Do a writing warm-up with One Two Fiver
January 22, 2009
Do your students struggle with writer’s block? Do they need a little nudge to get going on their journal entries? Like in many activities, many writers don’t turn out their best work the moment their pen hits the paper. It takes a few words to warm up. Some clever scrivener realized this, and created a quick tool that’s the equivalent of literary jumping jacks. One Two Fiver is a writing exercise that lets writers get a few practice words in so they’ll be ready for their actual writing work.
One Two Fiver works like this. Write a single word. Skip down a line, then write a second. Next line, five words, then 10, then 20, 50, 100, and so on. The application is online, but you can easily reproduce this exercise in class with just a pen and paper. Your students can make each line its own complete thought, or string them together, whatever works best for them. Like any good writing exercise, the constraints can provoke a lot of creativity. Give One Two Fiver a try in your class and let your students catch the fiver. I mean, the fever. Whatever. -BILL FERRIS
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