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 **Fortune Cookie Essays ** I remember being in middle school and every week there was another boring essay that had to be written.The teachers either said it was a free writing activity where we could write about anything we wanted or they had the boring, general topics that we had to write about.The problem with me was if it was a free writing activity, I would not even know where to begin.With the general topics, I found myself not connecting with what we were told to write about.If my teachers had found this webpage when I was in middle school, I guarantee I would enjoy writing more than I do now.

On this webpage, there is an idea of using fortune cookie messages and creating a story or an essay with them.The teacher can either use some of the messages that are given on the webpage or create their own fortunes.Students would like this idea because it allows them to be creative and use their imagination.The teacher can help them brainstorm at first to get them started by looking for sensory images or the students can be completely creative and develop their own stories from scratch.

I feel that this would be an effective way to teach language arts in a middle school classroom because it is different from the ordinary way of teaching.Students are given the opportunity to be creative and explore different kinds of writing.

I personally believe that creative writing is a valuable aspect of language arts in school and it is slowly drifting out of schools because of all of the state-wide tests.This activity is a great way of allowing students to be creative but also work on essays and preparing for the state-wide tests.This can be continued at home if it is not completed in school because it is a very flexible activity.

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