Few things in life are foolproof, and even fewer things in teaching. However, the lesson plan I will share with you has yet to fail me. I present “Pass the Pen.”

Where it all began:

I don’t have a single tattoo on my body, but for some mysterious reason, I was obsessed with tattoo art when I was about 28 years old.

There was something incredibly unique and bold about tattoos that drew me in. I watched a documentary series called Tattoo Age by VICE about modern tattoo artists like Chris Garver, Mary Joy, Horimoto & Taki, Bert Krak, Freddy Corbin, Mike Rubendall, Dan Santoro, Grime, Chris Trevino, Ed Hardy, and many others.

I watched an episode called “The Master of All Tattoos: Chris Garver” and saw Chris and his friend Kiko, a fellow tattoo artist, collaborate on a project. They each shared one black Sharpie and took turns drawing peonies, Japanese-style Ryu (dragons), and Karajishi (guardian lions). Kiko would draw the eyes and then pass the Sharpie to Garver, who would continue the drawing. It was a fun game they played to help inspire one another. Collaborating in such a style also relieved the pressure of creating by oneself. It allowed someone to relinquish power and ego to work together to create something new. It didn’t matter what the result was; what mattered was the process.

Educators can apply this same game to create a short story. What would it look like if you got three students to write a beginning, middle, and end to a short story? The concept would be the same, the student who writes the beginning would pass the pen to the next student who would write the middle, who would pass the pen to the final student who would write the ending.

Furthermore, what if students had yet to learn who would write their middle or end? This unknown would relieve every student from the pressure of creating something they deem worthy and “perfect” enough to present publicly. It also creates a sense of mystery in that the student would not know the direction in which their story would move forward. They have to relinquish that power over the material, allowing the student to be more relaxed and focus more on the enjoyment and creative aspect of writing. It will enable students to experience and glimpse what true creative freedom looks and feels like while being introduced to various writing styles.

I was so excited about this idea that I had to write it down on a Post-it before it vanished into the abyss. It was an idea that inspired me, and I was excited to see what direction it would take.

Developing the Plan:

When I became obsessed with tattoos, I was a substitute teacher in the San Diego Unified School District and a graduate student at the University of San Diego pursuing a Masters in Curriculum Development and Instruction.

I was a substitute teacher with a purpose. My goal was to substitute sixty times at whatever school, grade level, or subject area would have me. My experience took me to over 15 schools in San Diego from grades K-12. When given the opportunity, I’d ignore the teacher’s lesson for the day to implement my lessons to test and assess their effectiveness. Other times I’d email the teacher beforehand and ask for permission. Whenever I could, I tried out “Pass the Pen.” No matter the school, this lesson plan produced the exact number of complete short stories as there were students in the class. It was exciting for me to dance around, urging students to feel free to write with absolute freedom.

“Write about ANYTHING you want!” I exclaimed with enthusiasm. “ANYTHING! If you arrive at a story that you find boring, then change its direction! You have the power.”

I was always welcomed back to substitute teaching in classrooms where I taught my lessons—even classrooms where I ignored the teacher’s assignments for the day. Perhaps I was just lucky; however, I believe it’s more similar to what Proximo said to Maximus in the movie Gladiator, “I was not the best because I killed quickly. I was best because the crowd loved me. Win the crowd, and you will win your freedom.”

Toward the end of my graduate school experience, I interviewed with High Tech High and was invited to their famous hiring Bonanza. Back then, everyone invited had to teach a one-hour class in their chosen subject area while being observed like a hawk by a gang of directors, teachers, and administrators. It was an opportunity to put your best foot forward and show everyone what you could do. What lesson did I choose? You guessed it. Pass the Pen. I’ll save you from all the details, but I walked out of that 9th-grade Humanities classroom at High Tech High Media Arts to the sounds of applause like a goddamn gladiator.

Since then, I’ve executed this lesson plan yearly as a 10th-grade Humanities teacher at High Tech High International. It’s my first lesson at the beginning of every school year to get the ball rolling. It’s a lesson I’m incredibly proud of because it represents everything I want to embody on the first day of class: joy, laughter, freedom, creativity, flow, collaboration, focus, and movement. And now, I’m going to share it with you.

The Purpose & Objective

This writing activity can be a great introduction to a unit or project that involves short stories. It can also be modified to include grammar and punctuation requirements for each section (beginning, middle, end). The purpose is really up to you.

I have never personally set any grammar or punctuation requirements for my students.

My purpose is to set students free, if only for a short while. I want to see students released from the pressures of education and society and enjoy the process. If they’re going to curse, then I let them curse. If they’re going to write about violence, then throw a roundhouse kick in there. They have my full support if they want to write a love story. What? Aliens come out of the sky right before Romeo proposes to Juliet, and a unicorn jumps from a bush and poops on the ring? Get after it. I want every student to feel comfortable enough to try. The quality of the story doesn’t matter. What matters is that students enjoy expressing whatever comes to their imagination. Quality marvelously appears when writing in a comfortable, joyful manner. If it’s still not good enough for you, let quality come in later lessons.

The objective is straightforward. Students will write a short story with a beginning, middle, and end. That’s it.

The Agenda

Explaining the Process

I begin instruction by sharing my relationship with this lesson, where it came from, my experiences with it, and the students’ purpose & objectives for writing their short stories.

Then, and this is important, I tell students about the twist: after they write their beginning, they must physically stand up and walk to another student’s story, preferably not at their desk, and write that student’s middle section. After that, they must stand up again, walk to an entirely different student’s story, and write that student’s ending. Ultimately, the student will have written three different sections in three different stories.

It’s highly encouraged that they do their best to use effective techniques, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences (common core talk); however, I never enforce it. Not surprisingly, these check marks appear magically when the student’s imagination roams free and is excited to write their ideas down on the page. If they don’t, the teacher can formally assess and apply their learning to future lessons.

Creating the Introduction

The beginning is key.

With the courage to write that first word, things get done. I’ve found that handing a student a piece of paper, or a Google Doc, and then telling them to write the beginning of a story often leads to instant writer’s block. Students stare at the white canvas before them like a deer in headlights, petrified to make a move. I also see students so engulfed and enamored with their definition of “quality writing” that they too fail to produce results. Just remind those students that some rando will come along and change the direction of their story anyway, so don’t be so possessive and learn to let go.

So what can we do to help them gain that confidence? That’s right. Walk that runway and model for your students.

I present four different introduction examples for my students.

The first exemplifies an action.

• I slammed the door and locked it shut. Sweating and gasping for air, I could hear the intruder’s footsteps approaching the door. I didn’t know what to do!

The second describes the setting.

• The roaring winds of the hurricane pummeled the boat as the violent waves crashed upon the deck. I watched the rain pour and the thunder strike all around us as we desperately struggled to keep the ship afloat.

The third is dialogue.

• “Maria,” I said with longing in my heart. “Can you please give me another chance? I’m nothing without you! Please forgive me.” I fell to the floor and hung my head low in shame. “Please, I’m nothing without you.”

The fourth is a flashback.

• Seeing tulips bloom in the spring reminded me of when I planted flowers, vegetables, and fruits with my grandma in her garden.

There are many different methods by which to model a proper introduction. Experienced and passionate teachers can find their way to modify or completely throw out my approach. Still, ultimately the objective is to give your students options and confidence to write.

Creating The Story: Method #1

Method #1 was inspired by the structure of my jiu-jitsu (submission grappling) classes at 10th Planet San Diego. Every day, the instructor would demonstrate or model a grappling technique to their students. The students would then break off into pairs and drill, or apply, the technique relentlessly. After a short while, the entire class would gather together, and the instructor would repeat the process by showing the following sequence or a different move entirely. The students would then break off and drill again. Instructor models, students drill. It’s simple yet highly effective. As Dwight Schrute once explained to Ryan in the famous NBC television show The Office, “Michael always says K-I-S-S. Keep it simple stupid. Great advice, hurts my feelings every time.”

Step 1: Before executing this lesson plan, write a nonfiction short story about a meaningful experience you’ve had in your life with a beginning, middle, and end. If you take this approach, explain the difference between fiction and nonfiction writing since your students will be writing fictional stories.

Step 2: Read the beginning of your meaningful experience, then have students write the beginning of their creative short story.

Step 3: Afterward, before students get up and move, you’ll read the middle of your story, then have students physically stand up and move to find a different story to write a new middle.

Step 4: Finally, before students get up and move, you’ll read the ending of your story. Repeat the previous step by having students physically stand up and move to find a final story to write its end.

Method #1 allows me to build that student-teacher relationship and connection. It allows me to set the tone and change the energy in the classroom. Ultimately, it builds trust, which helps students to feel more comfortable, thus paving the path to begin writing.

I tell a story about an art exhibition I performed in Riverside, CA, while studying music at the University of California, Riverside. I’ll spare you all the details, but I destroyed a piano with a sledgehammer in the name of art and music in front of an audience of around forty sometime near midnight in an artist friend’s backyard. It changed my life; most students remember it for years even though I only tell it once.

Creating The Story: Method #2 (Recommended)

Not a fan of method #1? Have no fear; method 2 is here for you and is much simpler.

Join in on the activity. Project your blank Google Doc onto the screen so students can see, or bust out a blank piece of paper and find a desk to sit at. When students write their beginning, you write yours. When students get up to find a different story to write their middle, you get up too and look for a story to continue. A student will come to your story and continue yours. When students get up one last time to write the ending to an entirely different story, you do it too.

Method #2 also provides many of the benefits of Method #1. You’ll build the student-teacher relationship, set the tone and energy of the classroom, model, build trust, and create comfort.

Class Share Outs

When students finish the ending to their final story, I ask that they also create a title for that final student. It’s fun to see how a few simple words can capture the energy and imagination of the short story.

Afterward, students return to their original story at their original sitting spot. At this moment, it’s gratifying for me to take a step back and take it all in. There are always some students still engulfed within the story they are writing, others who are a bit spent but proud that they got through the activity, and finally, those that are excited to see how their original story changed. I love to take this moment not to teach at all, let time be its own thing, and listen because I always hear laughter. Students that claim they hate to write are smiling, and students that are very shy when it comes to revealing their work are not as self-conscious simply because everyone else went through the same thing. There’s always a student who’s stoked about their beginning but doesn’t like the direction their story takes; however, I remind them that now they have a clear example of what direction not to go.

I used to end the activity right here and ask students to do their best to summarize their new story in a few sentences; however, during the Bonanza at High Tech High Media Arts, a 9th-grade student enthusiastically raised her hand and asked if the class could read out their title, as well as their first and last sentence. It was new, and a student had suggested it, so I went with the flow; it went very well, and I’ve been doing it ever since.

Click here to download the Pass the Pen lesson plan template