The Magic Box

I think a lot of teachers overlook the importance of stimulating interest at the beginning of a creative writing. I've got Box to help me with that! Who is Box might you ask? He's my trusty creative writing box buddy! Creative name I know ;) Every second week we have a creative writing lesson, and I tell the students that Box is actually magical and will decide what the topic is about. His way of letting us know what he wants us to write about is by showing us some different objects which are supposed to be clues for our story starter. The difference in quality and engagement of writing when I use Box is amazing! Here's what Box had in store for us this week:

Inside of Box I had put a winning lottery ticket, a cheque for one million dollars and $500 dollars cash with the label 'Spending Money' attached to it. Using Box is also a great way to improve infrence making ability. I encouraged students to look at ALL the clues to find out what box wanted our story starter to be. It actually took a lot more guesses than I thought! Our task this week was 'If I won a million dollars'. Even though I'm pretty sure my students are aware that Box is really just a box, no one has breathed a word about the fact that it may be ME putting the items in the box! In fact, the students were absolutely delighted with the prospect that Box had potentially robbed a bank to provide us our clues! Too cute :)

Miss A