Modifying with AI

This blog post was first written for a collaborative group for writing teachers led by Sara Lee and Renée Pinchero of Literacy Dr. If you like the content, join our Facebook Group, Writing in the Trenches.

One activity I use often when I’m starting out with a student is a modifying activity. Many kiddos have been exposed to grammatical forms (for better or worse) but are confused about grammatical function.

Sometimes I use the examples of "modded cars" to help students understand what modify means. Many of them have already seen cars that have been altered to look different than others of the same model (Gen Xers may remember the craze of modifying Honda Civics.). Relating that to how writers want to shape our ideas of something they've written to match what they have in their own heads has been a helpful way of framing students understanding of the function.

One way I help students realize grammatical functions is by giving them a picture and having them describe the picture. I tell them they don’t have to use sentences (many of them still do), and I model this for them first. 

As an example, I may give a student a picture of a beach, write, “sandy, hot, beautiful,” etc., and write down their modifiers as well. Then, I move on to prepositional phrases, “off the Pacific Ocean, along the boardwalk, in Florida.” Finally, I include relative clauses, “that looks beautiful at sunset, which is near my grandmother’s house, that has the white sand and gentle waves.” 

What does this do for students? 

Well, first, it lets them know that how we use words, phrases, and clauses is more important to their writing than knowing how to label or identify words, phrases, and clauses. It also helps them see that forms perform functions in the language and that multiple forms can function in different ways as we need them to. 

Another example, this one from a recent session:

This is also a good activity to try if you notice a student struggles with descriptions. Helping the student come up with questions is especially helpful. What color Crayola crayon do you think this that water is? How does the sand feel? Can you compare it to something else you’ve felt? How would your friend describe how that person looks? These deeper, more pointed questions can help students get past the primary colors, quick and easy adjectives, and overused wording. 

Finally, this activity is appropriate for just getting students to write so you can assess what you may need to work on. 

Something to think through before implementing this activity is what picture to use. 

For younger or more novice writers, using a picture of something they know or are interested in is very helpful. I’ve used pictures of family members (thanks Facebook), pics I take quickly of family pets as students hold laptops up to their poor faces, Google Maps shots of parks near their homes, etc.

For students on the spectrum, it’s important to remember that some may struggle with abstract ideas. If I’m having a student describe a scene from a café, I won't ask them what may be behind the building or where the café is unless I know because that may be very important to them. Allowing students to help choose the picture is another good option. 

Have you done an activity like this with a student? If you try, please let me know how it goes. I’d love to hear it!