A Martian Sends a Postcard Home: Imaginative, Creative, Original Writing

Are you tired of reading student prose that fails to capture the imagination? Have you had enough of the same worn-out similes and metaphors that do nothing to enliven the mind? This lesson focuses on encouraging students to write fresh and original descriptions that will stoke readers’ curiosity and capture their imagination. Make sure you share this goal with your learners!

From a reading of this popular poem by Craig Raine, students use his striking and unusual descriptions to create their own well-crafted paragraphs.

This lesson was originally created to prepare students for the imaginative / creative writing section of the IGCSE exam, but it can be used to inspire writing that jumps off the page at any level.

I have personally used this in KS3 and KS4 with great results every time. As students submit their writing after this lesson, I actually look forward to seeing how shifting their perspective allows them to create truly different, engaging writing.

The resource includes:
-full teaching notes
-a copy of the poem (for classroom use only)
-an accompanying set of slides (in PDF form)
-game instructions and materials to get students thinking out of the box (a mental 'warm up' for writing)
-5 examples of original, imaginative writing inspired by this lesson (from my students)
-my ongoing support!

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Keywords: poetry, poem, martian, postcard, lesson, printable, ppt, presentation, teaching notes, instructions, guidelines, creative, imaginative, writing, igcse, ks3, ks4, ks5, raine, mixed ability, SEN, ESL, EAL, photocopiable, printable

Image credit: Laura Faraci of The Noun Project