of which you will develop to a publishable standard (typed, edited, free of errors) and submit for assessment as a portfolio. Your portfolio will include at least three pieces of creative writing and one formal. Your creative portfolio must include at least one poem and one prose piece.

3. FORMAL WRITIN G

4. WHAT IS FORMAL WRITING? Formal writing can be: A letter to the editor A formal essay A newspaper article A film or book review A report Gathering

5. THE PURPOSE… The purpose of formal writing is to express an opinion on an issue or to inform. It also lets other people know what you are thinking and can stimulate debate.

6. THE RULES! No slang or colloquial expressions No contractions e.g it’s should be it is Spelling must be perfect Use correct punctuation Write in the 3 rd person e.g. he, she, they Don’t over use the 1 st person e.g I think…

7. FEATURES OF FORMAL WRITING Formal writing is written using formal language – as if you were speaking to the Queen, not your mates!

8. ISRAEL Imperative - an order which helps the reader understand the importance of what you are saying. E.g. Do it now! Short sentence – a sentence of no more than 4 words. E.g. Bob walked out. Rhetorical question - a question that does not require an answer but just some thought. E.g. How would you feel? Anecdotes - stories or a personal experience that illustrates the point you are making. E.g. Last week I went shopping with my friends and… Examples - quotes or the description of an event which supports what you are writing about. E.g. The minister of Health explained, “We have to be very careful…” Listing - a list of numbers or items within a sentence. E.g He took scissors, glue and a magazine. TASK: In pairs, cut out, glue and label an example of each of the above into your book. Use the magazines or a newspaper. Thinking Relating to others Using text, symbols and language Managing self Participating Gathering Processing

9. ASSIGNMENT You will have 3 periods in the computer lab to complete the following assignment. Your assignment is to write a letter to the editor of the Rodney Times about a topical issue. The assignment is on the Ultranet under Formal Writing. Choose a topic: Friends are important for a healthy and happy life. People today are too concerned about money and not concerned enough about family. There are many benefits to leading an active and healthy life. Write a minimum of five paragraphs – including an introduction and a conclusion. Aim to write a minimum of 250 words. Include ISRAEL. Type up a good copy of your work and hand it in for marking. This is worth 3 credits and will be included on your next report. Thinking Relating to others Using text, symbols and language Managing self Participating Processing Applying

10. Creative Writing

11. CREATIVE WRITING This is worth 3 credits and will be included in your next report. In this part of the unit you will write and publish: A poem/piece of prose of your choice A Pantoum A children’s story (in groups)

12. THE FIRST LESSON Now are you going to listen or not? There's nothing tricky about a poem. It's just a collection of words like one of those bunches of grapes that used to hang in the backyard, how every one had a particular shape depending on the way it grew, or like one of those macramé pot-holders Aunty Jean used to make except the words are the knots and at each one you can change direction, or like when mum cooks and some words are like mince and cheap and easy to fill you up with and contain most of what's good for you and those are the ones she uses a lot and some words are spicy so she only uses them a little bit and like some words look so good she uses them for colour and others act differently under heat, cheese for example, to melt all through a poem which is great unless you don't like cheese. Some bits might stick in your teeth for days unless you brush them and I know you don't always do that. Maybe if you think of words like cars on a motorway, how if they are speeding or not being driven carefully they can easily lose control and cause an accident and then another car will hit them and then a truck and before you know it there is a huge pile-up with everyone tut-tutting, well the pile-up can be a poem too. Sometimes you'll even find poems like grandad did with that piece of driftwood which looked like a woman with her legs crossed and if you're lucky no one else has pinched it so you can pick it up off the ground and put your name on it and the ladies at church will wonder why on earth you have that in the garden. It can even be like when you're laying cobblestones and every word fits neatly into the next so that sometimes there's a pattern if you stand back far enough, or if you're laying bricks, how you have to knock words in half to fit them into the end of sentences so the next layer has something to build onto and all you do all day is look at bricks and when you put your head up there's a whole wall or a house with windows and corners that you're surprised is there and while we're talking about bricks sometimes you can put words together because of the way they look, brown bricks or red bricks or rough bricks or smooth bricks so people can enjoy them like when we go for a drive through Howick and mum likes the colour of the houses, and sometimes you can put them together because they hold things up and are strong and have a use even if no one sees them, bricks don't really have a sound unless you drop them on your foot and then they make a sound that sounds like bloody hell, and sometimes when you read a poem you feel like it doesn't even belong on the paper or that you've seen it before somewhere or should have seen it before or always meant to make one just like it and so if you turn around it will move behind your back, sometimes it's like a child who makes you drop him off up the road from school so his mates won't see you kiss him goodbye and then shoos you away as if to say ‘don't make such a fuss’ but the way I like to think of poems the most is that they are like a lolly for your mind or an argument with a clever person who is always trying to put words into your mouth and then spends the rest of the day trying to take them back out again.

13. EXERCISES TO GET STARTED My life in 14 words. Describe your entire life in 14 words or fewer. Tell a story in six words. Ernest Hemingway was once prodded to compose a complete story in six words. His answer was "For sale: baby shoes, never used." Discuss Hemingway’s story. Why is it good? Make a list of possible scenarios that could lie behind his stories. Students now write their own story in six words. Feed back to class. Thinking Relating to others Using text, symbols and language Managing self Participating Processing Applying

14. DICE. Make cardboard dice. Write 3 words on each face of each die – a noun; a verb; and an adjective. In groups of 3-4, roll all of your dice. Write all the words from your dice into a sentence. Repeat x 5 Mould your ‘random’ sentences into a poem. Thinking Relating to others Using text, symbols and language Managing self Participating Processing Applying

15. 15 MINUTE WRITING Students write a story in 15 minutes (timed). This is a good exercise to get writing started. Rather than free writing, give a starter. You can start out by taking a short clip from a newspaper and expanding into a story. Even if you end up hating what you write, at least you're writing and who knows, it may develop into something else later on. Thinking Using text, symbols and language Managing self Participating Processing Applying

16. RED SHIRT CAUSED GANG THUG TO ASSAULT CHILD By Isaac Davison Residents of a Bay of Plenty suburb where a 4-year-old boy was assaulted for wearing a red shirt say they do not dress their children in the colour for fear of Black Power gang reprisals. The assault on the preschooler in a Whakatane park has drawn widespread condemnation and a police hunt for a gang member or gang wannabe who was wearing a blue T-shirt and blue bandannas around his wrists and neck. Whakatane is considered the territory of Black Power, which is associated with blue clothing.The gang's fierce rival, the Mongrel Mob, wears red. Police revealed yesterday that the boy was playing with his family in the Cutler Crescent reserve last week when a man approached him and berated him about the colour of his shirt. While the child's father had his back turned, the man poked the boy and pulled the shirt off him.

17. 2 MINUTE RESPONSES Choose a topic and quickly (no more than 2 minutes each) write down your responses to these six sets of questions/prompts in order. Describe: Think about your topic in terms of the five senses. What does it look like? What colour is it? What does it smell, taste, sound, or feel like? Compare: What is your topic similar to? What is its exact opposite? Associate: What does your topic remind you of? When you close your eyes and think about your topic, what pops into your head? Analyze: Think about the parts of your topic and how they work together. Tell what causes your topic, how it emerges/emerged, what causes or influences it, and how it can be categorized or grouped. Apply: What can you do with your topic? How can your subject be used productively? What good does your subject do anyone? Argue: Take a stand for or against your subject - or both! Think of as many reasons, logical or silly, that you might have for favouring or opposing your subject. (From the Ohio State Center for the Study of Teaching and Writing website: http://www.cstw.ohio-state.edu/) Thinking Using text, symbols and language Managing self Participating Processing Applying

18. CREATIVE WRITING Shifts in Perspective: Write about a past family gathering, the most embarrassing thing that ever happened in your high school, the best (or worst) teacher you ever had, the time you learned to do something important (swim, ride a bike, use a computer), or the biggest event you ever attended. Write the story in as much detail as possible, explaining what you saw, what you did, and how you felt. Then rewrite the same story from the perspective of someone else - a relative, a fellow student, another participant, a passer-by, etc. Genre Changes: Write out your favourite joke (or fairy tale or poem). Then rewrite that narrative as a tragedy, as a limerick, as a haiku, as a serious academic treatise, as a breaking news story, or as the script for a music video. Thinking Using text, symbols and language Managing self Participating Processing Applying

19. SOME POEMS BY GLENN COLQUHOUN: The shape of words A is the shape of a tin roof on an old church. B is the bottom of a fat man. C is a crab scuttling along the beach. X is the shape of butterfly wings. hallelujah is the shape of righteous people sitting closely together in church.

20. abracadabra is a caterpillar crawling along its leaf. bubbling is the shape of water boiling. higgledypiggledy is a collection of flowers dripping out of their windowboxes. daddy-long-legs are small carts unloading suitcases from the back of an aeroplane. orange is the shape of a round fruit hanging from a tree, a young woman reaching out to pick it, a kitten chasing after its own tail, an old woman weeding her garden, a small boy fishing from a pond, the sun setting over a smooth beach. smoke is a lazy snake crawling towards the sun, two large clouds billowing, a round mouth coughing, a small bird singing in a tree, the eye of a tired child falling asleep. love is one leg planted firmly on the ground, a spare washer for a dripping tap, that beautiful bird flying towards me or away, a broken eggshell opened on the floor.

21. NOW WRITE YOUR OWN “THE SHAPE OF WORDS” POEM. D is the shape of ______________________________________________________ _ E is ___________________________________________________________ F is ___________________________________________________________ Y is the shape of ______________________________________________________ _ hullaballoo is the shape of _____________________________________________ __ speedy is a ___________________________________________________________ sizzling is the shape of _______________________________________________ ___ Thinking Using text, symbols and language Managing self Participating Processing Applying

22. mishmash is a collection of ____________________________________________ __ snails are small ________________________________________________________ blue is the shape ________________________________ , a ______________________, a _______________________________, a________________________, a ______________________________, the _______________________________________ _. creek is a ____________________, two _________________________, a ______________________, a _______________________________, the __________________________________________ . friendship is ________________________, a ____________________, that beautiful_________________________________, a broken ______________________________ .

23. THE SOUND OF WORDS A—B—C—D—E—F—G—H—I—J—K—L—M—N—O—P Rain falling on a tin roof. One—Two—Three—Four—Five—Six—Seven—Eight The feet of marching girls as precise as tape. She Sells Sea Shells by the Sea Shore Cars passing cautiously along wet roads at night. Ka mate Ka mate Ka ora Ka ora Morepork calling inside a dark forest. Old MacDonald had a farm E—I—E—I—O A round ball rolling off the end of the front porch. Bee—bop—a—loo—baa—a—wop—bam—boom A can of paint falling down a ladder. Romeo Romeo Wherefore art thou Romeo A man revving his motorcycle outside a woman's house. Etcetera—Etcetera—Etcetera—Etcetera Crickets warming themselves underneath a drying sun. Ourfatherwhoartinheavenhallowedbethynamethy kingdomcomethywillbedoneonearthasitisinheaven A bee trapped uncomfortably inside a closed room.

24. WORDS Words are halfbacks. They don't scrum. They don't ruck. They don't maul. They don't jump. They don't throw into lineouts. They don't carry oranges at half-time. They don't argue with the referee. They just pass— Ideas as quick as bullets. God help you if you drop them! Poetry is a game But so is footy And we all know how serious that is.

25. MY PET Write a composition of at least 150 words on the subject “My Pet”. The crucial requirement is that it must be a pet you have never owned. It can be anything from a kitten to a dinosaur, from a fly to a dragon. Describe what your pet looks like, how you acquired it, what it eats and where it sleeps, what tricks it can do, and how it gets on with your family, friends, neighbours or people at work. What are its politics? Does it have strong religious beliefs? Thinking Using text, symbols and language Managing self Participating Processing Applying

26. FIVE THINGS Write a piece of prose of at least 100 words which includes: A child standing in water at Orewa beach A newspaper from which a photograph is missing A stepladder (but no one’s on it) A dictionary Someone claiming to be a close friend of Miley Cyrus These items can appear in any order and in any manner you like, but they must all be present. Ways of including such these objects could be: a journey, a dream, thoughts, a story, a memory etc. Thinking Using text, symbols and language Managing self Participating Processing Applying

27. POETIC FORM: THE PANTOUM It is based on a Malay form (pantun). In its English version, the pantoum repeats its lines in a thoroughly systematic way. The second and fourth lines of one stanza become the first and third lines of the following stanza, and so on, with the form eventually coming full circle in the final quatrain, where the first and third lines of stanza one appear again – in reverse order – as the second and fourth lines. Thus the poem begins and ends with the same line – like a snake with its tail in its mouth. In English it’s best not to rhyme.

28. PANTOUM FOR PEACE BY CAMERON FISHER Politicians are bickering The election is drawing near We hold our breath. Wait for peace As a bomber dies in his blast. The election is drawing near We sigh and raise our eyes As a bomber dies in his blast And a mother cries in her sleep. We sigh and raise our eyes Our days lengthen and lighten And a mother cries in her sleep For a god-loving son and brother. Our days lengthen and lighten The leaders might lead a prayer For a god-loving son and brother Who dies for a cause tonight. The leaders might lead a prayer They offer what they think we want. Who dies for a cause tonight While we glumly gaze at a shitty screen? They offer what they think we want We hold our breath. Wait for peace While we glumly gaze at a shitty screen Politicians are bickering.

29. WRITE YOUR OWN PANTOUM A 'pantoum' is a 19th Century French form of poetry that repeats lines in a systematic way. Your writing task is to create your own 'pantoum'. Study the example and notes. Thinking Using text, symbols and language Managing self Participating Processing Applying

30. BIBLIOGRAPHY Adapted from the work of Glenn Colquhoun and Cameron Fisher

31. STORY WRITING Tips for a Tantalising Tale

32. CHECKING OUT STORYBOOKS In groups, choose a storybook and answer the following: Name the title and author. List the characters in the story. Who is the main character? Describe what happens to them. Does it rhyme? What poetic devices are used? (simile, metaphor, alliteration etc) What type of humour, if any, is used? Are verses used? What imagery(word pictures) is included in the writing? How is it illustrated? Describe how the story is structured. (Chapters, one sentence per page, etc) Does it have a moral or teach something about life that will help the children to understand the world a little better? If so, what is it? How is the story memorable or different? Gathering Processing Thinking Relating to others Using text, symbols and language Managing self Participating

33. WHAT IS A SHORT STORY? A short story: Gets off to a fast start . Generally has a limited number of characters and scenes. Starts as close to the conclusion as possible. Frequently deals with only one problem . Uses only the detail necessary for understanding the situation. Usually covers just a short time period . TASK : In groups of 3-4, brainstorm ideas for your story taking the above points into account. Your story will be for 7-10 year olds. Thinking Relating to others Using text, symbols and language Managing self Participating Gathering

34. WRITE A CATCHY FIRST PARAGRAPH The first sentence of your short story should catch your reader's attention with the unusual, the unexpected, an action, or a conflict . For example , I saw the dog in the backyard . Dry and uninteresting. Snoopy limped slowly through the long grass in our back yard. The second sentence should catch the reader's attention. Who is Snoopy? Why is he limping? Why is the grass in the back yard long? For example, Snoopy is the elderly neighbour’s dog that she has had for 15 years. Old Miss Dodds had never married and had always kept a dog to keep her company. However, the Mongrel Mob also lived in the neighbourhood and did not like Jack Russell terriers…

35. TASK: Individually, write a catchy first paragraph for your story of 5-6 sentences. When finished, share with the other people in your group. Give each other some feedback and make improvements. Thinking Relating to others Using text, symbols and language Managing self Participating Processing Applying

36. DEVELOPING CHARACTERS The most important things to know about a character are: Appearance. Gives your reader a visual understanding of the character. Action. Show the reader what kind of person your character is, by describing actions rather than simply listing adjectives. Speech. Develop the character as a person -- don't merely have your character announce important plot details. Thought. Bring the reader into your character's mind, to show them your character's unexpressed memories, fears, and hopes.

37. CHARACTERS For example, let's say I want to develop a young 7 year old girl persona for a short story that I am writing. What do I know about her? Her name is Jen, short for Jennifer Mary Johnson . She is 7 years old . She is a fair-skinned Norwegian with blue eyes , long, curly red hair , and is 3 feet 6 inches tall . Contrary to typical redheads, she is actually easygoing and rather shy . She loves cats and has two of them named Bailey and Allie. Jen plays the piano and is an amateur photographer . She lives in Centreway Road, Orewa. Her favourite saying is: “Cowabunga, dude!” She eats pizza every day for lunch and loves Just Juice. She cracks her knuckles when she is nervous. When Jen grows up she wants to fly airplanes but she is scared of heights.

38. CREATING A CHARACTER TASK: Individually pick one character from your brainstorm and complete a character profile based on the following headings: Appearance. What does your character look like? Action. What sort of things do they do in their own time? Speech. What are your character’s favourite sayings? Thought. Describe their memories, fears, and hopes. Thinking Using text, symbols and language Managing self Participating Gathering Processing

39. CHOOSE A POINT OF VIEW Point of view is the narration of the story from the perspective of first, second, or third person . As a writer, you need to determine who is going to tell the story and how much information is available for the narrator to reveal in the short story. First Person. The story is told from the view of "I." The narrator is either the protagonist (main character) and directly affected by unfolding events, or the narrator is a secondary character telling the story revolving around the protagonist. For example, I saw a tear roll down his cheek. I had never seen my father cry before. I looked away while he brushed the offending cheek with his hand. Second Person. The story is told directly to "you" , with the reader as a participant in the action. For example, You laughed loudly at the antics of the clown. You clapped your hands with joy. Third Person. The story tells what "he", "she," or "it" does. For example, He ran to the big yellow loader sitting on the other side of the gravel pit shack.

40. POINT OF VIEW TASK : In your group, choose which point of view you will have in your story. If it is first person, which character will be the protagonist? Write 2-3 sentences to identify the POV and explain why you have chosen it. Purpose of each POV 1 st Person: to show the protagonists thoughts and feelings from their perspective. 2 nd Person: to include the reader in the story 3 rd Person: to show many characters perspectives. Thinking Relating to others Using text, symbols and language Managing self Participating Gathering Processing

41. USE SETTING AND CONTEXT Setting includes the time, location, context, and atmosphere where the plot takes place. Use two or more senses in your descriptions of setting . For example: Our journey into the desert was a contrast with its parched heat , dust storms , and cloudless blue sky filled with the blinding hot sun . The rare thunderstorm was a cause for celebration as the dry cement tunnels of the aqueducts filled rapidly with rushing water . Great rivers of sand flowed around and through the metropolitan inroads of man's progress in the greater Phoenix area, forcefully moved aside for concrete and steel structures . Palm trees hovered over our heads and spikey cactuses saluted us with their thorny arms. TASK: 1. Individually, think of a possible setting for your story. Imagine that you are going there for the first time. Write down what you imagine you would see; smell; hear; and feel. Write at least 100 words. 2. Draw a map/picture of what it could look like. Label important places. Thinking Using text, symbols and language Managing self Participating Processing Applying

42. SET UP THE PLOT Explosion or "Hook." A thrilling, gripping, event or problem that grabs the reader's attention right away. Conflict. A character experiences a problem. Exposition. Background information. Complication. One or more problems that keep a character from their intended goal. Climax. The action of the story reaches the peak. Falling Action. Releasing the action of the story after the climax. Resolution. When the conflict is resolved.

43. TASK: IN YOUR GROUPS, COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES: a ) Explosion or "Hook." The thrilling, gripping, event or problem that grabs the reader's attention right away is . b) Conflict. A problem that character experiences is . c) Exposition. Background information that helps the reader understand the story is . d) Complication. One or more problems that keep a character from their intended goal are . e) Climax. The action of the story reaches the peak. The climax of my story is when . f) Resolution. When the conflict is resolved. The conflict is resolved when .

44. CREATE CONFLICT AND TENSION Conflict produces tension that makes the story begin. Tension is created by opposition between the character or characters and internal or external forces or conditions. Possible Conflicts Include: The protagonist against another individual The protagonist against nature (or technology) The protagonist against society The protagonist against God The protagonist against himself or herself.

45. CONFLICT AND TENSION TASK: In your groups, choose one of the following possibilities and write 5-6 sentences to describe how the conflict will happen in your story. The protagonist against another individual The protagonist against nature (or technology) The protagonist against society The protagonist against God The protagonist against himself or herself. Thinking Relating to others Using text, symbols and language Managing self Participating Processing Applying

46. BUILD TO A CRISIS OR CLIMAX This is the turning point of the story --the most exciting or dramatic moment. While a good story needs a crisis, a random event such as a car crash or a sudden illness is simply an emergency --unless it somehow involves a conflict that makes the reader care about the characters. TASK : Individually, write a possible turning point for your story. When you have finished, share it with the group and decide which one you like best. Maybe you could combine some of your ideas.

47. FIND A RESOLUTION The solution to the conflict . In short fiction, it is difficult to provide a complete resolution and you often need to just show that characters are beginning to change in some way or starting to see things differently. TASK: In groups, discuss different ways that the conflict can be resolved. Choose the best way and write 5-6 sentences to describe it.

48. BIBLIOGRAPHY Adapted from http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/creative/shortstory/

49. THE PROJECT. You will work in your groups: To produce a book on a topic of your choice that would be appropriate for a 7 - 10 year old child. To present the book in a format that would appeal to and hold the interest of a 7 - 10 year old child. Each person is responsible for writing a chapter. The book should include: One chapter from each person in the group. A narrative structure that is clearly and effectively followed with detail. An interesting, eye-catching and outstanding cover. A contents page. An appropriate and effective illustration on each page. A detailed and effective blurb on the back page.

50. PLANNING YOUR BOOK. You have 3 periods to: Decide who will write each chapter. Plan an outline for your book. Write a draft copy of each chapter (at least 150 words). Include poetic techniques to help with description. Plan the pictures you will use in each chapter. Draft a cover design. Write a draft contents page. Write a draft blurb for the back cover.

51. CREATING YOUR BOOK You will now have 4 periods in the computer lab to create your storybook. Thinking Relating to others Using text, symbols and language Managing self Participating Processing Applying

52. ORAL PRESENTATION This is worth 2 credits and will be included in your next report. In your groups you are required to present your storybook to the class. Each person will read their own chapter. You will be assessed on the way that you: Establish an audience rapport (good feeling) Use your voice Integrate gestures Present your book Use eye contact

53. ORAL PRESENTATION PLANNING How will you achieve each of these? Complete the chart: Presentation technique How we will do this Establish an audience rapport (good feeling) Use your voice effectively Integrate gestures Present your book Use eye contact effectively

54. ORAL PRESENTATION You will now have 15-20 minutes to practise your group presentation. Remember to include all of the techniques. Then it’s presentation time! Thinking Relating to others Using text, symbols and language Managing self Participating Processing Applying