Activity Library

Writing Activities

24 ready-to-use classroom activities with teacher instructions and student handouts.

Showing all 24 activities
Purpose 1.1

The Roadmap

Students create a personalised roadmap of achievable goals for their writing project, taking ownership of the process by breaking it down in...

20–30 minutes Individual + class sharing
Purpose 1.2

Think Tank

Students consider a topic from multiple personal perspectives, like a think tank ruminating on the issue of the day. The goal is for student...

25–35 minutes Individual + peer review
Purpose 1.3

Write for the Right Crowd

Students move beyond generalising their audience towards specifically targeting who they will write to. Once they have reduced their audienc...

20–30 minutes Individual + teacher modelling
Purpose 1.4

Audience Aspects

Students work in small groups to write a persuasive guide to their hometown, focusing on structuring and sequencing writing for a specific a...

40–50 minutes Small groups
Exploration 2.1

Narrative and Reflective – Resonance

Students explore a narrative or reflective mentor text by identifying words and phrases that resonate with them, building their understandin...

25–35 minutes Individual + class discussion
Exploration 2.2

Informative and Persuasive – Cause and Effect

Students explore informative and persuasive mentor texts by mapping the cause-and-effect relationships within them, understanding how argume...

25–35 minutes Individual + class discussion
Exploration 2.3

Informative and Argumentative – Strong vs Weak

Students compare strong and weak examples of writing to identify what makes a piece effective. Teachers model and self-edit as they demonstr...

25–35 minutes Individual + class discussion
Exploration 2.4

Persuasive – Exploring Editorials

Students explore editorial writing by analysing real newspaper editorials, identifying the techniques used to persuade and the structural co...

30–40 minutes Individual + small groups/class
Ideas 3.1

Freewriting Frenzy

Students engage in timed bursts of freewriting where the only rule is to keep the pen moving. This removes the pressure of perfection and en...

15–25 minutes Individual
Ideas 3.2

The Writing Rush

A rapid-fire drafting exercise where students write multiple short pieces in quick succession, building momentum and generating a volume of ...

20–30 minutes Individual
Ideas 3.3

Idea Incubator

Students use a structured process to develop and refine their ideas over time, allowing ideas to "incubate" and grow through reflection, res...

30–40 minutes (can span multiple lessons) Individual
Ideas 3.4

The First Draft – Write it How You Say it

Students create a first draft by writing in their natural speaking voice, removing the barrier between thinking and writing. The focus is on...

30–40 minutes Individual + teacher conferencing
Skills 4.1

Word Level – Error Hunt

Students develop word-level editing skills by hunting for errors in a provided text. This builds their eye for detail and their understandin...

20–30 minutes Individual
Skills 4.2

Text Level – Voice Coach

Students explore the concept of "voice" in writing by analysing how different authors create distinct voices through language choices, sente...

25–35 minutes Individual + class discussion
Skills 4.3

Paragraph Level – This Paragraph is About...

Students develop paragraph-level skills by reducing each paragraph to a single statement: "This paragraph is about...". This helps identify ...

20–30 minutes Individual
Skills 4.4

Text Level – Reflection

Students reflect on their writing at the text level by considering how well the overall piece meets its purpose, engages its audience, and u...

20–30 minutes Individual or paired
Collaboration 5.1

Writer’s Workshop (with Post-its)

Students participate in structured peer feedback using Post-it notes. Each group member reads and provides written feedback on specific aspe...

30–40 minutes Small groups (3–4)
Collaboration 5.2

Collaborative Conversations

Students engage in structured conversations about their writing with a partner, using conversation protocols to ensure productive and focuse...

25–35 minutes Pairs
Collaboration 5.3

Joint Venture

Students work in pairs where one takes the role of "Helper" and the other is the "Writer". The Helper assists the Writer by asking probing q...

25–35 minutes Pairs (Helper + Writer)
Collaboration 5.4

"Hello, Computer"

Students use AI writing tools as a sounding board for their ideas, learning to critically evaluate AI-generated suggestions and maintain the...

25–35 minutes Individual
Publication 6.1

Class Anthology

Students compile their best writing into a class anthology, experiencing the full publication process from selection and editing to design a...

Multiple lessons Whole class + small groups
Publication 6.2

Digital Publishing House

Students publish their writing digitally using blogs, websites, or self-publishing platforms, learning about digital publication formats and...

Multiple lessons Whole class or individual
Publication 6.3

Joint Venture (Writing Competitions)

Students submit their writing to competitions, experiencing the process of writing for an external audience with specific entry requirements...

Varies (ongoing) Individual or collaborative
Publication 6.4

Literary Journal

Students compile a literary journal of analytical essays focused on a particular theme or topic. Future students can use these as mentor tex...

Multiple lessons Class/year level