Word starter - with variations
Here’s a new variation of the words starter:
It is designed to get a good number of words. You can design it so that you are sure that you will have certain kinds of words, or round a theme if that might help writers later in the session. When we first did this we were ready to keep going and to add more and more words. It was time that prevented us.
Number, 1 - 20 down the page. The vertical list allows people to add more than one word on each line if they wish.
Then, rather than giving people time to write a collection of words that simply arrive in their heads, one person lists a number of categories and people write the word that fits each one. This is the list we used:
1. a word you like
2. something in your kitchen
3. the name of a character in fiction: novel/ film/ TV /comic
4. a body part, internal or external
5. a preposition
6. a place name
7. a brand name
8. a shop or magazine name
9. a vegetable
10.part of a machine
11.a slang or dialect word
12.a single syllable word
13.a word with more than three syllables
14.an item or part of clothing
15.a bird or animal
16.an abstract noun
17.a verb found in a workshop
18.a card game
19.a street name
20.a verb from the gym or sports field
You can see that it is easy to make up categories, and once started you can think of all kinds of twists on the basic idea. When we had done the first twenty, everyone in the group provided another category. Then everyone had a turn at saying a category -several people arrived late so they just did these. They chose; a flower; shoes; a sound; an adjective to describe rain; a tree; a country, something you might find in someone’s medicine cabinet, a piece of jewelry, an item of clothing.....
We quite liked the different rhythm and challenge of having words prompted and began to see that it could be used for different reasons. Making up the categories could, in itself, be fun.
Jeni Smith
NWP Research director
February 2016
It is designed to get a good number of words. You can design it so that you are sure that you will have certain kinds of words, or round a theme if that might help writers later in the session. When we first did this we were ready to keep going and to add more and more words. It was time that prevented us.
Number, 1 - 20 down the page. The vertical list allows people to add more than one word on each line if they wish.
Then, rather than giving people time to write a collection of words that simply arrive in their heads, one person lists a number of categories and people write the word that fits each one. This is the list we used:
1. a word you like
2. something in your kitchen
3. the name of a character in fiction: novel/ film/ TV /comic
4. a body part, internal or external
5. a preposition
6. a place name
7. a brand name
8. a shop or magazine name
9. a vegetable
10.part of a machine
11.a slang or dialect word
12.a single syllable word
13.a word with more than three syllables
14.an item or part of clothing
15.a bird or animal
16.an abstract noun
17.a verb found in a workshop
18.a card game
19.a street name
20.a verb from the gym or sports field
You can see that it is easy to make up categories, and once started you can think of all kinds of twists on the basic idea. When we had done the first twenty, everyone in the group provided another category. Then everyone had a turn at saying a category -several people arrived late so they just did these. They chose; a flower; shoes; a sound; an adjective to describe rain; a tree; a country, something you might find in someone’s medicine cabinet, a piece of jewelry, an item of clothing.....
We quite liked the different rhythm and challenge of having words prompted and began to see that it could be used for different reasons. Making up the categories could, in itself, be fun.
Jeni Smith
NWP Research director
February 2016