Dear diary, 18th November At last, the battle has ended, with 5800 troops (a third) killed on the first day. Our total losses were 420000, the French had 200 000 casualties, while the Germans had 500000. I did not think that the battle was a success. It definitely wasn't.

You can give your students some direction, and that will often be enough to help them get past the barrier of writer's block. However, the most successful prompts are not about faraway places and people unknown. The best way for your students to write is to write about the things that they know, their experiences in life, themselves. The following ideas are meant to inspire your students to get the words on the page and share a piece of their lives at the same time. How to Get Your Students Writing About Themselves. 1I RememberSometimes all it takes to get your students writing about themselves are two simple words: I remember. Have your students write these words at the top of their page and simply start writing.

They may remember and choose to write about yesterday or an event ten years ago. Either way, they will be writing about themselves, and that is the goal of this exercise. If your students need a little more encouragement or you want to take the exercise a step further, tie the memory to an emotion. Remember a time you were angry and write about that. Tell me about one time when you were frightened. When we have strong emotions, we remember the details of our experiences.

If you want, have your students write about a time they felt proud or confident or silly. Any of these emotions will bring the details of the moment back to your students. Do you want to help them even more before they start to write? Partner your class and let them talk about the times they felt these emotions before setting them down on paper.

Discussing with a partner or a group will bring more and more memories to the forefronts of their minds which will free them to write more and more on the paper. 2I BelieveDo you want another way to get your students writing about the things they know?

Ask them to start with the words “ I believe” Everyone has beliefs. Their beliefs may be religious, philosophical, or scientific, for example. Asking your students to write about what they believe is sure to get the creative juices flowing. As with all the writing prompts given here, the intention is to get your student writing something.

This type of writing is not meant to be organized or persuasive or even logical at first. This activity will simply help your students get some ideas on the page. From there, your students can take what they have written and organize and develop it to fit whatever assignment you have for them. The important part is that they get those ideas on the paper and really connect with their own beliefs.

3A Tree Grows in ClassMany cultures around the world place a high value and sometimes even worship their ancestry. Asking your students to write about their families, therefore, may tap into the spring of their creativity. Explain to your students the concept of a family tree. Busyteacher.org has a you can use to get your students started with a family tree. After reviewing the, ask each of your students to write about one or more people on that tree. How much do they really know about their families?

How have their ancestors influenced the people that they are today? You will be surprised what your students will be able to tell you about their families. Once they have some general information written about each of the branches of their family trees, ask your students to compare and contrast themselves with one of their ancestors or one of their siblings. Ask them to make connections between who they came from and the person they are today. 4Travel DiarySpring break or a school trip may be the perfect opportunity to assign your students a travel diary. For each day of vacation, ask your students to write about the place they are visiting.

They should include how many miles they travelled and what sights they saw that day. You can also have students write about any unusual people they either saw or talked to. When your students return from their trips, they can compile their diary pages into a special binding.

Give each student an 11x17 piece of brown craft paper, and have him or her mix up some brown and gray watercolor paint. They should then paint an irregular pattern over the paper.

Once it dries, have them crumple it into a ball and unfold it. This should give the paper a worn, leather-like appearance.

They can then decorate the cover with postage stamps from around the world or with rubber stamps and ink to look like passport stamps. Your student can staple their diary pages inside their travel worn cover and have a unique memory of their trip. Students who did not travel do not need to be excluded, either. Have them write about an imaginary vacation or a dream vacation as if it really happened. 5Free WriteAre your students old enough and mature enough to understand the meaning of “ stream of consciousness”?

If so, try out the technique of freewriting with your class. The first time your students freewrite, designate a short period of time, for example, three to five minutes. Challenge your students to write whatever is going through their heads during that time. The goal of freewriting is to never let your pen or pencil stop moving across the page, so make sure your students understand this before starting the activity.

In freewriting, explain to your students that grammar and content are not important. What is important is to write without stopping. Your students are sure to share some personal information when they write their stream of consciousness, so reassure them that their freewriting is private as well. This is a challenging activity even in one’s native language, so do not let your students become discouraged if they struggle. Point out the success they have achieved and challenge them to write for a longer time with the next try. Then have your students use what they have written to compose a piece of writing that is more organized and refined.Your students have a lot to say, they may just need a little push in the right direction to get the pen moving across the page.With these writing activities, your students will get the push they need to get started writing about themselves, their lives and their beliefs.

No matter what they write, it is sure to be enlightening.

Facebook 0 Twitter 0 Google+ 0 Viber WhatsAppMy Personal Diary23rd May 2017It feels good today. Most of the activities done and the weather was good. I had enough sleep last night so woke up ready for all activities in the college. I was in the library quite early to finish up the many assignments given yesterday. The classes have been interesting with tutors covering much of the syllabus work and at the same time allowing us the time to relax. I caught up with old friends during the lunch hour and planned for a date over the weekend. We have known another for quite some time since our time in high school.

They were always helpful in tough moments. The afternoon was interesting too, spending time in music class. I am making a nice progress in knowing to play the guitar.

The day ends with catching up with my parents at home who have been on vacation for a week now.22nd May 2017The day is so tiresome. Being a Monday, the tutors have many expectations from us. They pick up from previous classes and all the homework done over the weekend. By the time of class, I had not finished the psychology essay so I had to request for more time from the lecturer. Thank God he accepted my plea.

Now I have the next 24 hours to finish this challenging essay. Besides, I went bicycle riding. It is always good to exercise often but today I did too much and I can feel the aching muscles. With more work from my tutor, I feel like someone should just offer a hand of assistance. But I will manage.21st May 2017It is a blessed day. I feel like my spiritual life is in good progress.

The preacher gave a powerful summon that I feel touched spiritually. She talked perfectly about the life of Jesus and how it applies to our daily lives. It was interesting to have more converts joining the congregation with new enthusiasm. More interesting was the time in the Highlight restaurant. I loved the menu and the nice chocolate with friends after the church service. Save for small challenges of losing money after coming out of the restaurant, the day has been good.

Hopefully I wake up with the same energy ready for classes.20th May 2017Being a Saturday and lots of free time, I spent the most time in the movies. Just before the movies, I worked partly on my assignments which I hope to finish before the next class. The movies were all great and I never wished time to move. It was more interesting in the company of my brother who is always funny.

Each puzzle kept surprising me, as Linelight slowly, but gradually, introduced new ideas and mechanics to the puzzle solving. I was amazed that something so simple could become so engaging. As this is a game about lights, every light shone on-screen feels soft but vibrant. Linelight ps4 gameplay. Taylor truly invented something remarkable and innovative in the design of Linelight. What further enhances the gameplay experience of Linelight is the incredible visual and audio presentation.

Time with him can never pass without laughter. We also went swimming with the hot weather.

Time in the pool was so short because it was closed earlier than usual due to maintenance. I hope next time we shall have all the time. The evening has been quite dull with bad news covered of incidents in the Middle East. Innocent children have been affected directly by terrorism. I only hope these incidents will one day be eradicated by nations working together.19th May 2017The day started well with tutors attending the morning classes and setting the afternoon for assignments. I caught up with old friends and we spent a wonderful time in the Music concert.

The concert had been advertised since the last fortnights. We, therefore, expected a lot which was surely available during the concert. The various bands gave their best and it was surely a nice way to end the tough week.