Teaching the trait of voice with shoes is a very interesting hands on strategy for intermediate students. To get started you need to collect a variety of shoes. I prefer to use baby shoes rather than adult shoes because I can put them in a small basket which makes them easier to store and carry from room to room. Another benefit to using baby shoes is that they are less worn and cleaner. Using pairs of any shoes automatically gives you two sets. In the picture above you will see examples of the various shoes I’ve collected. The shoes are representative of different activities which become their voice. In my basket you will see a shoe for walking, school, dress, hiking, running, bedtime, around the house, and at the beach or pool. When doing this activity for the first time, I show each shoe and talk about what it is and when or where you might wear it. I discuss what each shoe’s voice might sound like by brainstorming or thinking out loud things each shoe might say.
Next, I put the students in groups of four or five. I give each group a basket and ask each student to pick a shoe. Make sure there are more shoes than students so that even the last to pick has choices. Once students have a shoe, they will need a sheet of paper and a pencil. Using a timer, give each student a specific amount of time to write the first or introductory paragraph. When the students hear the timer, they must complete their sentence and rotate their paper clockwise.
Each student will read the first paragraph on their neighbors paper and write the second paragraph making sure to build on the first paragraph and extend the story. Each time the writing should be timed allowing a little more time to read the previous paragraphs. This process will continue until all four or five students have written a paragraph and the paper is back where it started. The owner of the paper rereads the draft and makes any changes they feel relevant to correct and complete the piece.
It might be necessary to adjust the group size to accommodate the number of paragraphs you are expecting from your students. You can also do one or more together as a group to model the thinking by sharing the pen with several more capable writers.
I have included a picture of a completed story. You can see the different handwriting for each paragraph. Click on the image to read the story.
