Whenever using the BING search engine, you are always greeted by awesome photographic images that amaze, inspire and provoke thoughts and reactions. For this reason, they make the ideal stimulus for writing.

Learning during the journey

As we travel around the UK with a caravan in tow, we spend many hours en-route to different sites. The journey is never wasted time, in fact, as we pootle along at a slower pace than the rest of the vehicles, we use the time productively to discuss, plan and learn. It is on journeys that the girls have produced amazing pieces of writing inspired and stimulated by BING images. Our girls will always favour fiction writing over non-fiction so to overcome this and add variety we use a whirligig app to select different writing styles (e.g. newspaper report, explanation, adventure story etc.)

BING inspired writing

• Select the style of writing using the whirligig app. Alternatively unanimously decided on the style for everyone before beginning but try to vary the style so that you don’t always stay within your comfort zone.

• Look at the BING image. Spend time writing any words or phrases that spring to mind. Share the words and phrases so that everyone has a big bank to draw from.

• Begin writing a short extract, focussing on quality not quantity. Limit the time; a short burst of quality writing is much better than a painfully long-winded approach.

• Check through the writing or swap with a partner (sibling?). Discuss and make any improvements – limit this to only two or three.
  Read aloud the writing and appreciate all the hard work!

• BING images are just one form of inspiration and on occasions simply looking out of the window provides enough stimulus. A stunning view or surprising event can match any BING photo as a trigger for writing.