Creative Writing for Cat-Lovers: Descriptive Writing Skills (Cats in Boxes)

Why do cats love small spaces? And, what goes through their minds when they play in boxes? In this creative writing class, students get to select the point of view (first person cat's perspective OR third person observer's perspective) to write from for their final CATS IN BOXES writing activity. 

This small group class pairs students' interest in cats with developing creative writing skills. This inclusive class is for anyone who loves cats. I have combined my nearly 20 years of teaching experience in a classroom with my passion for creative writing and cats to design this engaging class.

This class aims to:
-Provide a place for students to talk about cats and be social
-Develop students' creative writing skills and foster a love for writing
-Teach students about different types of literary devices (figurative language) to create strong writing
-Improve students' written expression (specifically work on clarity of expression)
-Encourage students to think carefully about word choice 
-Allow students to practice handwriting during a fun timed challenge (Note: students can type the final writing activity if they would like)

The agenda for the class is:

1. Greetings and introductions.
2. Find the Best Descriptors Activity: For this activity students will work together to create a list of descriptive words to describe an object and then decide what they like best. 
3. The Handwritten Description Challenge: For this activity, students will use the same object from the first activity to write about. A countdown clock will be set and then students will write a description of the object that will attempt to describe it to someone who doesn't know anything about it. 
4. Figurative Language Mini-Lesson: Students will learn about imagery and onomatopoeia to then include in the final writing exercise. 
5. Writing Time: Students will be given an image to describe as a final exercise. Students will select what point of view and tense to write from and plan their ideas. Finally, students will write a short creative piece based the the image thinking about using strong descriptive words and figurative language.
6. Share writing (if time and students would like to share)

I am a very positive and encouraging teacher, and I use a variety of methods that appeal to both visual and linguistic learners. This class will use many approaches for learning including discussion, fun activities, visuals, slides, and audio clips. Students will receive lots of verbal feedback, and there are many opportunities for students to participate throughout the class.