Etwinning project: The Young Writers

The Young Writers

The objectives of this project is to write literary short stories, poems, while using the English language, artwork and to develop: a) the techniques of creative writing-metaphor, full sense, personification, repetition, plot, free association, imagination… b)  their skills in the use of information technologies as a means of communication and expression. The topic of the project is: «We learn to recognize and manage our feelings». Creativity needs emotion and personal experience that is of particular importance to the individual and feed the thought and inspiration of creation. The emotion contributes not only to a smarter but also to a more successful and happy life.

Schedule of our Project

September/ October 2019

The teacher of the class writes his/her students to etwinning platform. The students choose their usernames and code, so they can visit etwinning platform any time they want to communicate with their new friends and partners. 

Preparation:

We can organize our class with play activities and show them how important it is to respect and follow the norms in our community.

1. Who we are: The students were divided into four groups and each student introduced himself – name, a few words about his/her family, interesting – and reported a positive summer experience. Then all the class members sat in a large circle using their chairs (we can also use small pillows). The teacher had the role of the coordinator of the class group. The teacher, holding a small ball in her hands, first introduced herself to the students, reported a pleasant summer experience and then threw the ball at one of the students to do the same. The game was over when all the members of the class had been recommended. Then the teacher asked the students what impressed them, what they liked, what they remembered from everything they heard. In this way, the teacher is given the opportunity to emphasize the importance of listening carefully to others when speaking, not interrupting and looking at the speaker, because in addition to speech we also have body language, which gives us important information.

2. I hear and see: the students are divided into two large groups (if they are 20 divided 10-10), they sat in a circle and are started by the group coordinator, who said his/her name and what he likes and does not like to do his/her free time. The next member of the group repeated the words of the first and then mentioned his/her own, the third started from the first, mentioned the second and then talked about himself/herself and the game goes on like this until we get to the last one, who repeats all the words of circle members. With this game, we understand how important it is to listen and look at our interlocutor. (cultivating and developing skills). Then we played a role-play e.g. child-mother:  a child wants to talk to its mother about an important event, but at the same time as her child relates its experience she does other homework at the same time. Εach binary team improvises the roles before playing.
3. Class rules-Etwinning community: students with the teacher sat in a friends’ circle- we called our group: “Friends’ group”- and discussed what norms exist in their families, in the sports clubs, and generally in every social group they belong to and act, in order to there is harmony, balance and a climate of mental freedom, trust and security. After that, the students wrote on board the norms of the class, etwinning community and then all the members signed the “group contract”. Day by day all the students started to discuss what concerns them or puts them in a difficult position.  

4. Artistic nickname: Each student acquired his/her artistic nickname and used it during the school year. The students and the teacher sat in a large circle. Then one child took its chair and sat in the center of the circle and closed its eyes. Then the members of the friends’ circle suggested different artistic nicknames – positively always – that fit to his/her personality. The kid sitting in the center chose the one he/she liked best. Artistic nicknames can be names of heroines of books or movies or the students make them choosing pairs of words like “Bright Star”.
5. Recognizing and Managing My Feelings: The teacher of the class helped students to express and manage their emotions, to solve problems and conflicts with dialogue, and to understand the position and perspective of others. Also, the main goal of the activities was to understand, respect and accept the different personalities of each individual and the different dynamics of each within the group. All these activities led to the prevention of conflicts and negative situations among members of the Friends’ group. Initially, we watched several short films -youtube- … and we discussed in Friends’ group about the heroes’ feelings, then we divided them into positive feelings-joy, excitement … – and negative one-anger, jealousy, dislike … -, into simple-joy, love, fear … – and in a more complex – gratitude, euphoria, frustration … -, we talked about the qualities of emotions – tension, quality and duration – and each member of the team choose an experience and narrated it to the others.Then the coordinator-teacher- asked several questions such as: how do you feel when someone talks to you sharply? How do you feel when someone offends you?

– a classmate, a teacher … – How do you react when you lose or you win a game? etc. Then the students played many role-playing games and experienced different emotions, positive and negative. During the games, they tried to come into the position-empathy- of the victim or the leader or the child who no one chooses him/her as a playmate in a game e.t.c. The purpose of all actions besides being able to recognize and manage their emotions was to understand that it is natural to feel anger, fear, jealousy…, but what matters is the students are able to recognize and manage them.

P.A.1.School Presentation

The students and the teacher will decide how they present their school- school name, region, classes, schoolyards, the parts of the school,  students, decoration, activities, games, details about the region… We can use videopad, Vimeo or another tool(If you know another free tool you can recommend it)…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-uPuY4TNrI&t=1009s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9mWMMdOS1c&feature=emb_logo

Our town and school

Our country, town and school by Ola, Martyna and Jakub

Our country, town and school by Lena, Filip and Kacper

Our country, town and school by Amelia, Aida, Lena and Filip

Our country, town and school by Joanna, Artur, Piotr and Adrian

P.A.2. The poem “I, you and we”

a.Brainstorming -tool “WordArt”

The second activity is to ask our students: a) what is “The Writer” and “What does he/she use? (imagination, adjectives, fine words, details, make words pictures, beautiful words, his senses, simulations, emotions, personal experiences,…)We can use the technique “brainstorming” and we write their answers using the free tool “WordArt”. 

b.Development of writing techniques ( How you can develop “writing techniques”)

It’s time to develop the writers’ techniques or the writers’ secrets.

The students can work in groups:

It’s time to develop the writers’ techniques or the writers’ secrets.

1.Personification:

One of the techniques of creative writing is α personification, that is, when inanimate objects behave like human beings, for example, Stars have decided to speak on the moon.

Practice

a) Give a “voice” to the plastic bottle that α man flies into the sea. What would it say if it had a voice?

b) Give voice to the forest, which is in danger, because some people bake their steaks in the forest.

c) Give a voice to the stars, which cannot breathe, because of the pollution and they are directed at humans.

2.Symbolism

Symbolism is a trend that emerged in France at the end of the 19th century and mainly influenced poetry. Symbolists place particular emphasis on the inner world of people. The objects-things of the outside world and the elements of nature are used as symbols to convey emotions and moods. For example, peace is symbolized by the dove, love with the red rose, etc.

Practice

How would you symbolize:

the peace:

your home:

the tranquility:

the love:

the anger:

the fear:

your room:

your best friend:

your mam:

3.Simile

Often in our daily communication – spoken – but also in written speech – texts, poems, fairy tales, short stories – we use the simulation e.g. Panagiotis is tall like a cypress.

With simulations, we associate two things – persons or animals – that have the same property. b.c. John is foxy like a fox. Many times the poets use the “hidden simulation”, they remove the word “like” and they write only the two things that are connected e.g. My mother white jasmine floods my soul with the perfume of purity.

Practice

You can make simulations with the pairs of the following sentences:

George is hungry. The wolf is hungry

Her skin is soft. The velvet is soft.

Helen’s cheeks are red. The poppy is red.

Peter swims. Dolphin swims.

Antonia runs fast. The wind runs fast.

Christina’s face is round. The full moon is round.

John walks slowly. The turtle walks.

4. Adjectives

Practice

Poets/writers use many adjectives. Work with your team members (4 members)  and describe  with adjectives-only adjectives-  the feelings: “anger”, “fear” and “love”:

Anger:

Fear:

Love:

5. The five (5) Senses

Homer, one of the most important ancient Greek poets, wrote two great poems: the Iliad and the Odyssey, which many people who live in different countries learn the ancient Greek language and they read his poems. He discovered the technique: “the five senses”  and described places. William Shakespeare and many other writers and poets used the same technique. We can use the same technique to speak about our feelings or to talk about a positive or negative experience for example My fear

a)vision

He suddenly appears there I am not expecting him. He is tall, dark and witty. He stretches out his hands to me and I can’t do anything. I just sit motionless in the middle of the room and wait for him to disappear, but he stays there. I tremble but it is not cold, I sweat but it does not heat … What is happening to me; (We create images for the reader or the listener trying to feel my feeling.)

b)audition

I listened to his footsteps on the tile floor

c)Smell

The fear was slowly coming towards me and scattering around the scent of lightning.

d)Touch

My mother said to me to swim into the beautiful water of the swimming pool, but I couldn’t. The fear had grabbed me from my feet. I couldn’t swim. I couldn’t do anything.

e)Taste

He was very close to me. I had a bitter taste in my mouth as if I had eaten an artichoke.

6.Hyperbole

The writers many times use the hyperbole, for example, “He looks like a giant with a huge nose and very big ears.

7.Repetition for emphasis

The poets/writers use repetition very often use emphasis for example, He walks slowly slowly…

Generally, when the poets write a poem they don’t use many verbs, but they use  adjectives and nouns.

You can do practice to the literary techniques and after that, you can read in your class

http://linoit.com/users/geoklo2/canvases/The%20Home%20of%20Emotions

After that we will write a group small story

https://docs.google.com/document/d/15YyA5RdEGq1HZLQcWOhl9arayNY0hx0hE1K6JVGCR6o/edit

c. The students presented their selves: their character, positive and negative characteristics, their dreams, feelings,  activities, friends, family, school life, how they want to be the world writing a poem. Τhe last turn is written by both students together and ending their poems with a wish or saying different thoughts about the world.

Writing a poem: “I and You, We”.

https://padlet.com/geoklo/p6j0s8yg7wmx

d.Class council

We can read our poems in class-team

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=P_ncFRCw9HY&feature=emb_logo

P.B. Can we recognize and control our emotions? Art-Paintings

a)It’s time to play with our feelings. Do you recognize them? Can you control them or not? How do you react when you feel happy, sad, mad…

Let’s start

https://www.ourboox.com/books/can-you-recognize-and-control-your-emotions/

b)With this game, we will travel to the stars with our imagination Let’s play

The children work in teams (Poland with Greece, Greece with Spain, Spain with Poland). The first partner writes lines with “If” and the second one writes lines with “Would”.But the secret of this poem is that: the partners don’t know what the other writes.

At the end, we join one “If” with one “Would”. Finally, we will have three poems: “If…would” They can write as many lines as they want. And the poem is ready. Read  Adonia’s and Marina’s poem : 

If…… Would

If suddenly with a magic way they abandoned you in a huge bowl of colored and magical water

I would wear the galaxy dress and I would dance with the stars

If endless numbers were in your head

I would share to all the kid candy of good fortune

If you were flying high up to the clouds and you were continuing your journey into the vast universe

I would take the beautiful thoughts of the whole world and transform them into gold dust

If your personality turned upside down

I would give the animals a voice for a day

If you had a wardrobe of endless fancy clothes

I would make a fantastic path that would lead to all the planets

If five huge balloons landed on the roof of your house

I would make a machine to regulate people’s negative emotions

If there was no gravity on earth

I would create the park of poetic emotions

If suddenly a time machine appeared in front of you

I would build a school under the water.

If you were the only creature on earth

I would put the whole planetary system into human thinking.

If you could paint the earth

I would create a group of stars that would give joy and hide the sadness of the planet Earth.

c.Technique: “Details”

http://linoit.com/users/geoklo2/canvases/Technique%3A%20Details

The young artists had the opportunity to learn the technique “Details”, to analyse the Norman Rockweel’ s painting and after that they filled a white empty paper with emotions, ideas, experiences, knowledges…

d.The book of our paintings

Students will paint something or someone between two things or people, like Ruby. Ruby went to the school with two policemen. She couldn’t go alone or with her parents because she was the first black girl who went to the same school with white children

https://www.ourboox.com/books/something-or-someone-between-two-things-or-two-persons/

e.A painting tells us its story

In this activity, we work in groups (5 students in each group) and we will write a short story. Choose one of the photos that you will see in the book Give voice to the people or things, give an artistic name to your hero or heroes and make a short story with much fantasy and plot. Don’t forget the techniques of creative writing. Tell everything with many pictures- make your words pictures- and use many adjectives,

https://www.ourboox.com/books/can-you-recognize-and-control-your-emotions/

f.The students wrote short stories (group-story)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cY6rC5qIn3VMqZzkgNhoepg32J9-DX_hTZALHkfxPEo/edit

g. The young writers interview an author/ poet

h. Questionnaire-game

This is a questionnaire game. The students answer to the questions and after that, we talk about all these. It is very important our students understand that we have to follow their rules of the class, to respect and accept the others. All the people are different but equal.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScyO0jnzCCKd8TGqbyeqhhSxlXrfyJtuEcx7guCZxyZ7nfCoQ/viewform

i. How do you imagine your future dreaming world

We will analyze paintings and photos, we will talk about emotions, about styles of great painters, about the time they lived and after that we will create our paintings.

https://www.ourboox.com/books/how-do-you-want-your-world-to-be/

https://www.ourboox.com/books/portrait-st3-54o-primary-school/

j.A handmade  book of feelings: we will learn how we can make small books and fill them with positive emotions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zdjxZjx9bc&feature=emb_logo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzEaHU9h0vM&feature=emb_logo

P.C. What is “Bullying”

https://el.padlet.com/geoklo/nkpmb311z0nb

We will watch videos and we will speak about “bullying”: What is bullying? Why is there? Who is the perpetrator? Who is the victim? Can we live without bullying? What skills do we need to develop to handle difficult situations? Can we manage our emotions? What values must there be in order not to have  bullying, racism ..

a. Poem: “Anger”. We will write a poem. We will follow a type of poem: “Ouestions-answers”

Anger

O! Foxy Anger!

Why are you like a wild sea which is trying

to drown the beauty of my soul?

Why do you try like a thunderbolt to heart me and you scatter  sparkles of wild, purple lava like a volcano?

Why are you grumpy, cowardly and vicious?

O! Child!

What  you don’t understand! This is my job!

I look like strings of guitar which scattering around it wild, dark notes and like a whirlwind I wrap your cheerful emotions. I am like the patchwork of gray and lightning thunderbolts that falls like a waterfall in your mind and heart ..

O! Anger!

1,2,3… .. I found the solution!

I will count to ten until I transform your cascade of thunderbolts into serenity, tranquility and understanding. I’ll hold on the sweet moments and I’ll drive away your dark clouds.

I will become a happy child and anger will go away like lightning.

Playing with joy I will drive you out in the mind

b. We built the most beautiful room full of love

How we can build a room full of love

The students make a circle. The children are standing upright. Each student tries to make a picture of love and to put it inside the room for example “a family is sitting in front of the fireplace and are playing board games, another one can put a red heart-shaped balloon… The first one opens the door, he goes inside the room and he describes the picture of love which he puts inside the room. The next one says what the previous one put inside the room and after that, he says what picture put in the room. The last student says all the previous and after that, he says what picture of love put inside the room.

c. A technique of creative writing: “Adjectives”

The students will learn many adjectives that they can use them in writing making the poem “Emotion greeting”.  They will choose 60 adjectives from the list and they describe the emotion which they chose (love, hate, happiness, anger…) After that, they will write the poem “Emotion Greeting” following the following style of the poem.  In our poem, we use bold words. The students will work in groups.

An example

Hate 

 Hate, fatal, perhaps and vain, unrelenting (3 adjectives)

Hate pure precious constant unbreakable strong  hot wild

compact endless perpetual infinite whole gullible inexplicable

integer endlessly persistent indigestible rogue irresponsible

indivisible immovable dense indifferent impermeable .. (25 adjectives)

Hate intermittent inaccessible unrecognizable unknown complex unexplained uncertain  certain unconscious unexpected deep hate coward frosted foxy monstrous hate realist and rough. (18 adjectives)

Lush rich abundance the hate sudden strong fake

proud brilliant  only  hate grey cosmic

young glorified black different  hate (14 adjectives)

d. Our newspaper: “What is bullying?”

The students in Greece and the students in Poland watched many videos about bullying, they talked about it, they wrote the poem “anger”, they made a different room “The room of love”, they wrote the poem “Emotion Greeting” and after all of these they will write a newspaper about bullying.

e. Game: “My secret friend”: This game is different and very important for all of us. Play with your classmates this game and make a different class, a class full of love, empathy, harmony, friendship… Upload photos or a video with your “secret friend”

https://www.ourboox.com/books/my-secret-friend/

P.D. Conclusion of the project

a. My diary: “COVID 19”

COVID 19  suddenly appeared in our lives. So we wrote in our diary what changes it made in our lives with imagination, humor and creative writing techniques.

b. We will write our song: “The Children’s World”

c. A File is travelling around the world: Greece, Poland and Spain

We will paint our painting and we will send it to our partners in Poland and Spain.

c. The table of our project: “The Young Writers”

We will present our activities using the free online tool padlet

d. We will make our blog: ‘The Young Writers”

https://thebestyoungwriters.blogspot.com/

e. Project evaluation: a questionnaire