It started from sore feet.

No, it started from the pear.

And took some time to take a shape of socks.

The task is now in the photo taken in the classroom.

Students from group 1, Year 3 - thank you for your always present readiness for and willingness to take creative leaps 🙂💃🕺👍🥳.

Stories of Becoming

At first I thought I'd go after a slightly different title, Stories of Origin. But I found the one that I eventually used as a broader, more inclusive notion.

For this writing session, pick some element of nature or culture that invites you to see it better or know more about it. It can be a stick, a seed, a stone, some bark, some substance (honey, water, clay), etc. Or, a building, a shard of an ancient vessel, a mosaic, a painting, a dress, a mask.

Then go along one of the following lines in your writing:

a story of origin (could be a myth, a legend, a fairy tale)

a story it carries inside or on the surface

a process (coming into being, growing, maturing, fading, disappearing)

form

being discovered/ invented/ found/ stolen/ lost/ adapted/ ingrained into something else

stillness vs movement

darkness vs light

magnifying / making smaller

Or, let the piece talk about itself. Maybe it'll engage you in a conversation.

Bites of a blog entry for a good start :)

 

I

Choose one from the tasks below and write your first blog entry this school year. The instructions are given in Polish (as in the A-Level Exam).

The word limit: 100-150 

1. We wpisie na blogu

• wyraź nadzieję, że Twoi czytelnicy dobrze spędzili wakacje 

• opisz swoje wakacje wspominając o jednym ciekawym wydarzeniu

• zaproponuj konkurs na najbardziej niesamowitą relację z wakacji i podaj informację o przewidywanych nagrodach

• wspomnij, o czym zamierzasz napisać w kolejnym wpisie.

2. We wpisie na blogu dla pesymistów i "narzekaczy"

• wspomnij, że miałeś wyjątkowo nieudane wakacje

• opisz wydarzenie, które było nieprzyjemne dla Ciebie i/lub kogoś innego

• wyraź opinię, że nie warto nigdzie wyjeżdżać i podaj powody

• zaproponuj swoim czytelnikom udział w quizie na najgorsze wakacje podając trzy pytania, na które należy odpowiedzieć.

3. We wpisie na blogu szkolnym, którego jesteś redaktorem/redaktorką

• opisz sytuację z wakacji, w której przydała się Tobie wiedza lub umiejętność nabyta w szkole

• wyraź opinię na temat roli szkoły w przygotowaniu do dorosłego życia

• zaproponuj utworzenie w szkole nowego klubu, koła zainteresowań itp.

• poproś czytelników, aby podali swoje propozycje odnośnie stworzenia grupy, której działanie wspierałoby społeczność lokalną.

4. We wpisie na blogu

• opisz sytuację z wakacji, w której miałeś do czynienia ze zwierzęciem lub rośliną

• napisz, jaki to miało na Ciebie wpływ

• odnieś się do obecnej sytuacji ekologicznej na świecie

• poproś czytelników o przesłanie zdjęć przedstawiających przyrodę i zaproponuj trzy kategorie fotografii (np. drzewo, człowiek w przyrodzie, natura a sztuka).

5. We wpisie na blogu

• opisz niezwykłą dla Ciebie rzecz, którą przywiozłeś z wakacji

• poinformuj, jak ten przedmiot trafił do Ciebie

• napisz, co zamierzasz zrobić z tą rzeczą

• poproś czytelników, aby przesłali w komentarzu informacje o swoim ulubionym przedmiocie i o historii, która się za nim kryje.

II

When you've finished, answer these questions:

1. Why have you chosen this particular set and skipped the others? What was interesting, intriguing or important for you?

2. Which set seemed the least appealing / the most appaling one? Why?

3. Guess what I'll ask you to do next... :)

The Turning of the Wheel

Welcome to yet another school year of writing - alone and together. I'm so looking forward to our using the inner and outer sources of inspiration, to seeing us soar above and diving into the matter of things, to the outbursts, fluctuations and flows of creativity, to the lights and the shadows - for, taken together, they make the whole.

Great you're here.

See you again and again.

The feast of year-long projects

Feel free to do both tasks - in English :).

1. W OLPI LSP istnieje tradycja tworzenia projektów rocznych i ich prezentacja w obecności innych uczniów i nauczycieli. 

Dla jednych jest to cenne doświadczenie, dla innych źródło irytacji i powód wewnętrznego (a czasem również zewnętrznego) sprzeciwu.

Napisz rozprawkę typu za i przeciw, w której przedstawisz zalety i wady projektów rocznycb.

Limit słów: 150-250.

2. We wpisie na blog przedstaw swój projekt roczny. Opowiedz, jak go realizowałeś/aś w trakcie roku szk. Podziel się swoimi wrażeniami z prezentacji - zarówno własnej, jak i  innych osób. Który z prezentowanych projektów szczególnie zapadł Tobie w pamięć?

Limit słów: 99-188 🤔🙂.

Around Art

Ten wpis i towarzysząca mu praktyka dotyczy grup, które w ramach zajęć j. ang. odwiedziły wystawę prac dyplomowych uczniów LSP wyeksponowaną w auli szkoły. Oczywiście każda osoba ze społeczności szkolnej, która ma na to ochotę, może również wybrać dla siebie któryś temat.

1. Opisz wybrany obraz, rzeźbę, animację, szkic itp. 

2. Na podstawie wybranego obrazu (lub innej pracy plastycznej) napisz opowiadanie, baśń, list lub wiersz. Daj się zainspirować temu co i jak widzisz i odczuwasz. Niech to będzie praca twórcza, która może i samego Ciebie zaskoczy :).

3. Napisz list do organizatora wystawy prac dyplomowych uczniów LSP w budynku szkoły OLPI. Wyraź swoją opinię na temat wystawy, uwzględniając jedną rzecz, którą można było zrobić inaczej. Zapytaj, czy istnieje możliwość nabycia jednego z obrazów i jakie są warunki.

A recipe for an abstract notion

 

Choose something that is NOT a dish (e.g. a state of mind, sensation, emotion, an abstract thing, etc.) and create a recipe for it. Describe the process using " a recipe language". You may want to include the ingredients.

You have some ideas in the photo. Feel free to choose from outside the list.

Time for Fairytales

Fairytales... Who, as a kid, wasn't read to or told them at bedtime? Seems we're all familiar with them, and often have a favourite one that stays with us for longer.

Today feel invited to revisit the realm of fairytales. Pick one task: either tell the fairytale to your classmates, family members or to yourself, or write it down, this time in English.

Or, consider writing a totally new one. With students of class 3B, we considered the option. Then I was handed in two beautiful ones, one about time (a mixture of reality and the surreal), the other one about a bird, in a poem form. What a delight...

Whoever wants to explore the land of other reality and time, just go for it:).

Creative Reading

All the tasks are based on "There Will Come Soft Rains", a short story by Ray Bradbury, so please google the title and read or listen to the story after doing task 1. Then choose as many (or as few) tasks from the list as you wish.

1. What does the title suggest about the story? What can it be about? (Remember, there are no wrong answers).

2. Read the story. Take your time.

3. Write a synopsis of the story.

4. What had happened before the story starts? What happens next? Follow your imagination or logic, or both.

5. Look at a part of a story / choose a fragment. Write a set of questions to that part, or create an exam oriented task(s) to that.

6. Write your interpretation of the poem inside the story. What's its meaning in connection to the story plot?

7. What can you assume about the author on the basis of the text?

8. Find the info about the author and the short story. Make a (fun) fact file.

9. Let's say you can communicate with the author through time and space.

a) Write a letter to the author and tell him about the present state of the globe. Mention where and how he was right about predicting the future. Discuss the possible directions humanity can/must take and/or the future of life on the planet.

b) Write down an imaginary conversation with Bradbury. Ask him any questions you want. Let him ask you any questions he wants.

10. Tell the story from a different POV (point of view), e.g. one of the characters, the house, the appliances, some tree in the neighbourhood, etc.

Entertainment opportunities

1. What's your favourite song, TV programme/ channel, film/ series/ documentary or book? What is it about? Why do you like it? What kind of inspiration could it be for others?

2. Imagine you are a journalist or a reporter. Interview a person of your choice who is a singer/ band player/ actor or actress/ film director/ writer/ sportswoman or sportsman, etc. Ask 6 questions and imagine the person's answers. Include at least one unusual question.

3. Rewrite the interview using reported speech.

(I asked where she lived and she said she had lived in Oslo in the past but had moved to Cracow.)

This is a set of tasks for class 3A gr. 1 (Wednesday and Thursday).

Class 3B group 1 - tasks 2 and 3 (Thursday).

Thank you & see you soon 🙂👋.

The Skin Mask

Watch a short film about making a skin mask

(it's one of the topics in Close-up C1 student's book:

https://youtu.be/bgIXb_PqeKI?si=thl59ZglEXslsVbs).

Then (free)write on the notion of the skin mask. 

1. Go for a short story, a poem, a memory, a dream, a report from an event, a monologue, an overheard conversation, etc. 

2. Write a piece about the reasons people choose to have one made. 

3. Would you like to have your own face's mask created? Or you'd rather not? Respond to the question in your writing.

A Simple Christmas Group Game

Let's call it 'Round the X-mas Tree (well, the main picture of the blog entry may not suggest it - but I trust your imagination).

How to play the game? It's very easy. 

You need to sit in a circle. Each participant chooses a number (you can write numbers on pieces of paper and draw them from a X-mas hat). Then you read the question with that number from the list below and answer it.

You can also choose the number straight from the list if you don't have time to make the numbers to draw.

Here's the list of questions:

1. What's your favourite Christmas dish? 

2. How many words meaning Christmas (or concerning Christmas) do you know in other languages?

3. What's your favourite X-mas song? Can you sing it now?

4. How does Santa Claus look like?

5. Describe one Polish Christmas tradition.

6. What's the perfect Christmas weather?

7. What's the best X-mas gift you've ever got?

8. What's the worst X-mas gift you've ever got?

9. Tell a Christmas story (you can make it up).

10. Is Christmas important nowadays? Why?

11. Would you rather be a reindeer or an elf? Why?

12. What would animals say on Christmas Eve at midnight? Consider any and every animal - it can be geese flying south or your pet.

Enjoy playing the game, being together and speaking English.

I wish you all a beautiful Christmas time 😍🤩🌲🤍.

Yours, Ms K.

A Letter to Santa

As a child, did you ever write a letter to Santa Claus (a bow to these of you who complain about "too much of Brit. Eng. in the classroom")? Whatever your answer is, write one now.

In your letter to Santa:

- explain why you are writing

- tell him about your family's preparations to Christmas and how you are participating 

- describe a gift you'd like to get and give the reason(s) why you need it so much

- give some examples how you're going to make the world a better place this coming year.

Ho ho ho, I hope you'll get involved and have fun :).

A visit to a museum

Write a blog entry about the time when you visited a museum. In your piece include the folowing information:

What museum was it?

Describe one particular item or an exhibition.

Write about something unusual that happened while you were there.

Ask the readers of your blog about the museums they've visited that they could recommend. Let them give you the reasons of their choices.

Enjoy! :)

Churchill, Hudson Bay

Read the text "Polar Bear Town" (Matura, advanced level, May 2024, task 5) and answer the following questions:

1. If you were to go there, how would you spend your time?

2. How is it possible that a person with a terrible fear of something ends up getting involved in the very thing (the way the guide did)?

3. What is needed to start something meaningful?

Matters that Matter

Choose a topic that's important for you. Then write a letter to someone who could help you share your ideas, create something meaningful (an event, a product, etc.). Or, write to someone that blocks or restricts you in some way, letting them know about what you care about, and what request(s) you have as a result.

Przykładowe zadanie

Napisz list do nauczyciela j. angielskiego, w ktorym:

• wyrazisz swoją opinię na temat zajęć (co się Tobie w nich podoba a co nie)

• zasugerujesz zmiany

• odniesiesz się do swojego pozaszkolnego kontaktu z j. angielskim

• wypowiesz się na temat tego, co jest dla Ciebie ważne w nauce języka i w jakim celu się go uczysz (np. wykorzystanie języka w praktyce, przygotowanie do matury, itp.)

100-150 słów

Tłumaczenie z polskiego na... polski

Wybierz jedną z fraszek Jana Kochanowskiego. Przeczytaj ją raz po cichu i raz na głos (kolejność dowolna). 

Następnie przetłumacz tekst na współczesną polszczyznę.

Recycling

What do you recycle?

Today's task is suspiciously simple if not utterly boring and unworthy of your precious time and attention.  

But give it a go, anyway. What do you recycle? Start with the obvious, then reach for the less obvious. 

What is recycling? 

Put it into a simple definition. Or use a metaphor if you feel like it.

What do you find in the word linguistically?

What word family does it belong in? What are its kins, the nearest and dearest as well as the distant ones? 

What if all that you've read sounds like trash?

Go for the gold in it or replace the text with something more worthwhile.

The logic (and the intricacies) of a story

Let's start with a close reading.

1. Read the story. 

2. Retell or rewrite the story in a few sentences - keep to what happens (just facts) and leave out the rest. 

3. Read the story again. Don't rush. 

What does the writer let us know by choosing the details (e.g. electric green, I was hunting lemons, spoilt gold, her hair roared red)? 

What do we learn about the characters, their relationship, the surroundings?

What do you discover about how the text sounds?

4. What do you prefer: reading /being told about an event in a literary form (e.g. a microstory, a short story, a poem, a prose poem, a song lyrics, etc.) or just learning the basics of what happened as a matter of fact? Why?

Lemons (by Joy Sullivan)

It was rainy season and everything in the grove was electric green.

I was hunting lemons. My job was to find the ripe among the fallen. I remember the sweet stink of exhausted citrus. Spoiled gold in the heat, how the fruit sweated in my palm. My sister was running past. She was four years older, full of goodness and gullibility whereas I was young and rotten and one for stories.

I used to tell her I’d seen fairies the size of tadpoles in the river.

That I knew a spell to repair lost time. Gullibility is a kind of bigheartedness, I think, and when she finally learned the joke, it always broke her heart.

Snakes were common in the grove, but I remember how horribly beautiful this one was. How it lifted itself, an iridescent arrow.

Mambas are fast and deadly and when I screamed snake, my sister stood among the fallen lemons, swaying slightly, weighing whether or not to believe. I can still feel her eyes searching me, the seconds slipping, the dying sun making her hair roar red. It wasn’t until I wept that she stepped out of the grove and for the first time, I realized what words meant. I saw them clearly-full of either venom or veracity. The dumb plum of my heart split open.

That night, I told my sister I loved her. I told her the truth.

The third season

Welcome to the third year of Wild Geese Creative Writing.

We'll continue good practices and find new ones, I believe, as we go.

Nestle in your notebook, virtual or made of paper, sharpen your senses, relax into the flow.