This assignment is written for Iqbal, a novel about child labor, but it can be used in correlation with anything. I have used it with The Sunflower, Samurai's Garden, The Great Gatsby, and Emma.
Kids simply find a passage that they like, cut out the words from that passage, and they rearrange them into a "found poem." Discussions and lessons about tone and mood can be taught in tandem with this small, creative lesson.
This four assignment unit on creative writing allows students to engage in the writing process using something that will really get their creative juices flowing! Using a different food/drink item for each assessment, and a unique form of creative expression (marketing slogan, thesis statement about pb&j, recipe from a family member, story of flavor origin, birthplace, creation, journey to the mouth, food critic reviews, etc.), students are limited by their own imagination. This assignment is
Use this model to help your students enhance their creative writing. This is based in the notion of "showing" your ideas, rather than simply "telling" your reader what happened.