3 Fun Writing Activities to Develop Writing Skills

Assessmenttest prep strategiesspeakingoral languageactivitieswriting

May 29

Writing can feel overwhelming for multilingual learners. Imagine trying to organize your thoughts, spell unfamiliar words, and write complete sentences all while learning a new language at the same time. For many MLs, writing can feel intimidating and stressful. But with the right activities, writing practice can become engaging, meaningful, and even fun!

Here are 3 writing activities you can use in your classroom to help your MLs build confidence, strengthen their writing skills, and feel more successful as writers in fun ways.

Short Film Lesson

Do a sequencing lesson with your newcomer groups or an elaboration lesson with your higher-level groups using a short film from YouTube. Search “short films” on YouTube and choose one your students might enjoy. Don’t forget to check out the book “Academic Conversations” by Jeff Zwiers to learn more about elaboration.

Below are links to some of my favorite short films:

Have students use sentence stems and sequencing words to retell the story. You can provide a word bank ahead of time, or create one together while watching the short film by pausing to discuss what students see and what has happened so far.

For higher-level students, have them elaborate by adding more details to their retelling. Create an anchor chart showing ways they can elaborate by asking themselves: Who?, What?, Why?, Where?, and When?

You can also teach the “because, but, so” strategy to help students expand their writing.

Resources:

Sequencing organizers levels 1-2

Sequencing organizers levels 2-3

My Favorites

Students write about their favorite things and then share with the class or a partner afterward. I usually use this activity with newcomers.

Organizer

Animal project

Students practice researching, paraphrasing, and citing sources while completing a fun project about their favorite animal. Check out the links below to see how my students completed this project in the past.

Group 1, Group 2, and Listen to the “5 Minute ELD” episode about this project.