7 fun writing activities for the reluctant writer
7 FUN WRITING ACTIVITIES FOR THE RELUCTANT WRITER
No doubt about it – writing isn’t easy. It is no wonder that many of our students could be described as ‘reluctant writers’ at best. It has been estimated by the National Association of Educational Progress that only about 27% of 8th and 12th Grade students can write proficiently.
As educators, we know that regular practice would go a long way to helping our students correct this underachievement, and sometimes, writing prompts just aren’t enough to light the fire.
But how do we get students, who have long since been turned off writing, to put pen to paper and log in the requisite time to develop their writing chops?
The answer is to make writing fun! In this article, we will look at some creative writing activities where we can inject a little enjoyment into the writing game.
1. Poetry Scavenger Hunt
The Purpose: This activity encourages students to see the poetry in the everyday language around them while helpfully reinforcing their understanding of some of the conventions of the genre.
The Process: Encourage students to ‘scavenge’ their school, home, and outside the community for snippets of language they can compile into a piece of poetry or a poetic collage. They may copy down or photograph words, phrases, and sentences from signs, magazines, leaflets or even snippets of conversations they overhear while out and about.
Examples of language they collect may range from the Keep Out sign on private property to the destination on the front of a local bus.
Once students have gathered their language together, they can work to build a poem out of the scraps, usually choosing a central theme to give the piece cohesion. They can even include corresponding artwork to enhance the visual appeal of their work, too, if they wish.
The Prize: If poetry serves one purpose, it is to encourage us to look at the world anew with the fresh eyes of a young child. This activity challenges our students to read new meanings into familiar things and to put their own spin on the language they encounter in the world around them, all while reinforcing the student’s grasp on poetic conventions.
2. Story Chains
The Purpose: Writing is often thought of as a solitary pursuit, and for this reason alone, it can be seen as a particularly unattractive activity by many of our more gregarious students. This fun activity exercises students’ understanding of writing structures and engages them in some fun, creative collaboration.
The Process: Each student starts with a blank piece of paper and pen. The teacher writes a story prompt on the whiteboard. You’ll find some excellent narrative writing prompts here . For example, each student spends two minutes using the writing prompt to kick start their writing.
When they have completed this part of the task, they will then pass their piece of paper to the student next to them. Students then continue the story from where the previous student left off for a given number of words, paragraphs, or length of time.
If organized correctly, you can ensure students receive their own initial story back at the end for the writing of the story’s conclusion .
The Prize: This fun writing activity can be used effectively to reinforce student understanding of narrative writing structures, but it can also be fun to try with other writing genres too.
Working collaboratively can really motivate students to engage with the task as no one wants to be the ‘weak link’ in the finished piece. But, more than that, this activity encourages students to see writing as a communicative and creative task where there needn’t be a ‘right’ answer. This encourages students to be more willing to take on creative risks in their work.
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3. Acrostic Associations
The Purpose: This is another great way to get students to try writing poetry – a genre that many students find the most daunting.
The Process: Acrostics are simple poems whereby each letter of a word or phrase begins a new line in the poem. Younger students can start off with something very simple, like their own name or their favorite pet and write this vertically down the page.
Older students can take a word or phrase related to a topic they have been working on or that they have a particular interest in and write this down on the page before beginning to write.
The Prize: This activity has much in common with the old psychiatrist’s word association technique. Students should be encouraged to riff on ideas and themes generated by the focus word or phrase. They needn’t worry about rhyme and meter and such here, but the preset letter for each line will give them some structure to their meanderings and require them to impose some discipline on their wordsmithery, albeit in a fun and loose manner.
4. The What If Challenge
The Purpose: This challenge helps encourage students to see the link between posing interesting hypothetical questions and creating an entertaining piece of writing.
The Process: To begin this exercise, have the students come up with a single What If question, which they can then write down on a piece of paper. The more off-the-wall, the better!
For example, ‘What if everyone in the world knew what you were thinking?’ or ‘What if your pet dog could talk?’ Students fold up their questions and drop them into a hat. Each student picks one out of the hat before writing on that question for a suitable set amount of time.
The Prize: Students are most likely to face the terror of the dreaded Writer’s Block when they are faced with open-ended creative writing tasks.
This activity encourages the students to see the usefulness of posing hypothetical What If questions, even random off-the-wall ones, for kick-starting their writing motors.
Though students begin by answering the questions set for them by others, encourage them to see how they can set these questions for themselves the next time they suffer from a stalled writing engine.
5. The Most Disgusting Sandwich in the World
The Purpose: Up until now, we have looked at activities encouraging our students to have fun with genres such as fiction and poetry. These genres being imaginative in nature, more easily lend themselves to being enjoyable than some of the nonfiction genres.
But what about descriptive writing activities? In this activity, we endeavor to bring that same level of enjoyment to instruction writing while also cleverly reinforcing the criteria of this genre.
The Process: Undoubtedly, when teaching instruction writing, you will at some point cover the specific criteria of the genre with your students.
These will include things like the use of a title, numbered or bulleted points, time connectives, imperatives, diagrams with captions etc. You will then want the students to produce their own piece of instruction writing or procedural text to display their understanding of how the genre works.
But, why not try a fun topic such as How to Make the Most Disgusting Sandwich in the World rather than more obvious (and drier!) topics such as How to Tie Your Shoelaces or How to Make a Paper Airplane when choosing a topic for your students to practice their instruction writing chops?
The Prize: As mentioned, with nonfiction genres, in particular, we tend to suggest more banal topics for our students to work on while internalizing the genre’s criteria. Enjoyment and acquiring practical writing skills need not be mutually exclusive.
Our students can just as quickly, if not more easily, absorb and internalize the necessary writing conventions while engaged in writing about whimsical and even nonsensical topics.
if your sandwich is entering the realm of horror, be sure to check our complete guide to writing a scary story here as well.
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6. Diary Entry of a Future Self
The Purpose: This activity allows students to practice personal writing within the conventions of diary/journal writing. It also challenges them to consider what their world will be like in the future, perhaps stepping a foot into the realm of science fiction.
The Process: Straightforwardly, after working through some examples of diary or journal writing, and reviewing the various criteria of the genre, challenge the students to write an entry at a given milestone in the future.
This may be when they leave school, begin work, go to university, get married, have kids, retire etc. You may even wish to get the students to write an entry for a series of future milestones as part of a more extended project.
The Prize: Students will get a chance here to exercise their understanding of this type of writing , but, more than that, they will also get an opportunity to exercise their imaginative muscles too. They will get to consider what shape their future world will take in this engaging thought experiment that will afford opportunities for them to improve their writing too.
7. Comic Strip Script
The Purpose: Give your students the chance to improve their dialogue writing skills and to work on their understanding of character development in this fun activity which combines writing with the use of a series of visual elements.
The Process: There are two ways to do this activity. The first requires you to source, or create, a comic strip minus the dialogue the characters are speaking. This may be as straightforward as using whiteout to erase the words in speech bubbles and making copies for your students to complete.
Alternatively, provide the students with photographs/pictures and strips of cards for them to form their own action sequences . When students have their ‘mute’ strips, they can begin to write the dialogue/script to link the panels together.
The Prize: When it comes to writing, comic strips are probably one of the easier sells to reluctant students! This activity also allows students to write for speech. This will stand to them later when they come to produce sections of dialogue in their narrative writing or when producing play or film scripts.
They will also develop their visual literacy skills as they scan the pictures for clues of tone and context before they begin their writing.
Keep It Fun
Just as we should encourage our students to read for fun and wider educational benefits, we should also work to instil similar attitudes towards writing. To do this means we must work to avoid always framing writing in the context of a chore, that bitter pill that must be swallowed for the good of our health.
There is no getting away from the fact that writing can, at times, be laborious. It is time-consuming and, for most of us, difficult at the best of times. There is a certain, inescapable amount of work involved in becoming a competent writer.
That said, as we have seen in the activities above, with a bit of creative thought, we can inject fun into even the most practical of writing activities . All that is required is a dash of imagination and a sprinkling of effort.
MORE FUN WRITING ACTIVITIES FOR YOU
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The content for this page has been written by Shane Mac Donnchaidh. A former principal of an international school and English university lecturer with 15 years of teaching and administration experience. Shane’s latest Book, The Complete Guide to Nonfiction Writing , can be found here. Editing and support for this article have been provided by the literacyideas team.
AN ENTIRE YEAR of engaging writing tasks awaits you.
Grade 6 Writing Activities
8 great grade 6 writing activities.
By Grade 6, you might start to feel some resistance towards writing in favour of other activities, like video games, as your child becomes more independent. Use these writing activities to break that resistance and get your child writing!
1. The Alien Interview
This exercise is always popular with young writers as it activates their imagination. They will need to think outside of the box to come up with open ended questions to find out about a world that they know nothing about. There is also an element of drama involved which inspires children to open up and practice their speaking skills. Simply follow these steps to carry out the activity with your children:
- Step 1: Ask children to write 10 questions that they would like to ask an alien about their planet and way of life.
- Step 2: Share questions with the group allowing children that may be struggling a chance to borrow ideas from others.
- Step 3: Find each child a partner. Assign one child the role of ‘alien’ and the other child ‘interviewer’.
- Step 4: The interviewer asks their questions and notes down the answers along the way.
- Step 5: Leave some time at the end of the session to share some of the most interesting questions and answers.
2. Amazing News Reports
Budding young reporters will enjoy this challenge. Provide your child with some crazy, funny and interesting newspaper headlines. Then ask them to write the story all about what happened. As it is a news report, you can remind them to ensure they include the five W’s (What, Where, Who, Why, When). Here are a few examples of crazy news articles you could supply…
3. Think, Write, Pass!
This activity is a great way to get your sixth-grade children collaborating and working in teams to write stories. It can also throw up some interesting and often humorous results. As we all know, children learn best when they are engaged and enjoying activities!
Start by arranging children into groups of 5 or 6. Then, supply each child with a different story prompt. Invite each child to spend five minutes writing the opening paragraph of the story. When the time is up, ask them to pass their writing one space to their right. Continue this until the story has made its way completely around the table and it has arrived back to the original spot. The children then take turns to read the story aloud that they started to their fellow teammates. Children can vote on the one they enjoyed the most!
4. Time Capsule
Challenge your child to think of an object or possession that they would like to put into a time capsule. The object should be something that they believe people 100 years in the future would not know how to use.
Once they have decided on the object, they will need to now write instructions for how it was used in the 2020’s and state why it was important to them.
5. Top Five!
A great way to personalize the writing experience is to ask children to write about things they love and are passionate about. To set up this activity, begin by asking children to think about their ‘top five’ on a topic of your choice (books, films, music, sports etc.). Everyone should now make their list and then share it with the group. You can invite children to defend their choices and spark debate amongst the group. This is a great way of getting children to start using the language they’ll need for the upcoming written activity.
Once the time sharing ideas is complete, it’s time for the real writing to begin. Children should write a short blurb and review about each item on their list. You can use popular film and music review websites to help set up the format for this type of writing. Your children are sure to have fun with this activity!
6. Fact or Fiction
Sometimes a little choice is all it takes to inspire young writers. By giving them a choice between two different writing prompts or genres can be all it takes to get the best out of them. To get this activity up and running, simply display two different writing options for your child to choose between. One prompt should be story inspiration whereas the other option should be a factual prompt on a topic they know well.
7. Sports Reporter
This is a simple activity that can spark interest in some of the most reluctant writers in your group. Most children at this age have an interest in a particular sport. You can harness this topic of interest and turn it into a positive writing activity. Simply challenge children to take notes on a match or game that they watch over the coming week. This could be at a professional level or even a game in the school gym. Ask children to focus on the main highlights in the game (what happened, who won, star players etc.). Then invite them to bring these notes along to class in order to write up their full-length report.
8. Nightzookeeper.com
There are thousands of writing activities on nightzookeeper.com - the award-winning writing program for kids ! You can start your child off with a 7 day free trial so they can get a feel for the program and begin to love writing. You can tailor the program to grade level by selecting the age for your child.
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8 Ideas and Activities for Making Writing Fun in Upper Elementary
Making Writing Fun Activities Written by Guest Blogger Jessica Thompson, 4th Grade Teacher
Writing. The minute the word is mentioned there is an audible, in-sync sigh from the students. Of course, there are a few super excited students who cannot get their ideas down quick enough. For every handful of excited writers, there is a large portion of the class that “has nothing to write about.”
The struggle is real, y’all. For both teachers and students.
The big question for teachers is not only how to make writing fun and engaging, but how do we get students excited about writing?
Fun Writing Activities To Try
Here are 8 Activities to try with third, fourth, and fifth grade students. These activities are to get our young writers excited about writing which will make formal writing tasks less daunting.
1. Think-Write-Pass:
This is always a favorite that gets lots of laughs.
Put students in groups of four. Give each student a piece of paper and have them write their name on the top.
Have students write for 2-3 minutes. You can give them a topic, or simply have them write about whatever they want.
When the time is up, students pass their paper to another student in their group. Each student in the group will have to read, continue the writing, and pass the paper again 2-3 minutes later.
When each student gets their own paper back they get a few minutes to complete the story. If time allows: let the groups choose their favorite one to share.
2. Sticky Note Stories:
Students want to share stories with us. There are so many stories - from their weekend, the ball game, recess, at their Aunt Barb’s birthday party 5 years ago - they have so much that they want to tell us!
It’s usually the same students ones who are constantly trying to tell us stories that, come writing time, same they have nothing to write about. Sticky Note Stories are an easy solution.
A sticky post it note is not nearly as intimidating as a piece of notebook paper.
When a student has a story to share, tell them how much you want to hear it - but they have to write it down on the sticky note.
A holiday weekend? A school event? A birthday party? A football game? Write it on a sticky note.
3. Found Poetry
Make copies of text from a book you are reading and have them find words or groups of words throughout the text to create a poem.
They can circle these words and draw pictures or designs around everything else to make the poem pop. See some examples of found poetry here.
3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students can also use words cut out from magazines to create a poem. It is best to precut words and have them in a container to make sure all words are appropriate.
4. Go Outside!
A change of scenery makes everything more fun. Take the notebooks and pencils to the outdoors for 10-15 minutes. Have students sit and use their 5 senses to write observations.
You can stop there, or take this activity a little further and have students write some poetry!
Give them free rein, or add some guidelines for structure.
This free cinquain writing template is perfect for an activity like this!
5. This or That
Sometimes all students need is a little bit of choice and control. Give them that control with This or That.
This is easy - simply provide them with 2 writing prompts and let them choose!
It can be time consuming to create choice boards with 9 options, but with This or That you only need to create two.
6. Silly Pictures
This is an easy way to make writing fun!
There are millions of funny pictures without captions on the internet. The key is to find appropriate ones and save them for later use.
Put the picture up on a projector, mirror it to a screen, or print it out. Have students write about what is happening in that picture.
This is great to practice skills such as predicting, inferring, cause and effect, and problem and solution.
7. Persuasive Letters
Two birds, one writing piece. The key to making this writing activity fun is choosing a topic that is sure to of interest of students.
What student wouldn't love to try to convince their teacher that recess should be longer? Or that they should be able to skip homework one night? Or that they should have a pizza party?
The list of ideas is endless. They could write to their parents on why they should have a later bedtime or get a dog. They could write to the principal on why donuts should be served with breakfast. They could write to an author on why they should write another book in their favorite series. You could also let students choose the topic.
3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students have fun arguing their point and they will learn quickly the importance of supporting their claim.
8. Quick Writes
Quick Writes are a timed writing. The idea is not to scare the students, but for them to get their ideas on paper as quickly as possibly and to be writing or thinking the entire time.
Give students a prompt, and then tell them to write down whatever comes to mind over the next 5 - 10 minutes. Make sure students aren't worried about spelling or a grade - the goal is to just spend some time writing.
If you are looking for a more polished piece, you can have students do this daily for 3-5 days. Then, have them choose their favorite quick write to revise, edit, and turn in.
An Extra Tip for Making Writing Fun
A personalized writing notebook can be an easy way to motivate students to write. This is something that is theirs and they have more ownership over.
Composition books can easily be decorated with pictures, stickers, photographs, etc. and covered with contact paper. Letting them take the time to decorate a notebook with things that are important to them can give them more ownership over their writing - as well as help stir up ideas for writing!
Bonus: Writing will not get lost easily! Make one yourself as a teacher and use it! Let the students see you write. Read your writing to them and make time for students to share too.
Sometimes it's not about making writing fun - it's about your mindset as the teacher. Check out these 7 tips for rethinking your writing instruction.
Or, you might find these other writing tips and ideas helpful.
Never Stress Over Sub Plans Again!
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20 Creative Writing Activities for Elementary Students
March 29, 2022 // by Milka Kariuki
Writing activities have an emotional toll on young learners, given the sheer volume of letters to learn by heart, words to spell, and sounds to remember. Your students will be more excited doing tasks they consider easier, such as character description. Perhaps it’s time you considered introducing fun activities to help the learners in their writing. Here are 20 of our go-to fun activities for creative writing skills among elementary kids.
1. Writing a Comic Strip
Create a comic book idea, leaving the speech bubbles around the characters empty for the students to fill. Alternatively, you can source the comic from your favorite magazine or author and rub out the dialogue between the characters for the learners to complete.
Learn more: My Cup Runs Over
2. Mad Libs
Have the students copy a few paragraphs from a famous book. Ask them to erase words they wish to remove and replace them with a blank line. Under the space, the students should give a hint to indicate the required type of phrase or word.
3. Vocabulary Challenge
Select a new word for the learners and explain its meaning to them. Ask them to create a sentence using the new term. Tell them to practice writing an entire story based on this word.
Learn more: First Cry Parenting
4. Using an I-Spy Jar
Ask a reluctant writer to practice writing their names by fetching and arranging all the letters that make it. For an older writer, ask them to pick an object from the jar, redraw it and give a brief description of what it is or the scene.
Learn more: Imagination Tree
5. Identifying Objects
This reading and writing game is suitable for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten-aged students. Ask them to color the object highlighted in the descriptive sentence. It enhances their fine motor skills, memories, and emotion.
Learn more: Kids Learning with Mom
6. Picture Dictionary
The goal of picture dictionaries will help early learners who are struggling with creative writing exercises and reading skills. Ask children to match the words provided at the top to the activities being performed in the pictures. This reading and writing activity can be developed for individuals, families, or the classroom.
Learn more: Childrensbooks
7. Journal writing
Journal writing works for learners who excel in creative stories or drawing. Have your students engaged in daily writing tasks. For instance, what food did they eat for lunch or a boring character in a favorite piece of writing?
8. Roll a Story
Roll a story will have the learners enjoy rolling dice to discover the character or scene they will be exploring in their writing. Examples of a scene they can get include casino, school, or ancient pyramid.
Learn more: Teachers Pay Teachers
9. Copy-writing
On a drawing paper, make a word entry and ask the pupils to highlight it with a paintbrush or crayon. These creative writing exercises' goal is to enhance the learner’s artistic, emotional, and fine motor skills .
Learn more: Little Learners
10. Pass-it-on Story Writing
This writing game engages the language input of creative writing classes. Write the first scene of a story on a piece of paper. Have the learners come up with a sentence that continues the story. The paper is then passed on to the next child until every student has written something.
Learn more: Minds in Bloom
11. Sentence Scramble Writing
This writing activity's goal is to help children to improve their writing and sentence-building abilities. Ask the child to cut out the words at the bottom of the paper and rearrange them correctly to form a sentence.
Learn more: Twinkl
12. Picture Writing Prompts
Creative writing prompts activities test not only imagination but also a learner’s ability to make conversation on behalf of characters. Provide an entry with a picture accompanied by 3-4 writing prompts to guide them in exploring the scene. A sample question for the scene above will be, “Do the lambs feel safe with the lion?”
Learn more: Homeschool Adventure
13. Cut Out My Name
Help your kindergarten students in writing their names with this fun writing activity. Print out the learner’s name. Next, print the letters of the pupil’s name and mix them with a few random characters. Cut them apart and ask them to sort out the letters in their name.
Learn more: Simply Kinder
Writing cards helps students to engage in purposeful moments. Provide the learners with blank holiday or birthday cards. Ask them to draw or write something to the card’s receiver. Alternatively, students can design their cards and write down the desired message.
Learn more: Learn with Homer
15. Grocery List
Sit down with the child and help them write a list of healthy food items or other household objects you require. In the grocery store, have them cross out the items as they are added to the shopping cart.
Learn more: Kids Night in Box
16. Label a Diagram
Engage your child’s reading and writing abilities by printing out a diagram of simple objects such as flowers, insects, or external human body parts. Provide a list of the answers to the parts and ask them to write the word that matches each in the blank space.
Learn more: Classroom Freebies Too
17. Disappearing Words
On a chalkboard, write down a word. Ask the learners to erase the word with a wet sponge. This way, the learners will learn how to design the letters of the alphabet. Although this writing activity is the opposite of copywriting, they both serve the same purpose.
18. Write a Story Based on the Ending
Test your student’s creativity by providing them with writing prompts that focus on an entire book, a song, or a famous story. For instance, ask students to write a story based on the ending, “And they lived happily ever after."
Learn more: Kid Pillar
19. Found Poetry
Collect words or a group of words from a favorite story or song. You can either write them on a piece of paper or cut them out of a printed page. The overall goal is to rearrange the words differently to make an interesting poem with a unique writing style or genre.
Learn more: Homeschooling Ideas
20. Sticky Notes Story
Learners may have much to say in conversation prompts but get stuck when doing the actual writing. Sticky notes will help them in aspects of writing. A student can write anything ranging from a favorite author, a favorite food, or fantasy elements.
Learn more: Teaching Made Practical
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Minds in Bloom
By Rachel Lynette
10 Fun Writing Activities for Kids
Looking for some fun writing ideas?
We’re excited to welcome back Julie Petersen to Minds in Bloom today! Julie’s written a great post for us about fun writing activities for kids, so please read on and comment with which activities you want to try with your students!
What’s your style of teaching? Is it based on repetition? Yeah, that doesn’t work. I’ve tried it. Kids want something fun.
Today's kiddos expect to be entertained!
Yes – the students expect to be entertained . And we can use that to our advantage.
As teachers, we can make writing fun for our students!
They want diversity, and that’s exactly what makes teaching more fun, too. Here are several writing activities that my students have really enjoyed.
1. Journaling for Beginners
For this activity, you’ll need to provide a journal. If your students are extra techy, you can even provide them with a digital journal . You don’t have to spend lots of money to make the journal special. You can simply fold and staple a few pages and let the students decorate the cover with stickers, pictures, or just with markers and crayons.
If your students aren’t strong writers, they can draw. The important thing is learning self-expression.
Tell them to write (or draw) what they did throughout the day. How they brushed their teeth, what breakfast they had, how they prepared for school…anything. It’s even better if you can encourage them to express feelings, such as happiness, excitement, anger, or whatever else they are feeling.
You can teach the parents how to support journaling at home , too.
2. Cards & Letters
When you assign homework, your students don’t always see the greater purpose. But, writing cards and letters is real-life writing with a purpose. Whenever there’s a holiday, you can use this method to get them to write and have fun while doing it. Let them design and write cards for Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Christmas, and all other holidays. This practice will also help your students learn the standard format for writing friendly letters.
3. Fill in the Story
It was a sunny day. The little tiger just woke up… He saw the _____________, and he said _____________. Together, they ____________________________. Then, they ________________________. They had lots of fun. They agreed to ________________________.
You’d be surprised to see how creative your students can get with few simple sentences. If you need inspiration, then you can get some worksheets with blank stories .
4. Drawing Words
How would you draw the Moon? How would you draw the word “precious”? Think of different words. They can signify items, but you should also let them play with abstract concepts, such as love or beauty.
This activity inspires writing because it helps the students understand the true meaning and importance of every word they use.
5. Birthday Messages
Whenever someone has a birthday, get the entire class to write a message. You can get a big piece of paper where everyone will have space to write. You can also turn this into an art project, so the students will have an authentic purpose for writing.
The sentences can start with, “I wish you…” Let everyone express their message and appreciation for the friend.
6. Cut Out My Name
This is a great way to teach cursive writing. Get some paper and fold each piece lengthwise. Each student should write their name in cursive on one half, with the fold being at the bottom. Cut around the upper side of the name.
When you unfold the paper, you’ll get a symmetrical figure. Each name gives a different figure. What does it look like? A bug ! Let them draw or paint on the clean side of the paper.
7. Chalkboard Writing
For this activity, you’ll need clipboards, chalkboard paint , a paint brush, tape, and chalks. Tape the clipboards on the sides, so you’ll get a nice frame for your board. Then, paint the middle with a coat of chalkboard paint. Let it dry, and apply a second coat. When that dries, you can remove the tape, and the chalkboard will be ready.
You can get all students to tape their own boards, and you’ll be the painter. When the tiny boards are ready, they can use them to write answers to your questions.
8. Write A Choose Your Own Adventure
Write a collaborative class story in the style of “Choose Your Own Adventure.” Start a story and bring that story to a fork in the road. Allow students to write the optional paths that the story can take. Once you have a couple of student-written options, continue the story in the same way. If you have older students, it’s fun to put them in small groups. Tell the groups they need to have at least three branches, and when everyone is done, trade stories and read each other’s adventures.
9. Vocabulary Challenge
Pick a new word for the students to learn. Think of something unusual. Explain the word. Tell them to use it in a sentence. Then, tell them to write a short story around that sentence. If you turn this into a team activity, it will be more fun.
10. Typing Challenge
The students love this one! Students have to learn how to type, right? This is a fun way to practice writing and typing! You can project a Google Doc and call up a student to write for one minute. The next student will add on to what the first student wrote for one minute. One after another, the students work together to write a (HILARIOUS) short story. They felt like real writers. Grab a free digital composition notebook to use with this strategy.
We, teachers, have to be fun. It’s a choice, but it’s the right one to make. With a bit of creativity and effort, we can make even the most challenging aspects of learning easy on them.
Julie Petersen is a tutor, a writer, and a blogger who features the latest career and educational trends in her articles. At the present time, she is running her essay writing blog AskPetersen.com and working on her first ebook dedicated to online learning. You may see Julie’s latest publications and contact her via LinkedIn .
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October 10, 2017 at 3:59 am
I agree, the kids now is not like me at their age at all 🙂 Thank you for sharing these great ideas!
December 14, 2020 at 9:01 pm
Very interesting activities, thank you!
August 6, 2021 at 8:47 pm
One activity I find works well is getting students to talk about an accomplishment they’re proud of. Helps build self-esteem & other students love hearing them too.
May 13, 2022 at 9:32 am
I read your blog. Having very use full information help me a lot. I will read more articles on your blog.
May 27, 2022 at 8:58 am
interesting activities
September 20, 2022 at 12:33 am
Our teacher uses many of these activities which help out students in increasing their academic performance. As we are an online school we do these activities virtually and these activities help kids in refreshing their minds while taking online classes.
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Creative writing prompts – Best activities and resources for KS1 and KS2 English
Fed up of reading 'and then…', 'and then…' in your children's writing? Try these story starters, structures, worksheets and other fun writing prompt resources for primary pupils…
Jump to section:
- Writing with choice and freedom
Creative writing resources for the classroom
Creative writing prompts.
- Improving creative writing
- Overcoming the fear of creative writing
What is creative writing?
According to the Cambridge English Dictionary, ‘creative’ is ‘producing or using original and unusual ideas’, yet I would argue that in writing there’s no such thing as an original idea – all stories are reincarnations of ones that have gone before.
As writers we learn to be expert magpies – selecting the shiny words, phrases and ideas from other stories and taking them for our own.
Interestingly, the primary national curriculum does not mention creative writing or writing for pleasure at all and is focused on the skill of writing.
Therefore, if writing creatively and for pleasure is important in your school, it must be woven into your vision for English.
“Interestingly, the Primary National Curriculum does not mention creative writing or writing for pleasure at all”
Creative writing in primary schools can be broken into two parts:
- writing with choice and freedom
- developing story writing
Writing with choice and freedom allows children to write about what interests and inspires them.
Developing story writing provides children with the skills they need to write creatively. In primary schools this is often taught in a very structured way and, particularly in the formative years, can lack opportunities for children to be creative.
Children are often told to retell a story in their own words or tweak a detail such as the setting or the main character.
Below you’ll find plenty of creative writing prompts, suggestions and resources to help develop both writing for choice and freedom and developing story writing in your classroom.
How to develop opportunities for writing with choice and freedom
Here’s an interesting question to consider: if the curriculum disappeared but children still had the skills to write, would they?
I believe so – they’d still have ideas they wanted to convey and stories they wanted to share.
One of my children enjoys writing and the other is more reluctant to mark make when asked to, but both choose to write. They write notes for friends, song lyrics, stories and even business plans.
So how can we develop opportunities to write with choice and freedom in our classrooms?
Early Years classrooms are full of opportunities for children to write about what interests them, but it’s a rarer sight in KS1 and 2.
Ask children what they want to write about
Reading for pleasure has quite rightly been prioritised in schools and the impact is clear. Many of the wonderful ideas from The Open University’s Reading For Pleasure site can be used and adapted for writing too.
For example, ask children to create a ‘writing river’ where they record the writing they choose to do across a week.
If pupils like writing about a specific thing, consider creating a short burst writing activity linked to this. The below Harry Potter creative writing activity , where children create a new character and write a paragraph about them, is an example of this approach.
If you have a spare 20 minutes, listen to the below conversation with Lucy and Jonathan from HeadteacherChat and Alex from LinkyThinks . They discuss the importance of knowing about children’s interests but also about being a writer yourself.
'The confidence Crisis in Creative Writing.' Lucy and Jonathan chat with Alex from @LinkyThinks https://t.co/VClYxiQhcf — HeadteacherChat 🙋🏻♂️ 👂 (@Headteacherchat) August 9, 2022
Plan in time to pursue personal writing projects
There are lots of fantastic ideas for developing writing for pleasure in your classrooms on The Writing For Pleasure Centre’s website .
One suggestion is assigning time to pursue personal writing projects. The Meadows Primary School in Madeley Heath, Staffordshire, does this termly and provides scaffolds for children who may find the choice daunting.
Give children a choice about writing implements and paper
Sometimes the fun is in the novelty. Are there opportunities within your week to give pupils some choices about the materials they use? Ideas could include:
- little notebooks
- a roll of paper
- felt tip pens
- gel pens
Write for real audiences
This is a great way to develop children’s motivation to write and is easy to do.
It could be a blog, a class newsletter or pen pals. Look around in your community for opportunities to write – the local supermarket, a nearby nursing home or the library are often all good starting points.
Have a go yourself
The most successful teachers of story writing write fiction themselves.
Many adults do not write creatively and trying to teach something you have not done yourself in a long time can be difficult. By having a go you can identify the areas of difficulty alongside the thought processes required.
Treat every child as an author
Time is always a premium in the classroom but equally, we’re all fully aware of the impact of verbal feedback.
One-to-one writing conferences have gained in popularity in primary classrooms and it’s well-worth giving these a go if you haven’t already.
Set aside time to speak to each child about the writing they’re currently constructing. Discuss what’s going well and what they could develop.
If possible, timetable these one-to-one discussions with the whole class throughout the year (ideally more often, if possible).
Free KS2 virtual visit and resources
Bring best-selling children’s authors directly into your classroom with Author In Your Classroom. It’s a brilliant free podcast series made especially for schools, and there’s loads of free resources to download too.
More than 20 authors have recorded episodes so far, including:
- Sir Michael Morpurgo
- Dame Jacqueline Wilson
- Michael Rosen
- Joseph Coelho
- Lauren Child
- Frank Cottrell-Boyce
- Benjamin Zephaniah
- Cressida Cowell
- Robin Stevens
Creative writing exercises
Use these inspiring writing templates from Rachel Clarke to inspire pupils who find it difficult to get their thoughts down on the page. The structured creative writing prompts and activities, which range from writing a ‘through the portal story’ to a character creation activity that involves making your own Top Trumps style cards, will help inexperienced writers to get started.
Storyboard templates and story structures
Whether it’s short stories, comic strips or filmmaking, every tale needs the right structure to be told well. This storyboard template resource will help your children develop the skills required to add that foundation to their creative writing.
Ten-minute activities
The idea of fitting another thing into the school day can feel overwhelming, so start with small creative writing activities once a fortnight. Below are a few ideas that have endless possibilities.
Character capers
You need a 1-6 dice for this activity. Roll it three to find out who your character is, what their personality is and what job they do, then think about the following:
- Can you draw them?
- What questions would you ask them if you met them?
- What might their answers be?
- If they were the main character in a story, what might happen?
Download our character capers worksheet .
Setting soup
In this activity pupils Look at the four photos and fill in a mind map for one of the settings, focusing on what they’d see, hear, feel, smell and feel in that location. They then write an ingredients list for their setting, such as:
- A dollop of calmness
- A drizzle of a beautiful sunset
- A generous helping of a still ocean
- Copious amounts of smooth sand
- A spattering of lush, green palm trees
Download our setting soup worksheet .
Use consequences to generate story ideas
Start with a game of drawing consequences – this is a great way of building a new character.
Next, play a similar game but write a story. Here’s an example . Download our free writing consequences template to get started.
Roll and write a story
For this quick activity, children roll a dice three times to choose a setting and two characters – for example, a theme park, an explorer and a mythical creature. They then use the results to create an outline for a story.
Got more than ten minutes? Use the outline to write a complete story. Alternatively, use the results to create a book cover and blurb or, with a younger group of children, do the activity as a class then draw or write about the outcome.
Download our roll and write a story worksheet .
Scavenger hunt
Give children something to hide and tell them they have to write five clues in pairs, taking another pair from one clue to the next until the 5th clue leads them to the hidden item.
For a challenge, the clues could be riddles.
Set up pen pals. This might be with children in another country or school, or it could simply be with another class.
What do pupils want to say or share? It might be a letter, but it could be a comic strip, poem or pop-up book.
You need a log-in to access Authorfy’s content but it’s free. The website is crammed with every children’s author imaginable, talking about their books and inspirations and setting writing challenges. It’s a great tool to inspire and enthuse.
There are lots of great resources and videos on Oxford Owl which are free to access and will provide children with quick bursts of creativity.
Creative writing ideas for KS2
This free Pie Corbett Ultimate KS2 fiction collection is packed with original short stories from the man himself, and a selection of teaching resources he’s created to accompany each one.
Each creative writing activity will help every young writer get their creative juices flowing and overcome writer’s block.
WAGOLL text types
Support pupils when writing across a whole range of text types and genres with these engaging writing packs from Plazoom , differentiated for KS1, LKS2 and UKS2.
They feature:
- model texts (demonstrating WAGOLL for learners)
- planning guides
- writing templates
- themed paper
Each one focuses on a particular kind of text, encouraging children to make appropriate vocabulary, register and layout choices, and produce the very best writing of which they are capable, which can be used for evidence of progress.
If you teach KS2, start off by exploring fairy tales with a twist , or choose from 50+ other options .
Scaffolds and plot types
A great way to support children with planning stories with structures, this creative writing scaffolds and plot types resource pack contains five story summaries, each covering a different plot type, which they can use as a story idea.
It has often been suggested that there are only seven basic plots a story can use, and here you’ll find text summaries for five of these:
- Overcoming the monster
- Rags to riches
- Voyage and return
After familiarising themselves with these texts, children can adapt and change these stories to create tales of their own.
Use story starters
If some children still need a bit of a push in the right direction, check out our 6 superb story starters to develop creative writing skills . This list features a range of free story starter resources, including animations (like the one above) and even the odd iguana…
Use word mats to inspire
Help pupils to write independently by providing them with helpful vocabulary sheets that they can pick and choose from when doing their own creative writing.
Download our free creative writing word mats here , including:
- Create a spooky atmosphere
- Write an adventure story
- Describe a character’s appearance
- Describe a character’s personality
- Describe how a character moves
- Describe how a character speaks
- Describe a mythical beast
Creative writing pictures
Using images as writing prompts is nothing new, but it’s fun and effective.
Pobble 365 has an inspiring photo for every day of the year. These are great inspiration for ten-minute free writing activities. You need to log in to Pobble but access to Pobble 365 (the pictures) is free.
Choose two pictures as prompts (you can access every picture for the year in the calendar) or provide children with a range of starter prompts.
For example, with the photo above you might ask children to complete one of the following activities:
- Continue the story using the story starters on Pobble.
- Write down what your dream day would include.
- Create a superhero called Dolphin Dude.
- If you didn’t need to breath when swimming underwater, what would you do? Write about your dream day. It might include rivers, lakes, swimming pools, the seas or oceans.
- If you had a super power, what would it be and why?
The Literacy Shed
Website The Literacy Shed has a page dedicated to interesting pictures for creative writing . There are winter scenes, abandoned places, landscapes, woodlands, pathways, statues and even flying houses.
The Literacy Shed also hosts video clips for inspiring writing and is choc-full of ways to use them. The Night Zookeeper Shed is well worth a visit. There are short videos, activities and resources to inspire creative writing.
Once Upon a Picture
Once Upon a Picture is another site packed with creative writing picture prompts , but its focus is more on illustrations than photography, so its offering is great for letting little imaginations soar.
Each one comes with questions for kids to consider, or activities to carry out.
How to improve creative writing
Developing story writing .
If you decided to climb a mountain, in order to be successful you’d need to be well-equipped and you’d need to have practised with smaller climbs first.
The same is true of creative writing: to be successful you need to be well-equipped with the skills of writing and have had plenty of opportunities to practise.
As a teachers you need to plan with this in mind – develop a writing journey which allows children to learn the art of story writing by studying stories of a similar style, focusing on how effects are created and scaffolding children’s writing activities so they achieve success.
- Choose a focus When planning, consider what skill you want to embed for children and have that as your focus throughout the sequence of learning. For example, if you teach Y4 you might decide to focus on integrating speech into stories. When your class looks at a similar story, draw their attention to how the author uses speech and discuss how it advances the action and shows you more about the characters. During the sequence, your class can practise the technical side of writing speech (new line/new speaker, end punctuation, etc). When they come to write their own story, your success criteria will be focused on using speech effectively. By doing this, the skill of using speech is embedded. If you chose to focus on ALL the elements of story writing that a Y4 child should be using (fronted adverbials, conjunctions, expanded noun phrases, etc), this might lead to cognitive overload.
- Plan in chances to be creative Often teachers plan three writing opportunities: one where children retell the story, one with a slight difference (eg a different main character) and a final one where children invent their own story. However, in my experience, the third piece of writing often never happens because children have lost interest or time has run out. If we equip children with the skills, we must allow them time to use them.
- Utilise paired writing Children love to collaborate and by working in pairs it actually helps develop independence. Give it a go!
- Find opportunities for real audiences Nothing is more motivating than knowing you will get to share your story with another class, a parent or the local nursing home.
- Use high-quality stimuli If your focus is speech, find a great novel for kids that uses speech effectively. There are so many excellent children’s stories available that there’s no need to write your own.
- Use magpie books This is somewhere where children can note down any great words or phrases they find from their reading. It will get them reading as a writer.
Below is a rough outline of a planning format that leads to successful writing opportunities.
This sequence of learning takes around three weeks but may be longer or shorter, depending on the writing type.
Before planning out the learning, decide on up to three key focuses for the sequence. Think about the potential learning opportunities that the stimuli supports (eg don’t focus on direct speech if you’re writing non-chronological reports).
Ways to overcome fear of creative writing
Many children are inhibited in their writing for a variety of reasons. These include the all-too-familiar ‘fear of the blank page’ (“I can’t think of anything to write about!” is a common lament), trying to get all the technical aspects right as they compose their work (a sense of being ‘overwhelmed’), and the fact that much of children’s success in school is underpinned by an ethos of competitiveness and comparison, which can lead to a fear of failure and a lack of desire to try.
Any steps we can take to diminish these anxieties means that children will feel increasingly motivated to write, and so enjoy their writing more. This in turn will lead to the development of skills in all areas of writing, with the broader benefits this brings more generally in children’s education.
Here are some easily applied and simple ideas from author and school workshop provider Steve Bowkett for boosting self-confidence in writing.
- Keep it creative Make creative writing a regular activity. High priority is given to spelling, punctuation and grammar, but these need a context to be properly understood. Teaching the technicalities of language without giving children meaningful opportunities to apply them is like telling people the names of a car engine’s parts without helping them learn to drive.
- Model the behaviour In other words, when you want your class to write a story or poem, have a go yourself and be upfront about the difficulties you encounter in trying to translate your thoughts into words.
- Go easy on the grammar Encourage children to write without them necessarily trying to remember and apply a raft of grammatical rules. An old saying has it that we should ‘learn the rules well and then forget them’. Learning how to use punctuation, for instance, is necessary and valuable, but when children try and apply the rules consciously and laboriously as they go along, the creative flow can be stifled. Consideration of rules should, however, be an important element of the editing process.
- Keep assessment focused Where you do require children to focus on rules during composition, pick just one or two they can bear in mind as they write. Explain that you will mark for these without necessarily correcting other areas of GaPS. Not only will this save you time, but also children will be spared the demotivating sight of their writing covered in corrections (which many are unlikely to read).
- Value effort If a child tries hard but produces work that is technically poor, celebrate his achievement in making an effort and apply the old ‘three stars and a wish’ technique to the work by finding three points you can praise followed by noting one area where improvements can be made.
- Leave room for improvement Make clear that it’s fine for children to change their minds, and that there is no expectation for them to ‘get it all right’ first time. Show the class before and after drafts from the work of well-known poets and extracts from stories. Where these have been hand written, they are often untidy and peppered with crossings out and other annotations as the writers tried to clarify their thoughts. If you have the facilities, invite children to word process their stories using the ‘track changes’ facility. Encourage children to show their workings out, as you would do in maths.
- Don’t strive for perfection Slay the ‘practice makes perfect’ dragon. It’s a glib phrase and also an inaccurate one. Telling children that practice makes better is a sound piece of advice. But how could we ever say that a story or poem is perfect? Even highly experienced authors strive to improve.
- Come back later Leave some time – a couple of days will do – between children writing a piece and editing or redrafting it. This is often known as the ‘cooling off’ period. Many children will find that they come back to their work with fresh eyes that enable them to pick out more errors, and with new ideas for improving the piece structurally.
- Try diamond 9 Use the diamond ranking tool to help children assess their own work. Give each child some scraps of paper or card and have them write on each an aspect of their writing, such as creating strong characters, controlling pace and tension, describing places and things, using ‘punchy’ verbs etc. Supply these elements as necessary, but allow children some leeway to think of examples of their own. Now ask each child to physically arrange these scraps according to how effectively they were used in the latest piece of work. So two writing elements that a child thinks are equally strong will be placed side by side, while an aspect of the work a child is pleased with will be placed above one that he / she is not so happy with.
- Keep it varied Vary the writing tasks. By this I mean it’s not necessary to ask children always to write a complete story. Get them to create just an opening scene for example, or a vivid character description, or an exciting story climax. If more-reluctant writers think they haven’t got to write much they might be more motivated to have a go. Varying the tasks also helps to keep the process of writing fresh, while the results can form resource banks (of characters, scenes, etc) for future use.
- Help each other Highlight the idea that everyone in the class, including yourself, forms a community of writers. Here, difficulties can be aired, advice can be shared and successes can be celebrated as we all strive to ‘dare to do it and do our best’.
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JournalBuddies.com
Journal Buddies Jill | November 9, 2022 September 29, 2022 | Prompts by Grade
Awesome 6th Grade Writing Prompts (Updated!)
33 6th Grade Writing Prompts + 17 NEW Bonus Ideas for Middle Schoolers— You can use these wonderful writing prompts for 6 th graders to help your students grow and prepare for the challenges they’ll face in the coming years—and to give them a great foundation from which to start.
Without a doubt, writing and journaling are some of the best tools to guide students through this time of exciting changes and new responsibilities.
What Should a 6th Grader Write about (and Why)
Sixth grade is a big year and as your students enter middle school for the first time and begin looking toward high school, it’s more important than ever before to introduce them to activities that build their writing skills and promote healthy reflection and self-expression.
These powerful 6 th grade writing prompts are designed to help students think critically about some of the most important issues they face in today’s world.
With questions on topics like bullying and Internet usage, your students will have the chance to reflect on what it means to be a teenager today and how popular culture influences their lives.
Additionally, each time students write and reflect, they’ll also become more comfortable expressing their own unique ideas and thoughts—and they’ll experience greater self-esteem as a result.
Ok. Let’s get to that wonderful list of 6th grade writing prompts. Enjoy!
33 Fabulous 6th Grade Writing Prompts
- What value is most important to your family? How do you display it in your everyday life?
- What is your greatest talent? How did you discover it?
- Do you think you could go for one month without using the Internet? Why or why not? What would be the hardest part?
- In your opinion, is it important for people to study history? Why or why not?
- Write a letter to your future self.
- Have you ever encountered a bully? What did you say to him or her?
- What chores are you responsible for at home? Do you like doing them?
- Why is it important for kids to have chores and responsibilities at home?
- What is the best field trip you’ve ever gone on? What made it so special?
- If you had to give up one of your five senses, which would you choose to go without and why?
- Write a short story about a teenager who discovers he or she has a secret superpower.
- Write a poem that describes your neighborhood.
- What is your greatest talent? Where did you learn it?
- Write about a time when you gave something of yours to someone else. How did they respond? How did that make you feel?
- Do you keep a diary or journal at home? Why or why not? How does it differ from your school journal?
- Do your parents supervise your Internet usage? Why or why not?
- What is your favorite thing to snack on? Why is it your favorite snack?
- Have you ever made friends with someone unexpectedly? Write about your experience.
- Are you a competitive person? Why or why not?
- Write a short story about your favorite fictional character.
- What would it be like to live in the White House? Use your imagination to write a short story.
- If you could create your own country, what would it be called? What laws would you put in place?
- Write about a time when you learned something by trying to imagine yourself in someone else’s shoes.
- What is the strangest thing that’s ever happened to you? Write about your experience.
- What animal do you think best represents your personality? Why?
- What is one thing that our school does really well?
- What is one area our school could improve in?
- Have you ever collected something? If so, what did you collect and why? If not, what would you like to collect?
- Write a poem about your grandparents.
- Do you enjoy meeting new people? Why or why not?
- What is the most challenging thing you have to do on a regular basis? What makes it so hard?
- Write a letter introducing yourself to your favorite fictional character. Tell him or her about yourself and describe a few things you have in common.
I hope you enjoyed these writing prompts for 6th grade students.
17 Bonus Prompts List of Writing Prompts for 6th Grade
If your young writers need even more inspiration, check out these bonus ideas:
- Create your own planet and describe in detail what life is like living on it.
- What if cell phones had never been invented… how would your life be different?
- What does your best day ever look like? Describe it in vivid detail and with loads of sensory details.
- Write a story about a world without pizza.
- Who is the one famous person you hope to meet in your lifetime and why?
- What historical figure would you like to meet and why?
- Create a new holiday and explain in detail the purpose of the holiday, how it’s celebrated and what makes it so unique.
- What is the most surprising thing about you that others do not know, and why do they not know about it?
- What discovery do you think has changed the world the most in your lifetime?
- What is your dream career and why?
- What is your favorite book and why?
- Is creativity an important skill to have in today’s world? Why or why not?
- What is your perspective on the climate of the earth and how it’s changing?
- What special gift would you love to receive? Write in vivid detail to someone you are trying to convince to get this gift for you.
- Create your own video game and how you can market it to others to get them to buy it.
- What interesting story have you told lately?
- If you could make a movie, what would it be about?
That’s all the ideas for this post.
More Grade 6 Writing Resources
Take a look at this list of even more wonderful writing prompts and resources for 6th graders.
- 37 6th Grade Writing Prompts
- 31 6th Grade Writing Ideas
- 53 Reflective Writing Prompts
- 6th-grade writing lesson plans
Until next time, write on…
If you enjoyed these Writing Prompts for 6th Graders, please share them on social media Facebook, Twitter, and/or Pinterest. I appreciate it!
Sincerely, Jill journalbuddies.com creator and curator
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EXTERNAL LINK F Link-2
- Writing Tasks
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- Class Page Archives: 2020-2021
There are lots of writing ideas and resources on this page which I will keep adding to. The green words on this piece of text will also take you to some useful videos and websites for creative writing tips:
Lauren Childs , Oxford Owl , Usborne publishing , Suspense writing , Tips for parents , Relative Clauses , Similes and Metaphors , Using speech , Parenthesis song , Expanded noun phrase song , Persuasive writing videos , Parenthesis , Creative writing tips , Expanded noun phrases , Personification , Describing characters , Describing settings , Planning a story
Writing support
- Non-negotiables
- Picture stimulus
- Planning formats and resources
- Story starters
- 500 word support
Creative Writing
Write at least 2 pages using the following title.
In your writing you could:
- Explain the situation;
- Describe the thoughts and feelings of the person or people involved;
- Try to make your reader share the experience through your choice of words and sentences.
PLAN YOUR ANSWER!
In your writing you should:
- Make your writing interesting for your reader – use verbs, adverbs and adjectives to achieve effects;
- Present your ideas clearly, organising your writing into paragraphs;
- Write using accurate grammar, spelling and punctuation;
- Include an interesting beginning and ending for your writing.
In your writing, try to use the following:
- Alliteration
- Onomatopoeia
Task: To complete a piece of creative writing.
What you need to do: Choose from one of the following story starters/writing prompts. You can write in any type of genre: A letter, a poem, a story, a short story, a play, a blog, a diary, a newspaper report, persuasive writing Remember that you need to include some powerful vocabulary but just start writing and have fun!
Writing prompts/starters:
You’re digging in your garden and find a fist-sized nugget of gold.
The asteroid was hurtling straight for Earth…
There’s a guy sitting on a park bench reading a newspaper…
He turned the key in the lock and opened the door. To his horror, he saw…
Silvery flakes drifted down, glittering in the bright light of the harvest moon. The blackbird swooped down…
The detective saw his opportunity. He grabbed the waitress’s arm and said…
There are three children sitting on a log near a stream. One of them looks up at the sky and says…
You find a door at the end of the garden. What do you do?
And you thought dragons didn’t exist…
Write about nature.
You walk into your house and it’s completely different — furniture, decor, all changed. And nobody’s home.
Write about one (or both) of your parents. Start with “I was born…”
The most beautiful smile I ever saw…
Here is a poem using metaphors about James Bond
He is a bar of dark chocolate,
A smooth black cat’s coat,
An exotic fruit cocktail,
A silver Porsche disappearing into the distance.
He is a plate of caviar,
A blade on a knife,
A frothy cappuccino,
A piece of black silk.
He is a midnight alarm,
A tiger disguised as a pussycat,
A jet plane,
A perfect day.
Your task is to write a poem in the same style about either a fictional character or a celebrity. It could be about a character from a book or film. It could be a celebrity from sport, the music industry, the film industry or even the Royal family.
Think about these questions and write some interesting metaphors: What do they look like? What do they do? What are they famous for? What is their character like?
How to Play a Favourite Game
our school has been asked to make a book of instructions for children’s favourite games. These might be games you play at home or school. It could be a game you enjoy playing with your friends. It must not be a game you play on the computer.
Your task is to write a set of exact instructions to explain how to play your favourite game. Remember, the person who will be reading your instructions will never have played this game before.
Planning ideas - Title of the game, equipment needed, aim of the game, step-by-step details
The Electric Skateboard
You have been asked to promote a new type of skateboard. It is powered by an electric motor and has rechargeable batteries. It is operated from a wireless hand controller.
Your task is to write a persuasive article for a parent’s magazine explaining the functions and advantages of the electric skateboard. You need to make it sound like the best Christmas present any child could ever want!
Planning Questions
What are its uses? How is it unique? Why is it fun? Cost and maintenence? Features?
Collect words and phrases to help you persuade parents to buy this skateboard.
The Argument
A group of friends, who are slightly older than you, have asked if you can come to town on Saturday. Your parents are not keen for you to go. Continue the play script below
(Emma and Mum are in the kitchen.)
Emma: Mum! Anna and Henna are going to town on Saturday. They asked if I could go too. Is that O.K.?
(Mum has a concerned look on her face.)
Mum: I don’t think so dear, you’re much too young.
(Emma pleads.)
Emma: But Mum, I’ll be fine.
(Dad enters the room.)
Dad: What are you two talking about?
Planning ideas - Think about the characters in the play. What are they like? What are the arguments for and against Emma going to town?
Time Travel
One evening you go to your computer and accidentally press one of the keys you have never pressed before. Suddenly you are transported into a different time! Your task is to write about where you travel to, what the place is like, who you meet and how you manage to get home again.
Where did you travel to and what form did your transport/journey take? (Remember: You can travel back or forwards in time.) What is the place you visit like? Who do you meet? What are they like? How do you manage to get back home?
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100 Entertaining 6th Grade Writing Prompts
- DESCRIPTION 100 Entertaining 6th Grade Writing Prompts
- SOURCE pixdeluxe / iStock / Getty Images Plus
- PERMISSION Used under Getty Images license
Sixth-grade writing prompts don't have to be dull and unimaginative. Upper elementary students and young middle schoolers can write more deeply than they could last year. Here are 100 opportunities for sixth graders to express themselves through writing, all aligned to the Common Core writing standards .
Narrative Writing Prompts
Whether you're writing about a true event or a magical adventure, narrative writing involves telling a story. Narrative writing typically includes a plot structure that progresses through the story's beginning, middle, and end. Reflective writing is a type of narrative writing that focuses on the writer's ability to reflect rather than tell a story.
Story Starters
Want to write a story but don't know where to start? Check out a list of story writing topics for grade 6 students.
- The most surprising thing I found in the old house was...
- When we found the genie's lamp, we decided to...
- My best friend and I were in the worst fight ever. It all started when...
- My dream vacation to ______ was ruined when...
- I had never seen a dragon before that day in the forest.
- As the world's first 12-year-old doctor, I have to share my discovery.
- My first trip on a hot air balloon did NOT go as planned. First...
- Rosa looked down at her food, which looked as gross as...
- I had the biggest surprise of my life when my cat...
- Sara had never planned on being on another planet. Luckily, she had a...
Make sure you include the essential elements of story writing after you choose a prompt. You can also explore more creative writing prompts for middle school.
Personal Narrative Prompts
Personal narratives tell true stories in descriptive ways. Help sixth graders choose the best way to express themselves with these prompt ideas.
- Think about the best day of your life. What made it so great?
- Who is the oldest person you know?
- Describe a friend situation that changed over only one day.
- Write about how it feels when you're alone.
- Describe your favorite vacation.
- Has a book, movie, or album ever changed your life?
- Think about your future self. Write about a day in your life, one year from today.
- Tell a family story from your perspective.
- Describe a memory you have of extreme weather.
- Think about a time you had to work hard to learn something.
Planning another autobiographical assignment? Check out more tips on personal narratives before starting the next lesson.
Reflective Writing Prompts
Keeping a journal or writing reflectively is a great way for young students to keep track of progress. Use these prompts to get started.
- Track the weather for a week. What day was the most comfortable?
- Sit outside in nature and describe what you see. What feeling does it give you?
- Make a list of your daily goals. Reflect on which one was easiest to accomplish.
- Track the foods you eat during the day. How did you feel after each meal?
- Write down all the emotions you feel during the day.
- Reflect on a friendship. What makes it special?
- Write down a list of your favorite things about yourself.
- List your sports or extracurricular activities. What have you learned from each?
- Think of three things you have learned in school this year.
- What is your favorite physical activity? What do you enjoy about it?
Learn more about the benefits of emotional journal writing or using reflective writing in the classroom. You can also find more journal writing exercises for enthusiastic diarists.
Informational Writing Prompts
When you want to get the point across clearly, informational writing is a great way to explore a nonfiction topic. Add some research to strengthen your writing and try your hand at technical writing to explain a procedure.
Expository Prompts
Expository writing compares and contrasts, investigates causes and effects, and poses solutions to problems. It also describes the who, what, where, when, and why of an event.
- Write an extended definition essay on one of your vocabulary words.
- Find an interesting story in your local newspaper and describe it in your own words.
- Pretend a friend hasn't seen your favorite TV show. What is it about?
- Compare and contrast two of your friends.
- Describe your school year so far. What have been the most important events?
- Choose a problem at your school. What's the best solution?
- What was the cause of a recent argument you had? What was the effect?
- Compare and contrast two of your favorite sports or activities.
- Discuss a conflict in a movie you like. How was it resolved?
- Write a definition essay about the concept of empathy.
Expository writing skills are important outside the essay structure, too. Take informational writing to the next level with an informative speech .
Research Prompts
Research is the process of answering a question with credible sources. If you're having trouble picking a topic, use these prompts to get started.
- Why was your school built?
- How long can fish live out of water?
- What endangered animals are close to extinction?
- Research your dream career. What do you need to do to achieve it?
- What is the history of your favorite sport?
- Research an important invention in the last 50 years.
- When and why was your country founded?
- What does smoking do to your lungs?
- What are civil rights? Who has fought for them?
- Why do sharks hunt other fish?
Explore writing times for writing APA-style research papers , or read about topics that are not the best options for research writing .
Procedural Prompts
It may not seem like procedural writing is as fun as fiction writing. However, the right prompts can even make writing user manuals entertaining.
- Explain how to send a friendly text message.
- Teach a reader how to play your favorite board or card game.
- Write about the steps needed to tie a shoe.
- Create a user manual for something you use a lot (e.g., hair straightener or cell phone).
- Describe how you get home after school.
- Tell a younger reader how to do homework without wasting time.
- How do you get to the library from your classroom?
- How do you choose what to watch on a streaming service?
- Explain how to pass a difficult level in a video game.
- Write about the steps you follow to listen to your favorite music.
Want more procedural writing practice? Check out the characteristics of procedural writing or examples of technical writing .
Argument Writing Prompts
Arguments don't always mean that you need to get angry. Argumentative essays pose both sides of a situation in a formal writing format. Persuasive writing uses rhetorical devices to convince the reader to take the writer's side in an argument.
Argumentative Essay Prompts
Whether you feel passionate about a topic or are curious to learn both sides, argumentative essays are a great way to develop writing skills. Select any of these prompts to start the discussion today.
- Should kids have homework?
- Is your city a good place to live?
- Is it important to learn math?
- Should school start later?
- What's the best way to eat an ice cream cone?
- Should skateboarding be allowed in private parking lots?
- Is Monday through Friday the best school schedule?
- Does pizza make a good breakfast?
- Are hamsters fun pets?
- Should students be allowed to go anywhere they want on the Internet?
A strong essay requires a strong structure. Before you start the first draft, be sure to include an argumentative essay outline .
Persuasive Prompts
Get your readers on your side with emotional appeals and other rhetorical devices. Here are some prompts for you to start making your case.
- What's the best show on television?
- Who should be the next president of the United States?
- Is composting a good idea for your school?
- Why would you make a great school principal?
- What's the best season?
- Who is the best character in a book you've read?
- Is college important?
- What's the best job to have?
- Who is the greatest football/basketball/baseball/soccer player of all time?
Get beyond the essay format. Newspaper editorials or school election speeches are great ways to hone a persuasive voice.
Poetry Prompts
Poetry is a beautiful way to express yourself. Whether sixth-graders prefer writing in free verse or iambic meter , they'll enjoy these creative poetry prompts.
- Write a haiku about how you feel today.
- Create a shape poem about your favorite sport or activity.
- Choose an example of onomatopoeia and use it five times in a poem.
- Think of a metaphor for this school year and write a poem about it.
- Write a poem about friendship in which every line includes a rhyme for "friend."
- Create an ode to a book, TV, or movie character who has died.
- Look through a magazine and create a found poem with interesting words.
- Write a rap song about your favorite food.
- Choose a historical figure and write a poem about an event from their point of view.
- Write a descriptive poem about the way something annoying sounds.
Combine narrative writing and poetry with examples of narrative poems . Young writers may also benefit from additional tips on writing poems .
More Creative Writing Tips
Looking for more inspiration? Check out 100 more creative writing prompts for middle school . Or, you can try some flash fiction if you're pressed for time. As you make your way through those creative writing exercises, think about how you might include these important words for some real impact!
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An organization’s task environment is the collection of factors that affects its ability to achieve goals. Common factors in the task environment include competitors, customers, suppliers and distributors.
Task interdependence sets rules and guidelines for the sharing of expertise, materials and information between members of an organization working on interdependent tasks.
The transit of Venus happens every 100 years. The last one was in June 2012, and the next one occurs in 2117. This happens as Venus directly passes between the Earth and the Sun. This once-in-a-lifetime astronomical alignment has been witne...
Creative writing is an extremely important activity for children to do. It's an exercise that helps pupils to practise almost any aspect of English that's
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Where did you travel to and what form did your transport/journey take? (Remember: You can travel back or forwards in time.) What is the place you visit like?
Personal Narrative Prompts · Think about the best day of your life. · Who is the oldest person you know? · Describe a friend situation that changed over only one