Creative Writing Idea for Sentences

Teaching the parts of a sentence or types of sentences doesn’t have to be boring! Here’s a hands-on creative writing idea for sentences that has students use words from magazines to practice both skills.

Materials

  • old magazines
  • scissors
  • stick glue
  • crayons or colored pencils
  • writing template

Directions

The general directions for the activity are the same: students use words and/or phrases cut out of magazines to create sentences. However, this will look differently depending on the reading and writing abilities of the students.

Beginning and Intermediate Readers and Writers

  • Cut out phrases that can be put together to make sentences or that can be combined with a few single words to make a complete thought.
  • Have students use the words or phrases to create sentences. They glue the words onto the template, write the complete sentence and then illustrate it.
  • You might provide them with a checklist like the one below to guide them as they write.

You might even specify what type of sentence you want your students to create with the words they cut out. This is a fun way for students to practice writing different types of sentences.

Advanced Readers and Writers

Your more advanced readers and writers might be able to look through the magazines and find the words themselves.  They might use a mixture of phrases and single words, or combine single words to make a complete sentence.  I suggest having them look through the magazine for words that stand out to them and then use one of those words to build their sentence. In the example below, the phrase “key unlocks” was the starting point for creating the rest of the sentence.

How to Use This Activity

Individual or small group learning

This activity works well with individual students or small groups.  It’s great to use with students who need or enjoy hands-on activities. It’s also a good option to use with students who need writing assistance. Using words from a magazine provides them with support similar to having a word bank or writing prompt to start writing. They don’t have to completely come up with everything on their own; they just take the phrases or words and arrange them into a sentence.

Writing center activity

Have a selection of words and phrases cut out and placed in your writing center for students to choose from to make their sentences.  You might have parent volunteers cut out the words and phrases for you in advance. 

Homework activity

If you know your students have access to newspapers or magazines at home, this is a fun activity to send home to complete individually or with help. Parents or family members may help them look for the words or phrases to cut out and use.

Download HERE for FREE

Are you interested in trying this creative writing idea for sentences with your students? Click on the link above to download the writing templates, types of sentences cards and two different sentence checklists for FREE! I printed the checklist and sentence cards on colored paper. Laminate them for durability.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *