Put the “Creative” Back in Students’ Writing

We need our students to write regularly for a variety of purposes on different topics, but don’t want to hear the groans that usually accompany such tasks. Luke Neff provides the solution. Neff, a former humanities teacher with a background in graphic design, is the World’s Greatest Writing Prompt Slide Creator. (Is that an actual thing? Well, it is now.)

Neff has created a virtual library of free materials for all of us to enjoy with our students.

A few samples of his work:

TuesPix

MonPd4

AllDay3

You could use the slides as daily writing warm-ups, weekly creative writing work, or monthly portfolio building assignments. My calendar, alas, is so packed that I usually can squeeze in only a handful of Neff’s writing prompts each year, but my freshmen are always excited when one of Neff’s slides appears on the whiteboard.

Do yourself a favor. Click here to visit Neff’s main writing prompt site or here to view the master list of the 180 prompts he’s used with his previous classes. Be sure to bring a bag to haul away all the jewels you’ll find.

Please note: I have no connection or business relationship with Luke Neff and have received nothing for promoting his work here. I’m just a fan who wants to share the wealth of his awesomeness with my fellow English teachers.

 

2 thoughts on “Put the “Creative” Back in Students’ Writing

  1. Thank you, thank you, thank you for this post! What took me so long to find it? These prompts are fantastic for tapping into my students’ creative side. Choice is key in getting kids to write, and these posts by Luke are wonderful. Thank you for sharing!

  2. Agreed, Nellie. Luke’s work is fantastic. We can both join his fan club. 🙂

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