Finding Meaning in Simple Objects

One of the ways that I try to make my students' writing more interesting is by having them focus on normal objects, the things that surround us and that many times we do not pay attention to. It can be more challenging for them, but the end result is more satisfying. 

Objective: To improve students' writing by having them focus on normal objects in order to enhance their descriptive writing.

We begin the activity by reading a  New York Times article that deals with a writer who, in her travels, has accumulated many souvenirs that are significant to her.

Article

After we read the article, I divide the class into groups and ask them to annotate all the interesting sentences that they see


I followed this up with Pablo Neruda's  "Ode to my Socks"

Poem


We follow the same procedure that we did with the article

Assessment 

At this point, my students have a  pretty good idea of how good writers incorporate interesting details in their writing. I tell them that their job is to write a poem which deals with the normal experiences of their lives or the objects that they come in contact with on a daily basis. 


Before they write their poem, I model one for them.

Poem