Short Lesson Ideas
Below is a list of brief, in-class activities/prompts that can illustrate some of our department’s defined writing abilities. The objective is to pick prompts that demonstrate the writing abilities relevant for the writing assignments you use in your particular class. You may need to first activate relevant knowledge/context. Be sure to explain the goal of the activity and give time limits.
| Activity | Ability |
| Write a caption for this figure. |
Ability 1: Describe background; Ability 9: Visual elements |
| Choose a position on ______ and list 3 pieces of evidence for it. | Ability 2: Audience; Ability 6: Logical connections |
| What thesis (argument) would ___, ____, and ___ support? | Ability 3: Substantiation; Ability 6: Logical connections |
| What do these 3 things (ideas/people/brain systems) have in common? | Ability 4: Synthesize |
| Create a bumper sticker summarizing yesterday's lecture. | Ability 4: Synthesize |
| What words, phrases, and images do you associate with the word ______. | Ability 4: Synthesize |
| Create a list of thesis statements that might belong to a paper about _____. | Ability 5: Establish thesis |
| Create a list of research questions on topic ______ (at end of unit). | Ability 5: Establish thesis/scope |
| Present table of data and ask students to formulate a thesis statement (what story do these data tell)? | Ability 5: Establish thesis |
| What does _____ have to do with ____? | Ability 6: Logical connections |
| Present a concept map and get students to label connecting lines. | Ability 6: Logical connections |
| Present a rambling topic sentence and inductively get revisions. | Ability 5: Establish Thesis |
| Present an over-complicated sentence and ask for distillation. | Ability 7: Avoid Distraction |