The toughest part of writing is often getting started. Jump the hurdle with these kid-friendly writing warm-ups that spark creativity!
Check out Narrative Writing Prompts & Worksheets for kindergarten-4th grade! There is a variety of prompts & worksheets to use in your room!
Check out thisFREE Opinion Writing Craft. This cute doughnut is perfect for your Literacy lessons and centers for your little learners!
This week’s Homeschool Help topic is “Help! My child hates writing!” My suggestion whenever a child hates anything is to take a complete break from the current routine and have so…
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Are you teaching creative writing? Here are some tips and suggestions to help you plan a successful, fun creative writing class.
1. Attach an image (photo, magazine, etc.) to a notebook page and write about it. 2. What things will people in the future say about how we live now? (Examples: They ate that? They believed that?) 3. Pick one from each list to make a creature and animal combination. Now write a short story or scene in which this creature appears. List 1 List 2 Vampire porcupine Ninja armadillo Zombie pig Pirate goat Mummy lobster Clown possum Banshee shark Wraith moray eel 4. Imagine a future in which we each have a personalized robot servant. What would yours be like? What would it do? What features would it have? 5. What does your name mean? Free write about names: names you like, names you don’t, how a name can affect a person’s life, how you feel about your own name, why your parents chose your name, etc. 6. Create a brand new holiday with its own traditions, rituals, foods, and activities. 7. What road-trip would you take if you suddenly could? Write about it. 8. List six true sentences that begin with the words “I'll never forget…” 9. Imagine that we lost all electricity, water, and gas for a month without any time to prepare. Write about how your life would change and how you would survive. 10. Make your bucket list for the next 5 years, the next 10 years, and for life. 11. Tell this story: “Well, I thought it was going to be a regular summer doing all our regular things…” 12. List 10 places in the world that you would most like to visit, 10 places you’ve been, and 10 places you would never want to go. 13. Think about hospitality in your family. What’s it like to have guests in your house? Do you prefer to have friends to your house or to go to a friend’s house? 14. Pick a family member of two and write about his or her reputation in your family, or tell a family legend. 15. A guitar pick, a red balloon, and a wicker basket. Write a scene or a poem that includes these three objects. 16. What animal would judge us the most? Write a scene (based on truth or fiction) where two or more people are doing something silly, and they're being observed and criticized by animals. 17. Write about your own worst family vacation memory. 18. Write about your best family vacation memory. 19. Imagine that someone says to you, “Because that's how we've always done it!” Write this out as a scene. (Think: Who said it, what were the circumstances, how did you respond, etc.) 20. What do you think about when you can't sleep? Turn it into a piece of writing. 21. What traditions does your family have? List all of them or just pick one and write about it. 22. Think about your strongest emotion right now (irritation, boredom, happiness, contentment, etc.) and find five quotes about this emotion. 23. What do you struggle with the most? Write about it. 24. Write a self-portrait. 25. What can we learn from contrast? Write a description of something very dark (like a crow) in a very light place (like a field of snow). Make the dark thing seem innocent and the light thing seem ominous. 26. Write about someone who has no enemies. Is it even possible? 27. Think of a person from your past who really deserved a good scolding but never got one. Write a fictional piece where you tell that person off intelligently. 28. Can honesty honestly be bad? Write about someone, fact or fiction, who gets in trouble for being too truthful. 29. The word “fat” carries a negative connotation. Write a story or observation where something fat is celebrated. 30. What animal lives beneath your human skin? A mouse? A cougar? Or what? Explain with writing. 31. Write about the best piece of advice you ever received. 32. Remember a favorite book from your childhood. Write a scene that includes you and an old copy of that book you find somewhere. --> 33. “I was so mortified, I wanted to crawl in a hole!” Write a short narrative (fiction or nonfiction) where this is your first sentence. Illustrate it if you want. 34. Should books ever be banned? Discuss. If no, explain why. You might want to look at a least of commonly banned books. If yes, explain under what circumstances. 35. Ernest Hemingway said to “write hard and clear about what hurts.” Write about something that hurts, whether it’s an emotional, physical, or phantom pain. 36. What if everyone had to wear a shirt with his or her Myers-Briggs personality type on it? What would this change? How would this affect the way people interact with each other? Would you like this or hate it? (If you don’t know your “type,” try this site. 37. William Shakespeare wrote that: “Conversation should be pleasant without scurrility, witty without affectation, free without indecency, learned without conceitedness, novel without falsehood.” Write your thoughts about conversation, or make up dialogue between two characters who are meeting each other for the first time in an unexpected place. 38. Tell this story: “There it was, finally. Our island. Our very own island. It looked beautiful above the waves of fog, but there was still one question to be answered: why had they sold it to us for only five dollars?” 39. Maya Angelou said “I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way s/he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.” Tell a story in which a character has to deal with one, two, or all three of these scenarios. How does your character respond? 40. You have a chance to go back and completely re-do an event in your life. What is it, and how to you change it? What is the outcome? This can be a real or fictional event. 41. Pick two characters from different books you’ve read this year and have them get in an argument about something (e.g., who has suffered more, who has had a happier life, etc.). 42. The one shoe in the road: why is it there? Write a story about the circumstances that led to one shoe in the middle of the road. 43. You get to guest star on a TV show. What show is it? What happens in this particular episode? 44. What would you pack in your suitcase if you could not go home again? 45. You can only use 20 words for the rest of your life. You can repeat them as often as you wish, but you can only use these words. What are they? 46. What current fashion in clothing do you particularly like or dislike? Why? 47. Choose five symbols or objects that represent you. Why did you choose these things? 48. "When I stepped outside, the whole world smelled like…" Write a scene that starts with that line. 49. Write a poem entitled "Hitchhiking on a Saturday Afternoon." 50. Use these two lines of dialogue in a story: "What's in your hand?" "It's mine. I found it." 51. Write a scene that happens in a parking lot between a teenager and a man in a convertible. 52. If you only had one window to look out of for the next six months, what would you want to see on the other side? Describe the view. How would it change? 53. Write a story for children. Start with “Once upon a time” or “Long ago in a land far away.” Include a dragon, a deadly flower, and a mask. 54. "Did she actually just say that?" Write a scene that includes this line. 55. “Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.” — Jane Howard. Write what comes to mind when you read this quote. 56. List five things you want in a relationship. 57. List ten favorite lines from movies. 58. Write about the biggest mistake you made this week. Now write about the best thing you did this week. 59. What is the very first memory that you have? Write about it. 60. What if your pet could only talk to you at midnight for an hour? 61. Write an acrostic poem using your full name and three words that describe you—good and bad— for each letter. For example, S: sensitive, stubborn, smiling. A: artistic, argumentative, agoraphobic M: melodramatic, moody, magical 62. What if you could create your own TV show with all your friends and loved ones as the cast? What kind of show would it be and who would play which parts? 63. Take a photo or draw a picture of every place you go in a day. Put the pictures or drawings in your journal. 64. A to Z: Make an alphabetical list of advice for someone who is about to become a teenager. For example: A: ask forgiveness, not permission. B.: bake cookies. C.: cook something delicious once a month. D: don't compare yourself to others. 65. Find 10 quotes about happiness. 66. Write about 5 things you'd rather be doing right now. 67. Write out the lyrics to your favorite song. Find some pictures to illustrate the song. 68. Who do you spend the most time talking to? Siblings, parents, friends? Make a list of who you actually talk to during the day and estimate the amount of time invested in each individual. Does the list reveal your priorities? Is it proportional to what is important to you? Make notes of what you talk about in your daily conversations. 69. Find a quote for each month of the year. 70. Animals can sometimes seem remarkably human. Describe an experience with an animal that acted in a very human way. 71. Imagine you opted to have yourself frozen for 50 years. Describe your first days unfrozen, 50 years in the future. 72. Imagine that you are an astronaut who has been doing research on the moon for three years. You are do to go back to earth in a week when nuclear war breaks out on earth. You watch the earth explode. Then what? 73. Create a menu from a fictitious restaurant. Make sure the restaurant has a theme, such as Classic Books, and the food should all be given appropriate names (e.g., “Mockingbird Pie”). 74. Preconceived notions are often false. Describe a time when you discovered that a preconceived notion of yours (about a person, place, or thing) turned out to be wrong. 75. Create a story using words of one-syllable only, beginning with a phrase such as: “The last time I saw her, she...” “From the back of the truck...” “On the night of the full moon...” “The one thing I know for sure…” 76. Describe a significant person (teacher, neighbor, mentor, coach, parent, sibling, sweetheart) with as many physical details as possible and as many similes as possible. (E.g., “Her hair was as golden as straw.”) 77. Write about your first name—why you were given it, what associations or stories are attached to it, what you think or know it means. Do the same for your last name. What name would you give yourself other than the one you actually have? 78. Parents are our first and most important teachers. Describe a valuable lesson you learned from one of your parents. 79. Imagine a moral dilemma (for example, you see someone shoplift or a friend tells a blatant lie to her parents about where she was last night) and explain what you would do and why you would do it. 80. Review an obituary, birth, or a section from the police record or classified ads section of a local newspaper. Choose one and tell the story behind it. 81. List the most attractive things about your current hometown. Now list the most unattractive things. 82. Come up with a list of nouns and a second list of verbs, all of one syllable each. Describe a scene or situation, using a minimum of ten words from each list. 83. Where is your happy place? Write about it and include a picture or drawing. 84. Create a how-to manual for something you can do well (make a craft, bake cookies, restring a guitar, apply make up, etc.). Describe the process so that someone else could complete the task based on your directions. Use present tense verbs. 85. Free write on this quote by Samuel Johnson: “Ignorance, when voluntary, is criminal.” 86. Find a favorite quote and work it into an illustration. (Inspiration here.) 87. Make a soundtrack for your life so far. List songs that describe you or different times of your life. (Make the actual soundtrack on Spotify, etc. too!) 88. Sometimes we find ourselves in situations that force us to face our deepest fears. Tell about a time when you had to face one of your greatest fears—or make up the story. 89. You’re a talk show host. Pick two guests. Why did you choose them? Are they people who get along, or people with vastly different viewpoints? Write about the episode. 90. What three books do you think should be required reading for everyone? Why? 91. “What you don’t know what hurt you.” Write a story that begins with this statement. 92. Free write on this quote by Woodrow Wilson: “Friendship is the only cement that will hold the world together.” 93. According to a Czechoslovakian proverb, “Better a lie that soothes than a truth that hurts.” Agree or disagree? Explain. 94. Rewrite “The Tale of the Three Little Pigs” by using people that you know as the pigs and the wolf. 95. There is a saying that you should be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it. Describe a time when you wished for something and got it—and then wished you hadn’t—or make up a story in which this happens to the character. 96. As the saying goes, “rules are meant to be broken.” Tell about a time when you broke the rules and what happened as a result. 97. "That's not what I meant!" Write a story that has this line in it somewhere. 98. A blue trash can, a red picture frame, a teddy bear with the stuffing falling out, and a padlock. Put these four items somewhere in a story, scene, or poem. 99. Write your name in outline letters on a whole sheet of paper. Now fill in each letter with words you like that begin with that letter. For example: 100. Make a word collage of who YOU are. Use pictures too, if desired. **HURRAH! You can now purchase this as a digital PDF ($2) at Teachers Pay Teachers. For more creative writing ideas, check out my free WordSmithery creative writing lessons and my popular Ultimate Guide to Creative Writing Resources! Check out 100 other 100 Things posts from the bloggers at iHomeschool Network! Do you have it yet? The Big Book of Homeschooling Ideas—a collaboration of over 50 authors with 103 chapters— is now available! Don't miss this amazing resource!
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WOO HOO! We finished our first big writing project of the year - personal narratives and we had a great author celebration to celebrate all our great authors. Our writing units are 6 weeks long and I use plans I found, since we don't have a writing series to follow. To make it makes much more sense to have a devoted time everyday and really dig deep in the writing process especailly in 4th grade. We do big pieces and I get some shorter pieces where they do the writing process independently to prepare for state testing later in the year. Personal narratives went over so well! I got some great model narratives: here. Scholastic has some great organizers: here. We made covers for our books on the Scribblitt website - FREE and easy to use! I just set up one account for class and had everyone on same login. It covered most stories otherwise they just had to draw their own picture, this was a fun alternative to spicing up their writing. Portland Public Schools has some amazing resources and planning help : here. We celebrated by having a "Special Invited Guest" attend our Publishing Party! I invited the principal to come listen to our stories. After I told my class, many thought it would be a famous author....maybe next time guys. I had some red bulletin board paper cut up for our "red carpet" then I also added decoration to the board behind our chair and changed out the star for each student. The stars later made it to the red carpet. Each students had a drink and snack at their seat and after an author read they got to choose 2 comments from the audience. We talked previously about how their comment had to refer to parts of a narrative and give an example of what the student wrote: "I liked the way you described your characters by saying..... I loved the interesting detail you added.... etc... Not just "I liked it." After they completed their story we would CHEERS to them and they would take their seat. My class really took the whole celebration in stride and it made me extremely proud as a teacher of their work! They took such pride in it! :) This pack comes with 10 creative ideas for author celebrations in your classroom and the materials to get them started. I'm already working on planning my next celebration!
Making inferences worksheets and activities aren't always easy for students, but there are fun ways to teach this challenging reading skill.
I've heard from so many of you that you want lowercase alphabet formation rhymes. Well today, I'm excited to share that they are DONE and ready to share with you! I spent a lot of
The activities below are available for free download, and are to be used in educational and/or private settings. They may not be used elsewhere or for other purposes (such as for profit) unless exp…
Inventors Writing Activity and FREEBIE!
Tipp - Ganz neu gibt es von mir auch dieses Set an kreativem Material zum Thema: Unsere Erde 🌎, Umwelt, Umweltschutz & Nachhaltigkeit - PAKET&nb
These are steps to teaching preschoolers how to write their name. It comes with an editable name writing practice template for kids too!
easy to use Kindergarten Writing Workshop Units that include writing prompts, ideas and activities for beginning writing throughout Kindergarten
Try some mystery writing activities with your kids! Create traditional mapped mysteries, paper bag detective stories, or puzzle pictures.
We are visiting France with our micro-school friends over the next few weeks so I hope to be able to share a few glimpses of some of what we...
Looking for a fun way to introduce the writing process to your students? What about using playdough? Come grab a fun & hands on lesson for your classroom!
Do your students ever wonder why the sky is blue or why it rains? Or maybe they want to learn how to read a thermometer or predict the weather for their
Being a typography designer, hand letterer or calligrapher you should know the best tools available in the market. Here I am talking about all range of pens & markers that have been constantly used by the
Enhance your child's writing skills with our engaging worksheets designed to practice writing their names. Our carefully-crafted exercises provide an enjoyable learning experience that focuses on the entity (your child) and subject (writing their names). Join us on this journey to improve your child's penmanship and boost their confidence in a fun and interactive way.
Another year has come to an end! This last week we just enjoyed the friendships that were cultivated this year. As they played, here are some explorations that started popping up! If only we had more time so that we could inquire about them further! Transient Art: The patience and thought process behind some of these designs were awesome! A "Can You Build It?" Challenge: I loved their interpretations of some of these structures! Exploring Balance: I have been encouraging this exploration all year, but they just became interested in it this past week! Dancing: This was a very spontaneous interest that popped up that could have been a very fun inquiry! They were ballroom dancing, ballet dancing, and break dancing! The kids started giving each other lessons! They had to give and follow multiple step directions with each other. And it was also adorable to watch! Oh the things we could explore if we just had more time! These kids had so much curiosity and looked at everything as something to explore further. The room is packed up for another group of kids to add their personal touch. I wonder what it will look like next year? It always makes me sad when the personality the room had from our group is gone and it is all so bare. I will miss them so much but it is time to let them go and become first graders at new schools. I know that they will be successful because of all of the 21st Century Skills they have developed this year! They are super! Parents, I hope you all enjoy the video! We watched it together no less than 10 times in our room. I wish you could have heard all 30 of them belting out that song! It was their favorite....even more than "Let it Go!" I will miss you all. Have a wonderful summer!
Check out these fun activities from Award Winning Author/Illustrator Jarett Lerner to do at home or in the classsroom. Includes comics, drawing, and more.
Free printable preschool worksheets pdf for teachers and homeschoolers. Fun preschool worksheets for math, English, fine motor skills, and more!
Want some options for a chicken coop garden combo? These ideas for a garden with chickens will save time and help you choose chicken-friendly plants.
FREE printable ant farm mazes for preschoolers to practice pre-writing and fine motor skills. Great activity for a bug theme or Spring/Summer learning.
A free comic strip template for Elephant and Piggie books, plus a set of super cute Elephant and Piggie paper bag puppet templates.
Folding Table with Wall Mounted Frame Design If you are looking for a practical desk solution that will save space in your home or office, here is the ideal option for you! You can use your space wisely with the foldable table, which can be mounted on the wall and offers a modern look with its frame design. Features: 60x90 cm Wall Mounted Framed Table Our table is manufactured from first class 18 mm MDF Lam, including the top and foot section. Its corners are oval-shaped and are safer than sharp corners in cases of collision etc. Table height is 75 cm. It is at standard table height. It is not mounted on the radiator at this height. However, if you want to mount it above the radiator, we can produce the height as 78 and 90 cm. For this, just write me a message. The frame edges that make up the Table Legs are 10 cm wide. The frame part is cut from a single piece of MDF by hollowing it out on CNC. 4 It is not flimsy like tables whose edges are glued together from separate pieces. In addition, thanks to the metal scissors on the sides, it does not close suddenly in cases of impact, etc. It is fixed to the wall with 2 L screws at the top. You can add a picture, mirror or blackboard to the 40x68 cm frame section formed by the legs of our table. Practical Use: Thanks to its foldable feature, you can expand or shrink your desk space when necessary. Stylish Design: It offers an aesthetic appearance with invisible hinges and connection points when mounted on the wall. Various Color Options: There are different color options to suit your interior. Usage areas: home offices kitchens study rooms Balconies or terraces small businesses Assembly and Maintenance: All necessary mounting materials are included in the package for easy installation. It can be easily cleaned using a damp cloth. Organize your living spaces and prioritize functionality with this practical and stylish table. If you have any questions or different special requests, please feel free to send me messages. I'd be happy to help you!
Writing papers, multi-paragraph stories, and essays can be challenging for many upper elementary students. For reluctant writers, this often means frustration and black paper at the end of your writing block. Since the expectations for on-demand writing increase after the primary grades in preparation for standardized
