Clustering


 * Content **

Writing- Creative Writing Method for Middle School Students

**Grade Level**

This strategy can be implemented with intermediate to high school grade levels and is generally used for creative writing.

**Curriculum Standards** RLA.O.8.2.3 : use pre- //writing // , editing and revision techniques (e.g., read, draft aloud, peer feedback or a provided rubric) to vary sentence length, change sentence order, eliminate organizational errors, and use vivid and concise words to create a personal style or voice while clarifying and enhancing the central idea.

**Description of Practices** Clustering is intended to be used as a way of brainstorming, without it being a continual effort. Students that use this method must do the following steps (Sahbaz & Duran, 2011): ====This process allows students to use webbing in a more intense way. The students can begin by outlining each detail in a timeline effort. By doing this, the students may branch out from each specific detail to be more descriptive. Like what is addressed above, the students can include more than just the details that will be included in the writing, but also reasons as to why they are writing about the chosen prompt. This process can also allow the students to write with feeling and flow by already having the details in the timeline to sequence events. All of this together can promote the outcome of writing for being powerful, understanding the world, communicating, describing, asking questions, and finding answers.====
 * Learn to understand yourself
 * Tell yourself
 * Read other texts
 * Put thought into writing by:
 * Want to write
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Writing for entertainment
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Writing with feeling, crying, tension, flow, etc.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Writing
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Writing for being powerful
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Understanding the world
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Communicating
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Describing
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Asking questions
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Finding answers

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Implementation Considerations**

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">When teaching students to use the clustering method, it may be important to explain that it can be used when writing many different types of texts and is more in-depth than what they may be used to in webbing and mapping.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Examples**

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">This YouTube video explains how to use clustering when writing. Though it is shown being used in writing novels, this can also be used in writing shorter texts. It shows how clustering is plotting beyond just webbing. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThOPVs8s958

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Citation**

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Sahbaz, N., & Duran, G. (2011). The Efficiency of Cluster Method in Improving the Creative Writing Skill of 6th Grade Students of Primary School. //<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Educational Research And Reviews // <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">, //<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">6 // <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">(11), 702-709.