INFORMATION

ESOL Student Level: High Beginner+

Description: Structured poem using contrastive themes/topics/ideas as a basis. Incorporates oral, analytical thinking, reading and writing skills. Works well as a stand-alone exercise or in conjunction with a class event, activity, topic or related reading.

Purpose: This activity produces an artistic swirl of words that is read in two directions. It is useful for developing writing fluency and can serve as a purposeful grammar focus. Twists can be all in one time/verb tense, or can use two contrastive verb times/tenses. E.g. past and present, past and future, present and future, etc.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preparation: The teacher can set the framework for writing on a given pair of topics / themes, or students can choose them freely. In the case of free choice, it may help for students to "brainstorm" possible pairs of opposites in groups of 2-3, and then write them for everyone to see.
   
   Examples of opposing pairs:
   day - night
   past fears - future hopes
   past successes - future dreams
   racism - tolerance
   school - vacation
   summer - winter
   Thailand - USA
   war - peace
   wilderness - civilization
   women - men
   
   
2. Timed Free-Writes: Students do two separate timed free-writes. Keep them short, allowing about 5-10 minutes each. No dictionaries! Spelling and grammar accuracy don't count here. This is a free association, stream-of- consciousness, blur-of-writing. Tell students to write as fast and as much as possible. The writing can be very "sloppy". (If students have never done free association timed writings before, you may want to demonstrate and/or do a practice session first on a separate day.)
   
   
3. Expanded Writing: Now students go back over their two free-writes, and circle 5 key words for each one. Using a thesaurus, dictionary, more free association, have them write as many short descriptors as they can for each of the 10 key words.
   
   
4. When all the writing is finished, have students clean up their spelling. This saves time and frustration when they are composing the actual twist.
   
   
5. The Twist - Part A: At this point you need to stipulate whether students will write complete sentences with punctuation, you will make punctuation optional, or students will write with no punctuation stream-of-consciousness style. Starting at the center of the page, students write a running commentary of various points from free-write #1 only. As they write, they turn their sheet of paper around and around, spiraling their prose outward until the paper is filled or the first half of their writing is finished. Remind them to leave plenty of space between the rings of the lines so they can easily "wind" the second writing back inside.
   
   
6. The Twist - Part B: Now, starting at the outside of the circle, students write a running commentary of various points from free-write #2. As they write, they turn their sheet of paper around and around in the opposite direction (working backwards), spiraling their prose inward until the spaces are filled and the second circle reaches the center point. Using a contrastive color pen/cil makes a very nice effect. It will also be easier to read if writers leave "white space" on all sides of the lines.
   
   
7. The finale: twist and shout!
   Or, read with an "inside voice", if you prefer.

• Students treat the two opposing topics as extremes of one continuum. They pick a neutral word that somehow represents the "middle" of the continuum (e.g. night ---> dawn <--- day). The neutral word is placed at the center of the spiral where the two topics meet.
  
  
• Reinforce/back the poems with heavier paper, attach thread/fine string to the center back and hang the poems upside-down from the ceiling. Read the swirls by standing underneath them and twirling the paper around in the two directions.
  
  
• Experiment with other kinds of swirls. Write a long top-to-bottom helix. Use a box or pyramid form.
  
  
• Provide an outline of a Yin and Yang. Students write the opposing trains of thoughts in circular patterns that fill up the two opposing Yin and Yang shapes.
  
  
• Make "webs"! The free-write #1 prose runs in straight lines center-to-periphery, and the free-write #2 lines loop continuously around the supporting straight lines. More advanced writers can intersect with same letters. Position related, one-word "flies" at random points on the web.
  
  "Fly" ideas:
  • question words (Why?, Who?!, So what?, Huh?...)
  • non-vulgar expletives (WOW!, UGH!, Bleah!, Alright!, Cool!, ...)
  • "sparkle" words (Flash!, Attention!, Smile!, ...)
  • emoters (sigh, frown, shrug, ...)
  • little pictures or cut outs from magazines
  
  
  
• Students write shorter, mini-swirls in the shape of clouds (dreams, wishes?), hurricanes (anger, turmoil, problems/solutions?), other shapes? This makes a good class mural or bulletin board project where everyone is writing on the same theme.