Primary Success Stories: Using role play and free writing to introduce creativity

A primary school teacher in Pakistan shares her story of how she introduces greater creativity through the use of role play and free writing.

In this video, Gulnaz from Pakistan talks about how she has managed to break away from repetition and routine by introducing more creativity into reading and writing lessons.

As Gulnaz explains, the routine reading and memorisation of texts in her literature classes was stifling the creativity of her students, so she decided to introduce a role play element whereby students take on the characters from the texts and create dialogues. As a result the learners are not only more confident in speaking, but also demonstrate a deeper understanding of the texts they enact.

With composition writing, she felt that the limited range of topics also restricted the students’ creative flow of ideas, so she introduced free writing at the start of each lesson. The response has been positive and many girls are now reading their work aloud.

Reflection and discussion

One of the purposes of these resources is to help you with your own teacher development in related contexts. The questions in task 1 and task 2 are designed for you to think about and discuss with colleagues, either informally or as part of your formal professional development.

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