Freeze Group Writing Activity for English Learners

Group writing activities for English learners are few and far between. Choose your own adventure is one of them, and adding to that is Freeze. Students have to work collaboratively in order to create a story in a certain amount of time. Keep on reading for all the details you need to know about Freeze, a fun ESL writing activity.

Freeze ESL Group Writing Activity

Skills: Writing/reading/listening
Time: 5-20 minutes
Level: Intermediate-advanced
Materials Required: Nothing

This is a group writing activity that you can have a lot of fun with. The way it works is that you think of a story starter. For example, “Tom decided to _____.” Students have to start the story off, and after 30 seconds or a minute, you can say, “Freeze.”

Then, students pass their paper one to the right/behind/etc., depending on how the classroom is arranged. That student has to read the story and then continue it. You can repeat the freeze and pass as many times as you like, but I usually give a warning when it’s the last round so students can finish up the story.

Circulate around the class and make sure that each story is staying on track well. Make some small error corrections if necessary to clarify the meaning. For kids of a certain age and maturity level, check to see that nothing vulgar is being added!

Read the stories out loud to the class and see which one the students like best. As I’m reading, I generally make grammatical corrections on the fly in order to make it easier to understand.

Procedure for Freeze:

1. Write a story starter on the board. For example, “Amy had a terrible day! She _____.”
2. Each student has to continue the story for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Then say, “Freeze!”
3. Students pass their papers in an organized fashion and continue the story. Repeat as many times as you like, but warn students when it’s the last round so they can finish it off.
4. The teacher can loosely monitor the stories, only correcting errors if the meaning is impeded.
5. Read the stories out loud with the class and discuss things grammar or vocabulary errors, as well as discourse skills.

Did you like Freeze, a Group ESL Writing Activity? 

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You can find the book in both digital and print formats. Consider keeping a copy on the bookshelf in your office to use as a handy reference when doing lesson plans. Or, take the e-version with you to your favourite coffee shop for some serious lesson planning on the go.

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Have your Say about ESL Writing Activities

Did you like Freeze? Or, do you have another group writing activity for TEFL classes that you’d like to recommend to us? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think. We’d love to hear from you.

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Last update on 2020-10-28 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API