Teaching creative writing....

According to Tompkins(1982), there are several reasons why teachers should do creative writing. One of the reasons is to make lessons to be more entertaining as well as to foster artistic expression among learners. Creative writing can also be taught to explore the functions and values of writing. Besides, creative writing promotes higher order thinking skills as well as stimulate imagination. On the other hand, it will make writing lessons interestingly alive. 

Teaching creative writing gives opportunities for learners to learn to write from a different perspective rather than a fixed and rigid style of writing proposed by most mainstream SPM writing references in the market. Creative writing can be an avenue for learners to search for their identity in written forms besides acquiring a vast amount of vocabulary if they are guided towards the right direction. 

Honestly, I am not a fan of the reference books sold at bookstores, which only provide samples after samples for students to memorize without actually giving them the guidance to improve their writing skills. As a teacher, I find 'the' guidance in the creative writing references which I searched extensively online (unfortunately we can't find many books on creative writing in Malaysia and most of the time it is only available online and guess what they are free) and more than often my classroom materials and ideas are adapted from these references. 

with the aforementioned compelling reasons, we can't just ignore creative writing as a part of teaching and learning at secondary level. As a teacher, I would like to make a difference in my lessons and one of the many differences that I have made is teaching creative writing. It may look difficult at first glance but without trying we may not even know the wonders that learners can do. Therefore, it is always important to give it a try. The materials given below may help teachers to create their own teaching materials to teach creative writing. 

blue sky thinking 
blue sky thinking answer guide
British Council Teaching Creative Writing 
The Routledge Creative Writing Book 
Creative Writing for Dummies 
Guidelines to Teach Creative Writing 
Creative Writing Tasks 
Lesson Plans to Teach Poetry 
Lesson Plans to Teach Poetry 2
Story Craft
Writing Creative Non - Fiction  

Endnotes

Excerpted from : Essex, C. (1997). Teaching Creative Writing in the Elementary School. ERIC Digest. ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading, English and Communication.