Creative Bag of Tricks #5 - Cut-ups

What do David Bowie, T.S. Eliot and Julio Cortazar all have in common? They all used methods known as "cut-ups" to write their own poems and songs!

"Cut-ups" are a range of techniques involving cutting up and rearranging texts, or borrowing from other texts, in order to create a new text such as a poem or song. In this post, we suggest three creative writing activities inspired by cut-ups, suitable for a range of learners and stages. 

The Creative Bag of Tricks #2 - Metaphor

“To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.” 

― Joseph Chilton Pearce

Using images or a selection of objects, encourage learners to create metaphors by brainstorming and seeing things in different ways.

What is this? 

Snow on grass? 

A bed of nails? 

Frosty stick men dancing?

Microscopic hairs on a snowman's arm?

And, what is this? 

A sunflower in a field? 

A tall man in a crowd? 

An excited fan sitting on someone's shoulders in the audience at a music festival?

Before creating metaphors in the target language:

• Work on some examples. Ask learners to select the relevant plain speech description of an image from a mixed selection - including some red herrings - written in the target language:

• Next, give learners a choice of possible metaphors for the image written in the target language. Ask them to decode the metaphors. Discuss the associations that are made and the effectiveness of these:

• To which characteristics does it relate? 
• Does it remind you of anything? 
• Is it obvious or obscure? 
• How does it taste, look, smell, sound, feel? 
• Which do you prefer and why? 

When creating metaphors in the target language:

• Free-associate: Ask learners to note all the things that they associate with the image or object including things with similar qualities.

• Think outside of the box: the less obvious the association, the more interesting the metaphor!

• This activity could lead on to writing "Ezra Pound Couplets" in the target language where the plain speech statement is followed by a metaphor. 

• See how this activity features in a lesson plan about perceptions (also available in French and Spanish).

The Creative Bag of Tricks #1 - Colour Charts

“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.” 

- Albert Einstein

Encourage imagination and invention by asking learners to create their own specialist colour charts in the target language!

Before creating:

• Provide examples of colour charts from specialist paint companies in the target language

• Allow learners to read, understand and discuss each colour. Do they relate to particular environments, objects, tones or shades? Which is their favourite and why?

• Encourage learners to take note of any new vocabulary

When creating colour charts in the target language:

• Ask learners to consider shades, tones, subtle differences or associated objects, environments and places - e.g. "Cherry blossom pink", "brightest green"

• Ask learners to consider any memories or feelings evoked by the colours - e.g. "Day at the beach", "calmness"

• Encourage learners to seek inspiration in the ordinary – e.g. "burnt toast", "new page white" 

• Encourage learners to use language they know and to manipulate language from the original colour charts

• Support learners with word-banks, glossaries and dictionaries as appropriate

Further guidance

• Imagination and invention is key - learners need not mention specific colours

• Support could be given in the form of laminated building blocks that learners put together to create interesting combinations 

• Search Google images, other search engines or ask companies directly for colour charts

• See how this activity features in a lesson using a bi-lingual poem about colours (under primary Spanish tab).

• Let us know how you got on making colour charts with your learners. Leave your comment below.

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