Creative writing can be a wonderful outlet for kids to dive into their imaginations. It gives them a chance to move beyond the textbook and create a piece of work where no answer is wrong.
My children have loved creative writing and enjoy doing a quick five minute writing dash. The short time limit is beneficial for those reluctant writers too! I will hand the children their writing prompt and give them a few minutes to think about what they might write, or do a quick thinking cloud. The timer is then set for five minutes and they write like crazy. For younger children you may want to act as their scribe.
Once the timer goes off everyone then gets the chance to share their story. I have at times found the children go back later in the day to work on their story for a longer period of time. Hallelujah for my reluctant writers! Seriously I can hear the angels singing. If you do have reluctant writers I would urge you to read this previous post on how I got my incredible reluctant writer to fall in love with writing. Miracles I tell you!
The list I have created includes weekly writing prompts for and ENTIRE year. This is the list I am using for my own children, I would love to see you kids stories they write too so please feel free to share them with me!
You can download this entire list below
Writing Prompts by Topic
Fantasy
- The creature was shivering in the corner of the room as I inched closer towards it I saw…
- I pulled back the curtain to discover a new world it looked like…
- The castle was so grand and magical, I could not wait for my chance to go inside and…
- One day as I was playing in the garden the elves came hurtling down the hill full of excitement…
- The little bungalow at the end of the garden was always a little dull but today there was something little bit magical about it….
Weather
- Last night while in bed I heard the rumbling of a storm rolling in…
- My perfect day out in the sun would be…
- The rain is never fun except when…
- The wind was howling like a…
- I looked outside and saw the backyard buried under a mountain of snow, I knew it was the best time to…
- My favourite weather is…
Action
- If I could have one super power it would be…
- I was running as fast as my feet would take me but they were still gaining on me…
- I could hear the clock slowly ticking as I waited for the team to arrive the world needed us today more than ever….
- The city was destroyed, was I the only one who survived?
- I belong to an elite superhero team, my name is…
- I knew as soon as I saw him that he was going to be my ally…
Adventure
- Today was the day for an adventure, I packed my bag and headed out into the unknown…
- We had been climbing this mountain for what felt like hours…
- I could see in the distance a light shining in a little wooden cabin…
- I sat nervously in my seat and listened to the planes engines being the roar…
- It was like I had stepped out into a whole new world, the streets of New York were nothing like the country roads I had known my whole life…
- The last drop of water from the supply was gone, now we prayed for some kind of miracle…
Science Fiction
- The commotion outside my tent woke me from my sleep, the Candor’s had arrived from the planet Mertor…
- I spent the morning exploring the outside of the crashed space craft, it was still smoking from the night before…
- “Take me to you leader” I stammered with all the courage I could muster…
- The prison was dimly lit, and I could vaguely make out my fellow prisoners, an elkor, a jamgo and a haralo….
- “I did it, I finally did it” now the star ship commander would have to…
- Today was going to be big, all the leaders of the galaxies would be arriving…
The Future
- The best invention for the future would be…
- When I am older I want to be…
- If I could change one thing for the future it would be…
- In 200 years we will travel by…
- Today I found a time travel machine, it sent me to the the year 2308…
- I wish I had a time machine because…
The Past
- When I sat outside our little log cabin waiting for Pa to come home from the coal mines I wished…
- My favourite memory is…
- If I could tell my past self anything what would it be?
- Imagine you have a time machine and go back to 1801, tell them what life is like now.
- The best invention has been…
- I tossed and turned in my bed trying to go back to sleep, I really didn’t want to have to go to the bathroom. It was so cold and the walk outside to the toilet was terrifying in the night…
Heroes
- The biggest hero in my life is…
- If I could have a dinner party with anyone from the past or present it would be…
- My favourite superhero is…
- What makes a hero?
- The world needs more heroes because…
- A day in the life of a superhero
Growth Mindset
- Failure can be a good thing because…
- The best part of me is…
- One of my biggest goals is….
- Write a letter of encouragement to yourself
- I am an amazing person because…
- I really want to be…
