Giving Compass' Take:

• In this EdSurge post, a North Carolina-based English teacher shares methods on sparking creativity from reluctant students: small, thoughtful assignments known as "micro-writing."

• Whether it's six-word stories or lists, these exercises might be useful to anybody involved in youth development, especially when it comes to helping kids from different backgrounds express themselves.

• Here are more ways we can encourage students to care about writing.

Building a classroom community in which all students feel valued and respected, and creating a learning space where everyone feels safe openly sharing their stories will take a lot of work. We need low-stakes, shareable writing assignments to break the ice, so I use micro-writing exercises as often as possible ...

No matter the medium or sharing strategy, it’s essential that micro-writing assignments are quick, focused on improvement (not mastery) and easy to celebrate. Three of my favorites are:

  • Six-Word Compositions: There’s something magical about about telling a story in six words. It’s enough to ensure students say something meaningful, yet short enough that everyone can do it in a few minutes.
  • 3-2-1s: Micro-writing doesn’t have to focus on sentences and paragraphs. Lists are great tools to help students summarize, analyze and evaluate information on the fly.
  • Sentence Starters: Sometimes finishing someone else’s sentence is easier than starting your own. Providing a sentence starter that students can end with their own words can jumpstart reluctant writers.

Read the full article about the power of micro-writing by Bryan Christopher at EdSurge.