TITLE:  Free-Writing Exercise

AUTHOR:  Sandy Bahan

GRADE LEVEL:  7-12

MATERIALS/RESOURCES:  pencil/pen, paper

ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES:

Arrange students in groups of 5.

Provide each student in the group with a sheet of paper. On the paper,

centered, will be a single statement or question.

For Example - WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A CITIZEN?

Ask the students to write on the paper a response to that statement, 

in which they discuss their beliefs, feelings, attitudes.  Allow 5 

minutes of writing time.

At the end of five minutes, have them stop writing and pass their 

paper to the person in the group to their left and then begin writing 

again. This time the writer may respond either to the original statement

or to what the first person wrote.  Allow 4-5 minutes for writing.

Repeat the exchange/writing process until each person in the group 

has had an opportunity to respond on everyone else's paper. Shorten 

the writing time with each pass.  On the fifth pass the paper should 

return to its original writer. 

Debrief, discussing what was written, their experience, if the focus 

changed as they responded to what was written.