Creative Ideas
Social Emotional Creative Literary Project
A fabulous language arts exercise created and led by Kori Johnson, from Turning the Page, with Kramer Middle School students.
CLICK to see Turning the Page tweet about the exercise.
1. Choose a scene from the book and think about how the character is feeling. The scene we chose was when Corinna confronts Joci about the comment she made about her mom (pp. 102-104). The students said that in that moment Corinna was feeling disappointed, betrayed, alone, etc.
2. Think about a time when you felt the same way at the character is feeling in the scene. Free write about that moment for 5 minutes. We gave the students prompts – “A time when I felt betrayed/disappointed was,” “A time when I worked through a problem with a friend was,” “A time when I really missed someone was…”
3. After you finish your free write, read over what you wrote and circle any important words or phrases. Then choose the one word or phrase that sticks out to you, the one that really captures how you felt in that moment.
4. Write that word or phrase on a blank piece of paper. Below that word, brainstorm a list of details (words and images) describing the moment you are writing about. Think about it like you’re describing a scene. We gave students some ideas to consider:
- What were you wearing?
- What was the weather like? What season was it?
Art and Story Telling
7th graders at Cinnaminson Middle School made personal legend quilts after reading the novel IF ONLY, in which the protagonist makes a memory quilt.
Pop Art Project Linking Independent Reading and Visual Art
Shared by Juliet Webb, 6th grader in NY
Collage about the book
Made by Maddie Heston
