Photograph: Tetra Images/Corbis

One Sentence

All writing begins with a single sentence.  Have you been looking for a way to either get students to simply start writing or to have them start writing simply?  You might want to check out One Sentence.  The idea is that complete, true stories can be told in one sentence and one sentence only.

Aside from simply repeating the idea as a warm-up for creative writing in English or writing class, try the concept of One Sentence in any classroom:

• Use is as an exit ticket in math to summarize the day’s lesson.
• In history you could have students write one sentence biographies.
• Science classes could explain concepts, reactions, or processes using this format.
• Students could write one sentence character sketches from their Independent Reading or their own creative writing.
• Positions can be explained in one sentence for political science, civics, or debate classes.
• “and many, many more…”

Like most user driven sites, One Sentence may have submissions that are not appropriate for school, so you might want to preview the site before each class before sharing with your students.  However, even if you don’t share the site, try using One Sentence to spark the writing bug (both creatively and in the subject areas) in your students.

Also of interest: Six-Word Memoirs – stories told creatively using only six-word sentences.