essays for 8 year olds

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300 Fun Writing Prompts for Kids: Story Starters, Journal Prompts & Ideas

Are you a parent or teacher? Here are 300 fun and creative writing prompts for kids to spark the imagination of young writers everywhere. Use these kids writing ideas as journaling prompts, story starters or just for fun!

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It’s never too early to start writing, and so we’ve created this fun list of 300 creative kids writing prompts for teacher and parents to use.

You’ll love these fun ideas for kids writing prompts to use as creative sparks to get young imaginations writing in no time!

These are perfect to use as kids journal writing prompts, as short story writing prompts, or just for exercises to help students and children of all ages tap into their creativity. Maybe your kids will write an essay, maybe a poem, or maybe even a whole book!

Whether you are a teacher or parent looking to inspire your kids to write, or maybe even an adult who would like to practice writing with a more playful and young-hearted approach, I hope you find these creative writing prompts inspiring!

Buy the Printable Cards! We will always have this list of 300 kids writing prompts available for free, but I’m very excited to now also offer an ad-free printable version of these prompts in my online Etsy shop. Thank you for your support!

The Ultimate List of 300 Fun & Creative Writing Prompts for Kids

#1. Imagine a giant box is delivered to your front doorstep with your name on it. What’s inside and what happens when you open it?

#2. Write a short story about what it might be like if you woke up one morning with a mermaid tail.

#3. Which is better, winter or summer? Write about the reasons why you think winter or summer is better.

#4. Write about what would it be like if you had an alligator as a pet.

#5. If you had $1,000, what would you buy and why?

#6. Write a story using these 5 words: apple, train, elephant, paper, banjo

#7. What do you want be when you grow up and why?

#8. Who is your favorite person on the planet? What do you like most about that person?

#9. If you could have any secret super power, what would you want it to be and why?

#10. Write about 3 places you would like to travel someday. What do these three places have in common?

#11. Write about a time you felt really happy. What happened? What made you feel happy?

#12. Imagine what would happen if someone shrunk you down to be only 1″ tall. How would your life change?

#13. If you were in charge of the whole world, what would you do to make the world a happier place?

#14. Write a story about what it would be like to climb to the very top of the highest mountain in the world.

#15. If you were in charge of planning the school lunch menu, what foods would you serve each day?

#16. What are some of your favorite animals? What do you like about them?

#17. Imagine that dogs take over the world. What do they make the humans do?

#18. Write a story about flying to outer space and discovering a new planet.

#19. You are a mad scientist and have invented a new vegetable. What is it called? What does it look like? What does it taste like? Most importantly: Is it safe to eat?

#20. You go to school one morning to discover your best friend has been turned into a frog by an evil witch! How do you help your friend?

#21. Describe what it is like when trees lose all of their leaves in the autumn season.

#22. Write about your favorite sport and why you like it so much.

#23. Imagine what it might be like to live on a boat all the time and write about it.

#24. If you had one wish, what would it be?

#25. Write about what you might do if you have the super power to become invisible.

#26. You are walking through the forest when one of the trees starts talking to you. What does it say? What do you do?

#27. The weather forecast is calling for a blizzard in the middle of the summer. What do you do?

#28. What types of transportation will people have in the future?

#29. What were some of your favorite toys when you very little? Do you still enjoy playing with them?

#30. What would a day in your life be like if you were a movie star?

#31. Imagine you’ve invented a time machine! What year do you travel to?

#32. What are your favorite things to do over summer vacation?

#33. What is your favorite holiday and why?

#34. If you could meet any fictional character from a book, who would it be?

#35. You are writing a travel guide for kids visiting your city. What places do you think they should visit?

#36. What is a food you hate? Write about it!

#37. Imagine what it would be like if there was no electricity. What would be different in your daily routine?

#38. You are building a new city! What types of things do you think your city needs? How will you convince people to move to your new city?

#39. What is your favorite movie? Write your review of the movie and why you think people should watch it.

#40. Imagine you get a magic sweater for your birthday. What happens when you wear the sweater? What do you do with these new found magical powers?

#41. You are the security guard at the zoo and someone has stolen a rhinoceros! How do you track down the thief?

#42. You have been invited to have lunch with the queen. What foods do you eat and what topics do you and the queen discuss?

#43. If you could design a school uniform, what types of clothes would you suggest? What colors would they be?

#44. Imagine you are a reporter interviewing a celebrity about their life. What questions do you ask?

#45. You are running a lemonade stand. Describe the steps for how you make lemonade and the types of customers you see during the day.

#46. Write a story about being the ruler of an underwater world.

#47. Write an acrostic poem for the word “treehouse”.

#48. You decide to grow a sunflower, but the sunflower grows so tall it reaches up to the sky! Write about what happens when you decide to climb to the top. What do you discover?

#49. Imagine you look out the window and it is raining popsicles from the sky! Write a story about the experience.

#50. If you could be any animal, which one would you be and why?

#51. If you were on a spaceship, what would you be most excited about seeing?

#52. Do you have any pets at home? Write an essay about how you take care of your pets. If you do not have a pet, what type of pet might you like?

#53. Imagine you are opening a store that only sells items which are blue. What types of items do you sell?

#54. Have you ever lost something that is important to you? Were you able to find it?

#55. Write a story about a kid who is moving to a new school. How do you think they might feel?

#56. Rewrite the ending of your favorite fairy tale. For example, what would have happened if Cinderella never went to the ball?

#57. Have you ever forgotten to do your homework? What happened?

#58. Do you have a favorite song? Write about the type of music you like to listen to.

#59. Imagine your parents wake you up one morning to tell you they will take you to do anything you want to do for the whole day – you don’t even have to go to school or do your chores. What would you choose to do and why?

#60. Do you like amusement parks? What are some of your favorite rides?

#61. Write a story using these three words: detective, piano, and pizza.

#62. Have you ever been to the beach? Write about your favorite things to do. If you have never been to the beach, what would you like to do the first time you visit?

#63. Is there a favorite tv show you like to watch? Write about your favorite character and why they are your favorite.

#64. Write a poem using onomatopoeia , where the words you use are pronounced similar to the sound they make. For example, buzz, bark, sizzle, slam and pop.

#65. Have you ever had to stand in line to wait a long time for something? What did you do while you waited? How did you feel while waiting? How did you feel once the wait was over?

#66. Is it a good idea to keep ALL secrets a secret? Write about examples of when it is okay to spill a secret – and when it isn’t.

#67. Is there something you are good at doing? Write about your best strengths.

#68. What historical time period and location would you go back to live in if you could? Write about it!

#69. Write about 5 things you can do that are important for you to stay healthy and safe.

#70. Do you think thunderstorms are scary? Why or why not?

#71. What would you most like to learn over the next year? Think about things that interest you or questions you might have about the world and make a list!

#72. You are going on a trip to a jungle safari! What items do you pack in your suitcase?

#73. Imagine you are sitting at home one day and you hear someone shrieking in the living room they see a mouse in the house! Write a story about what might happen next.

#74. You are writing a letter to someone who is having a hard time making new friends at school. What do you write? What advice do you give them?

#75. Imagine you just met a magician – but their beloved rabbit who they pull out of a hat for all the tricks has been kidnapped! How do you help find the rabbit?

#76. Do you hear what I hear? Set a timer for 5 minutes and write about all of the sounds you hear in those 5 minutes.

#77. Imagine you go to get a haircut and they accidentally shave your head! How do you feel about that and what would you do?

#78. Do you find it easy to talk to people you don’t know? What are some ways you can start up a conversation with someone you have never met before?

#79. Are there any chores you have to do at home? What are they? What do you like – and not like – about each one?

#80. Open up a random book to any page. Write for 5 minutes about the first word you read.

#81. Pretend you are a writer for your city’s newspaper. Who would you like to interview for a news story and why?

#82. There are many fictional characters who live in unusual houses, such as the old woman who lived in a shoe. What kind of unusual house would you like to live in? Write about what it would be like to live in an unusual house!

#83. Write a list of 10 things you can do to practice kindness to others.

#84. Is there a homework subject you dread? Why do you not like getting homework in that subject?

#85. What is your favorite month of the year? Write about why you like it and some of your favorite things to do during that month.

#86. Imagine you are planning a surprise birthday party for someone. How do you keep it a surprise?

#87. Pretend you walked outside to find a sleeping dragon in the grass! Why is the dragon there? Is it a friendly dragon? What do you do? Write about it!

#88. What are you grateful for today and why?

#89. You were on your way to a very important event when you fell into a puddle. Now what?

#90. Have you ever watched a movie and didn’t like how it ended? Write what you think should happen instead.

#91. Can you answer this riddle from Alice in Wonderland ? How is a raven like a writing desk?

#92. Imagine you are the captain of a pirate ship. Write a diary entry for what your day was like.

#93. If you could start any type of business, what kind of business would you start? What types of products or services would you provide?

#94. Write a sequel to one of your favorite fairy tales. For example, what was Goldilocks’s next adventure after she left the bears?

#95. What is something you are afraid of? What helps you to feel less afraid of something? What would you say to a friend who feels scared to help them feel less afraid?

#96. Write a letter to your future self in 20 years.

#97. In addition to basic survival needs such as food, water, air and shelter, what are 3 things you would you need to be happy?

#98. If you could invent a robot of any type who could do anything you imagine, what types of things would you would have the robot to do?

#99. Which do like better? Apples or Oranges? How are they alike? How are they different?

#100. Why did the chicken cross the road? You are a detective and are assigned to the case. How do solve the mystery?

#101. Write instructions for how to make your favorite snack. Be sure you add your favorite tips and suggestions for how to select the best ingredients!

#102. Imagine you borrowed a friend’s favorite lucky pencil to help you pass a math test – but then it snapped in half! How will you ever tell the news to your friend?

#103. Look around the current room you are sitting in and choose 3 random objects that are nearby. Now write a story or poem that includes those three items!

#104. Write a letter to the author of a book you recently read and tell them what you liked most about the book.

#105. Ernest Hemingway is famous for writing a six word story. Can you write a story in just 6 words?

#106. What do you think will be the future for cell phones? Will people still use them in 25 years or will something else take its place?

#107. Do you want to go to college? Why or why not?

#108. Write a story or poem about a kitten who wanders off and gets lost. How does the kitten find its way home?

#109. Currently, it is required by law that kids go to school. Do you think this is a good or bad idea?

#110. If you could invent a new board game, what would it be called? How is it played? What are the rules? What makes it fun to play? Write about it!

#111. Imagine you come home to discover your entire bedroom is covered in ketchup! What on earth happened? What is your reaction? How do you clean everything up?

#112. What is something you learned today?

#113. Would you rather have a goldfish or shark as a pet?

#114. From A-Z: make a list of something for every letter of the alphabet.

#115. Have you ever gone fishing? If you have, did you like it? Why or why not? If you haven’t, do you think you might want to?

#116. What is one of the most important things you do each and every day?

#117. Write a story about Gretchen the Grouch, a girl who is always angry! Will she ever be happy? Why is she so grumpy all of the time?

#118. How do you feel when someone takes something of yours without asking? What is a good way to deal with it when that happens?

#119. Write a poem that starts with the word “if”.

#120. Write a story about a family of rabbits who live in the woods. What are some of the challenges they face?

#121. What clothes do you think are the most comfortable? What kind of clothes do you like to wear the most? What clothes do you NOT like to wear?

#122. Imagine there are no grocery stores and you must get your own food. What are some of the ways you find food? What types of things do you eat?

#123. What are 3 things you can do that are good for the environment?

#124. If you could meet any famous person today, who would you want to meet and why? What questions might you ask them?

#125. A tongue twister is a quick poem where many of the words start with the same letter and are similar in sound. For example, “Peter picked a peck of pickled peppers.” Try writing your own with this fun kids writing prompt!

#126. What is the first thing you think of when you hear or see the word green?

#127. A hero is someone who is admired for their courage and achievements. What do you think makes someone a hero? Who are some of your heroes?

#128. What did you do during summer vacation last year? What do you want to do for summer vacation this year?

#129. Write a story about a super hero dog who saves the day! Who does the dog help and why?

#130. Would you rather live somewhere that is always cold, or somewhere that is always hot? Write about which one you would rather choose.

#131. Have you ever volunteered to help a charity? If so, write about the experience! If not, what are some charities you think you might like to volunteer for?

#132. What does the word courage mean to you?

#133. What makes you unique? What are some things about you that make you an individual?

#134. Have you ever been to a museum? What is your favorite thing to look at on display?

#135. What can you do to set a good example for others to be kind?

#136. A Tall Tale is a story that exaggerates something that actually happened. Write a tall tale about something that recently happened to you.

#137. What is one of your favorite toys that you think you might still want to have and play with when you are 22 years old?

#138. Oh no! Everyone around you is sick with a nasty cold! Write a silly poem about how you try to avoid catching their germs!

#139. Personification is when a non-living object takes on human characteristics. Write a story where you personify a common electronic gadget in your house, such as the Television or toaster.

#140. Write a poem using similes, which is when you say an object is like something else. Here is an example of a simile: “Her eyes were as blue as the sky.”

#141. Have you ever read a book written by Dr. Suess? Write your own “Suess-style” story, complete with rhymes and made up words.

#142. Do you have any siblings? Think about what it might mean to be a good brother or sister and write about it!

#143. Make a list of questions to interview your parents or grandparents about what it was like when they were growing up as a kid. Then, ask them the questions and write about their answers!

#144. You are in charge of writing a new radio show just for kids! What topics will you talk about? What music do you play?

#145. What do you usually eat for breakfast every day? What, in your opinion, is the greatest breakfast food ever created? What makes it so great?

#146. Write a 12 line poem where every line is about a different month of the year.

#147. What is something you look forward to doing the most when you are an adult?

Use these prompts in your classroom! Get the ad-free printable version of these prompts to inspire your students to write! Thank you for your support!

#148. Do you like to try new things? What is something new you have tried recently or would like to try?

#149. Imagine what it might be like to be alive in Egypt when the pyramids were built. Write about what it was like.

#150. A credo is a statement of personal beliefs. Try writing your own credo for things that you believe in and feel are important.

#151. The circus has come to town but they have no place to perform! How do you help the ringmaster find a place to put on a show?

#152. Do you like to act? What are some of your favorite actors or actresses? What do you think makes someone a good actor or actress?

#153. “Practice makes perfect” is a popular saying. What is something you like to practice so you can become better at it? A sport? A musical instrument? A special skill? Do you like to practice?

#154. Write about what it might be like to be water drops freezing and turning into ice.

#155. Do you think it is important to keep your room clean? What do you like about having a clean room?

#156. Imagine your parents are sending you away for a two week summer camp trip. Would you be excited? Why or why not?

#157. What are you currently learning about in history class? Write a fictional story about someone from the past you are learning about.

#158. Many wars have been fought in the past. Instead of going to war, what do you think countries could do to resolve their differences peacefully?

#159. Every year over 8 billion plastic bottles and cans are thrown away. What are some things you can do to help encourage your family and friends to recycle?

#160. Imagine if you were the principal of the school. What might you do differently? What things would you do that are the same? Write about it!

#161. Pretend that one day you are at your neighbor’s house and you notice a strange noise coming from the basement. You go downstairs to investigate to see a large machine running with many lights and buttons. Why is it there?

#162. Write an essay that starts with the line, “Tomorrow, I hope…”

#163. If you could give one thing to every child in the world, what would you want to give them?

#164. Do you have a piggy bank at home? How do you earn money to add to your savings?

#165. What qualities make a house a home? What are 3 things you think every house should have?

#166. Would you rather go scuba diving or rock climbing? Write about which one you think you would like to do more and why.

#167. Do you think it is a good idea for kids to write a daily journal? What are some of the benefits of writing every day?

#168. Do you like watching fireworks or are they too noisy? Write about a time when you saw fireworks in the sky.

#169. Oh no! Your friend has turned into a statue! How did this happen? What do you do? Does your friend ever turn back into a person again?

#170. If you could be any movie character, who would you be and why?

#171. A mysterious message appears in code on your computer screen. What could it mean?

#172. If you could go to work with one of your parents for a day, what do you think the day would be like? What types of things do your parents do at work all day long?

#173. Imagine you are the President and you are creating a new national holiday. What is your holiday about? How is it celebrated? What day of the year do you celebrate? Write about it!

#174. You won a never-ending lifetime supply of spaghetti noodles! What will you do with all of these noodles?

#175. Would you rather be a bunny rabbit or a hawk? Why did you choose the one you chose?

#176. Your teacher has been acting mysterious lately. After school one day, you notice a weird green light shining through underneath the door of your classroom. What do you do? What is happening with your teacher?

#177. Write an article about tips for how kids can be more organized and study well for tests.

#178. Look at any product in your house and read the ingredients labels. Research what each ingredient is. Do you think these ingredients are good or bad for people?

#179. If you were a doctor, what do you think would be the most important part of your job every day?

#180. The school librarian needs your help! A truck just arrived with 2,000 books and she can’t fit all the books onto the shelves! What do you do? How do you find a place to put all these books?

#181. Do you think it would be fun to plant a garden? What types of plants would you want to grow? Write about your garden ideas.

#182. What is a sport or activity you would like to try playing for the first time?

#183. Do you think kids should be allowed to do the same things as adults? What things do you think kids should be able to do that only grown-ups can?

#184. Imagine you and your parents switch places for a day. Your parents are the kids and you are now in charge! What would you do?

#185. Write a get-well letter to someone who has been sick. What can you say to make them feel better?

#186. If you could visit any planet in the solar system, which planet would you like to visit the most and why? Write about what it might be like.

#187. Have you ever been to a farm? What did you like about it? If you haven’t been to a farm, do you think you might like to visit one? Why or why not?

#188. The mayor of the city has a big problem and needs your help! What is the problem and how will you solve it?

#189. Pretend your little sister ate carrots for dinner and the next morning woke up with rabbit ears! How did this happen? What do you do? Will she be a rabbit forever?

#190. Imagine you wake up in the morning to find out you get to relive any day of your life again for the whole day. What day would you want to experience again and why?

#191. Do you think you might like to be a firefighter? Why or why not?

#192. You are a lawyer and your client has been accused of stealing a car. How do you convince the jury your client is innocent?

#193. Think of the four elements: fire, air, earth, and water. Which of these four elements do you like the best?

#194. What would you do if you could be invisible for a whole day? Do you think you would enjoy it or be glad to be back to normal the next day? Write about it!

#195. Imagine you are a meteorologist and people are starting to get angry that your weather predictions are always wrong. What do you do?

#196. If you could create any law, what would it be? Why do you think the law is an important one to have?

#197. You are going incognito and need to hide to your identity so you aren’t recognized or discovered while you walk through the city. What type of disguise do you wear?

#198. Write a persuasive letter to your parents explaining why you should get a new pet. Make sure you provide a convincing argument they won’t be able to refuse!

#199. Your friend wants to do something dangerous. What should you do?

#200. How do you think the world would be different if there were no oceans?

#201. What do you do when someone disagrees with your opinions? Is there a better way to handle conflicting opinions?

#202. What do you think you as a kid could do to help encourage more people to read?

#203. Do you have a good luck charm? What makes this item lucky? When do you use it? How do you use it?

#204. What is at the end of a rainbow? Imagine you follow a rainbow to the end. What do you discover? Is it a pot of gold, or something else?

Use these prompts in your classroom! Get the ad-free printable version of these prompts to inspire your students to write! Thank you for your support!

#205. What do you think the consequences should be for someone who is caught cheating on a test at school?

#206. Imagine you are riding your bike one day when you encounter an older kid who wants to steal your bike. What do you do?

#207. You are the lead singer and star of a famous rock and roll band, but there is one problem – your drummer is jealous of your fame! How do you solve this situation?

#208. If you could help a group of kids in any part of the world, what kids would you want to help the most and why? What are some things you think would help these kids?

#209. Everyone knows the house on the end of the street is haunted. What are some of the strange things that happen there? Why is the house haunted?

#210. You notice at school one day there is a door to a secret passage next to the janitor’s closet and decide to explore. Where does it lead? Why is it there? Do you go alone or bring a friend along?

#211. A bucket list is a list of things you want to accomplish in your lifetime. What are 5 things on your bucket list?

#212. Imagine the perfect treehouse or clubhouse for you and all of your friends as a place to hang out. Describe what it is like inside.

#213. Do you get bored easily? Make a list of things you can do whenever you feel like you are bored and there is nothing fun to do!

#214. Now vs. Then: Think about how today is different from one year ago. How have you changed? What things in your life are different?

#215. Write your autobiography about your life.

#216. It’s a heat wave! What do you do when the weather is hot? What are some of your favorite ways to stay cool?

#217. What are three important safety tips every kid should know to stay safe?

#218. What genre of books do you like to read the most? Write about the characteristics of the genre and list some of your favorite books as examples.

#219. Holiday Traditions: How does your family celebrate the different holidays and events? What are some traditions you do each and every year?

#220. Imagine one day in science class a science experiment goes terribly wrong and now you and all of your classmates have superpowers! What are your superpowers and what do you do with them?

#221. Who is favorite teacher? Why are they your favorite?

#222. You are baking a cake, but you accidentally put salt in the cake instead of sugar. Nobody will eat it! How do you feel? What will you do next time?

#223. Do you think it is important to have good table manners? What do you think some good manners to practice might be?

#224. Many schools no longer teach cursive handwriting. Do you think this is a good or bad thing? Do you know how to write cursive handwriting? Would you like to learn if you haven’t?

#225. If you were the owner of a theme park, what types of rides and attractions would have? Describe what they would be like and why people would want to visit your park.

#226. Your parents give you $100 to spend at the grocery store. What do you buy and why?

#227. Some people who are alive today grew up without computers or video games. What would you do if you didn’t have a computer or video games? How would life be different?

#228. You walk into your living room and discover there is a giant elephant standing there. How did the elephant get there? What do you do about it? How do you explain the elephant in the living room to your parents?

#229. Have you ever had a weird dream? What happened in the dream? What do you think it means?

#230. Do you like to draw or paint? Write a story inspired by a painting, doodle, or sketch.

#231. You are being sent on a mission to outer space to live in a space station for 5 years. What supplies do you pack and why?

#232. What is the scariest creature alive on earth? Describe in detail what makes it so horrifying.

#233. What do you think your pet might say if they could talk to you?

#234. Imagine your school is putting on a talent show. What act will you perform? What other acts will be in the show?

#235. If you could breathe under water, what would you do?

#236. What time of day do you think school should start? Write a convincing argument on why or why not the time of day school starts should change.

#237. If you were to start your own YouTube video channel, what would the videos on your channel be about?

#238. Do you like to cook? What are some things you like to make and eat?

#239. Your school is having a field day and you are in charge of planning the activities and games. What types of activities and games would you plan for the event?

#240. If you had a remote control drone that takes video of everything it sees from the sky and you could take it anywhere, what would you film? For example, the inside of a volcano or soar it over the plains of Africa.

#241. The Bermuda Triangle is an area of the ocean where many ships and planes have gone missing. Why do you think this could be? Write a story about what it might be like to travel there.

#242. There are 7 great wonders of the world – which one do you think is the most wonderful?

#243. If you could speak any foreign language fluently, which one would you like to speak and why?

#244. You are inventing a new flavor of ice cream! What is the new flavor called and what ingredients do you need to make it?

#245. Would you rather go to a baseball game or read a good book? What reasons do you have for your choice?

#246. You walk outside to get your mail and your mailbox starts talking to you! What does your mailbox have to say?

#247. Imagine you are a famous person. What are you most famous for? What is it like to be famous?

#248. What do you think would be the most fun job in the world to have? Give examples of why you think it would be a fun job to have.

#249. Write a poem about an object that is shiny and dazzling.

#250. Do you like to watch the Olympics? Why or why not? If yes, what is your favorite Olympic sport?

#251. What kind of car do you want to drive when you are older? Do you think learning to drive will be easy or hard?

#252. What do you think would make for a great gift to give someone on their birthday?

#253. Describe a time when you needed help and someone helped you. What did they help you with and how did it make you feel?

#254. If you could be any type of fruit or vegetable, what would you be and why?

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#255. Do you think it is more important to have a good imagination or have all the facts proven?

#256. Do you have a favorite aunt, uncle, or another relative? Write a story about their life and why you like to be with them.

#257. Think of a time you laughed really, really hard. What was so funny? Why were you laughing? Write about it!

#258. Write a poem about an emotion. For example: happy, sad, angry, embarrassed, guilty.

#259. Do you ever have a hard time falling asleep? What are some things that help you feel sleepy?

#260. If you could drive a car, where would you drive and why?

#261. Imagine you are trading places with your friend for a day. What will it be like to be at their house? What will your friend think while they are at your house? Write about it!

#262. If you could break a world record, what would it be? What do you think would be necessary to be able to break the world record?

#263. Imagine you live in Colonial times. What would it be like to grow up as a kid in Colonial America?

#264. You are building a new city. What is the name of your city? What is the weather like? What buildings will you build?

#265. What do you think it would be like to work as a sailor on big ship in the ocean each day?

#266. Imagine you are the teacher for the day. What types of activities do you make the students in the class do?

#267. How would you feel if your parents told you that you would be getting a new baby brother or sister? Write about it!

#268. Do you know any good jokes? What are some of your favorite jokes? What makes them funny? Do you think you could write your own?

#269. Imagine you are floating down a river on a raft. What types of things can you see from the river that you normally wouldn’t see from the land?

#270. You want to start a new hobby collecting something. What kinds of things would you collect and why?

#271. Your mom announces she is having a yard sale. Would you let her sell any of your things? Why or why not?

#272. Imagine you walk out your front door one morning and it is raining popcorn! What do you do?

#273. You are camping in the woods one night and hear a scary noise. What do you do? What might be the cause?

#274. What do you think might make kids really happy to go to school? What are some things you think schools should do so that it could be more fun?

#275. Today’s lunch at the cafeteria was unusually horrible. You are a detective on the case to investigate. What do you think is the cause?

#276. If you had a tree that grows money, what would you do?

#277. What would you do if you had a unicorn as a pet?

#278. Would you rather go to the zoo or go to the aviary? Which one would you pick and why?

#279. What are some safety tips you should follow when riding a bike?

#280. You are designing the cover of a magazine. What are some of the headlines on the cover?

#281. Are you afraid of the dark? Why or why not?

#282. If you could learn to play any type of musical instrument, which one would you like to learn how to play and why?

#283. Imagine you are playing a sport that involves a ball, such as soccer, baseball or kickball. What would it be like if the ball could talk?

#284. You come home to discover a friendly alien has been living in your closet. What do you do? Why is there an alien in your closet?

#285. Is there something you are afraid of that you wish you weren’t afraid of? Write about it.

#286. Write about the best party you’ve ever been to. What made the day fun and special?

#287. What makes you feel loved and cared about? What are some ways people can show you that they love and care about you?

#288. There is a kite flying competition coming up and you are going to design your own kite. What will your kite look like? What colors will it be? Will it have any certain shape?

#289. You are given the challenge to drop an egg on the floor – without it breaking! What are some things you might try to make sure the egg won’t break?

#290. What are some of the things you can do every day to stay healthy?

#291. Do you think grown-ups are boring? Why do you think they are so boring all of the time? What is something fun that boring grown-ups could do instead of being so boring?

#292. Write a lyrical poem or song about what kids do while they are at school all day long.

#293. What are the first things you like to do when you are done with school each day? What are some of the activities you like when you are not at school?

#294. Imagine dinosaurs were still alive today. How do you think our lives would be different?

#295. Would you rather visit a volcano or a desert? Which one would you choose and why?

#296. Is there a sound you think is annoying? What types of sounds drive you crazy? Write about them!

#297. What do you think it would be like to be the size of an ant for a day? What types of things would you do?

Writing Prompt: What would it be like if your teddy bear came to life?

#298. Imagine one of your stuffed animals comes to life and starts talking to you. What types of things will you talk about? What will you do?

#299. What makes you feel happiest? Write about the things in life that make you feel happy!

#300. Imagine there is no gravity. What kind of things would you do you for fun? How would some of the things you already do for fun be different?

Parents and teachers, I hope you enjoyed these 300 writing prompts for kids and that you will use them to inspire your children’s creative imaginations.

These prompts of course can be used in a number of different ways and can be adapted for a variety of different styles of writing !

What do you think? Do you think these are good conversation and story starters for kids? Do you have any ideas for writing prompts you would like to share?

And of course, if you’d like to make it super fun and easy to use these prompts at home or in your classroom, be sure to get our ad-free printable version of these kids writing prompt cards now available in my Etsy shop.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on different creative writing ideas and topics for kids to write about! Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Chelle Stein wrote her first embarrassingly bad novel at the age of 14 and hasn't stopped writing since. As the founder of ThinkWritten, she enjoys encouraging writers and creatives of all types.

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57 Fun Creative Writing Prompts for Kids

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With many kids learning from home due to Covid-19, easy-to-organize educational activities for students are more important than ever. Writing helps improve students' creativity, communication skills, and ability to focus, among other benefits.

Whether you're a teacher, a parent now homeschooling, or a student looking for something new and interesting to write about, these writing prompts are for you. We've collected 57 writing prompts for students of various ages, from elementary school through high school. From spooky story writing prompts to debating how to improve schools, this article has writing prompts that will appeal to all students.

Tips for Using These Writing Prompts

What's the best way to use these creative writing prompts for kids? It depends on a lot of factors, including the student's age, current schooling structure, and their own interests and abilities. Here are some suggestions:

Use as a daily writing prompts exercise. You can assign one of these prompts at the beginning or end of the school day, as a way to prepare for the rest of the day or unwind after schoolwork.

Set up a quiet space to write. Many people have a hard enough time writing even with no distractions, and it can be nearly impossible to respond thoughtfully to a prompt if there's a television on, people talking, etc. Having a distraction-free space can help your student focus on the work at hand and produce their best writing.

Suggest an estimated writing length. Most of these journal writing prompts are designed to be answered both briefly or much more in depth. By giving a number of words/pages to aim for, you'll give your student a better idea of how detailed their response should be.

Consider having students handwrite their responses. Writing by hand can help students be more thoughtful about their responses because they'll typically write slower than they can type. It can also help students improve their handwriting skills.

57 Fun Writing Prompts for Kids

Below are over 50 journal topics for kids, organized into three categories: narrative writing prompts, fiction/creative writing prompts, and argumentative writing prompts for kids.

Narrative Writing Prompts for Kids

#1: What is your favorite holiday or holiday tradition?

#2: If you could go back in time for one day, which time period would you choose?

#3: If you could learn one thing about your future, what would it be? Or, if you prefer not to know anything, why would you make that choice?

#4: Pretend you're writing an autobiography and need to create a table of contents. What would you name each chapter?

#5: What is your earliest memory? Write every detail you can remember about it.

#6: If you had the power to change one thing about school, what would you change and why?

#7: Describe three goals you have for yourself.

#8: Imagine you are creating your dream restaurant. What kind of food would you serve, what would the menu look like, and how would the restaurant be decorated?

#9: If you could build your dream house, what would it look like? What rooms would it have? What would the yard be like?

#10: What is the bravest thing you've done in your life? Why did you make the choice you did? How did you feel during and after the situation?

#11: What is the funniest thing you've ever seen?

#12: What is your dream job?

#13: What is one thing you're really good at?

#14: Pretend you are a professional reviewer and write a review of a book you recently read or a TV show/movie you recently watched. How many stars would you give it? What did you like about it, and what didn't you like?

#15: Write about a time you did something kind for someone else. What did you do, how did it make you feel, and how did it make the person you helped feel?

#16: Imagine your life in ten years. What do you think you will be like? What will you be doing?

#17: Write about the craziest dream you've ever had.

#18: What would your perfect weekend look like? What things would you do? Who would you see? What would you eat?

#19: Do you like your name? If so, why? If not, what would you change it to?

#20: Make a list of your favorite activities for each season.

#21: Write about your least favorite chore. What don't you like about it? What would you invent to make the chore easier?

#22: What three pieces of advice would you give to your younger self?

#23: If you could be famous for anything, what would it be?

#24: If you could create a new law, what would it be? Do you think it would be hard to enforce?

#25: Write about a time you think one or both of your parents made a mistake. What did they do, and what do you think they should have done? Did they admit their mistake?

#26: How would your best friend describe you? How would you describe your best friend? (You can also have your friend do this prompt and read each other's responses.)

Fiction and Creative Writing Prompts for Kids

#27: Write a story about a character taking a submarine ride under the sea. What sort of things do you think they would see there? Would they be afraid or excited?

#28: Write a new chapter for your favorite book or new scene for your favorite movie. Which characters would be there, and what would they be doing?

#29: Invent a new pet. What would it look like, and what would you call it? What would it eat, and how would you care for it?

#30: Start a story with a lyric from a song.

#31: Pick something nearby (toy, pet, flower, etc.) and write a haiku about it. Bonus points if it rhymes!

#32: Write a story about a character who gets lost in the woods and discovers a mysterious person there.

#33: Write your own silly internet quiz.

#34: Choose an object in the house and describe it in as much detail as you can without saying what it is. Then, have a parent or sibling try to guess what you described.

#35: Write a scary story that includes: a spooky pumpkin patch, a vampire afraid of garlic, and a black cat.

#36: Do some people watching out your window. Write a story using one or more of them as the characters. Make up backstories and imagine what they're doing.

#37: Write a story about what you think your parents were like when they were younger.

#38: Your character survives a shipwreck and washes up on a mysterious island. What is on the island and how does (s)he get back home?

#39: Imagine you can choose to be any animal for a day. Which animal would you choose? What would you do?

#40: Write a poem about your favorite season.

#41: Imagine you are chosen for the first mission to Mars. What would you bring with you, and what do you think exploring the planet would be like?

#42: Write a sympathetic story from the point of view of the "bad guy." (Think fractured fairy tales like Wicked or The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! , although the story doesn't have to be a fairy tale.)

#43: Imagine your pet gets a day to roam free before returning home. Where would it go, and what would it see?

#44: If you could have dinner with any three people (real or fictional), who would you choose and what would you talk about? What would you eat?

#45: Look through photographs, drawings, and paintings. Choose one and write a story about it, imagining where it is and the types of people/things there.

#46: Imagine aliens landed on earth. What would they look like, and how would they act? Would they be friendly or not?

Argumentative Writing Prompts for Kids

#47: Are there dangers of teenagers spending too much time on social media?

#48: Does homework actually help students learn?

#49: Should students doing e-learning this year get letter grades, pass/fail, or no grades?

#50: At what age should children get their own cell phone?

#51: Which is best: ebooks, audiobooks, or traditional print books?

#52: What's more important, PE classes or art classes?

#53: Which celebrity is the best role model for kids? Which is the worst?

#54: Should parents or teachers be able to ban certain books from schools?

#55: Which season is the best?

#56: Should students recite the Pledge of Allegiance in school?

#57: Should students go to school year-round and have shorter breaks throughout the year rather than one long summer vacation?

What's Next?

Also looking for science activities for kids? Check out our 37 science experiments for kids that you can do at home!

Want to make some slime? We tell you how to make slimes without borax and without glue as well as how to craft the ultimate super slime .

Pipe cleaners can provide endless craft ideas. Read our guide for simple instructions for 31 fun pipe cleaner crafts for kids.

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Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries.

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225 Fun & Free Creative Writing Prompts for Kids in All Grade Levels

Written by Maria Kampen

Teacher Resources,
Prodigy English

Kickstart your students' writing with one of these 225 writing prompts for kids.

Two students sit at a desk together working on writing prompts for kids.

Elementary school writing prompts
Middle school writing prompts
High school writing prompts
Social emotional learning jounal prompts
Math writing prompts

Writing prompts are meant to unlock creativity. They’re story starters designed to inspire creative thinking. They can take you to places you’ve been or recall an important time in your life.

But mostly, they’re useful tools for teachers to inspire writing growth in students from grade school to high school.

“Once upon a time, in a land far, far away…”

It’s amazing how one simple sentence can send you on a journey to places you’ve never been, filled with untold possibilities.

Reading is great, but you know what’s even better? Giving your students the power to write stories for themselves.

Writing prompts for kids help students:

Express themselves and their creativity
Grasp lifelong literacy skills and concepts
Tell their own stories and build self-confidence
Develop a growth mindset when it comes to their writing skills

Writing is like a muscle — it takes practice to build up skills. Luckily, we put together a list of over 200 writing prompts to help your students get started. We’ve also organized them by middle school, high school and elementary school to help teachers decide whether these prompts are age-appropriate for their students.

Grade school writing prompts

Grade schoolers can definitely begin to address complex ideas when it comes to story writing — but you should seek to keep the prompts simple and straightforward.

Reluctant writers might be intimidated by complicated writing ideas — and this is an age where we should be encouraging creativity.

Creative writing prompts for elementary schoolers

Young child sits at a desk with a notebook and pencil, writing in the notebook.

Whether it’s exploring the furthest reaches of outer space, traveling across the Sahara desert or sticking a little closer to home, these creative writing prompts will have students imagining endless possibilities for their writing.

Write about what your life would be like if you turned into a squirrel. What would you do every day?
A strange spaceship just crashed and landed in your backyard. What happens next?
Make up a story about where thunder comes from.
You find an old notebook hidden in an attic. What does it say? Who did it belong to?
You have a magic garden. What magical plants do you grow? How do you take care of them?
Write a story about running away with the circus when it comes to town.
Rewrite “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” from the perspective of one of the dwarfs (Happy, Sleepy, Dopey, Doc, Grumpy, Sneezy and Bashful).
There once was a little boy who ate nothing but oranges. What happened to him?
Write a story about a magical hat. Where is it from? What does it do? What does it look like?
You’re exploring the rainforest and come across a flower that no one’s ever seen before. Describe it!
Tell me a story about a dinosaur living a long, long time ago.
Tell me a story about an astronaut visiting another planet. Where are they going? How do they get there? What do they take with them?
You discover a magic portal in the park. Where does it lead to?
Pick a partner and write a story together! Start by writing the first sentence, then pass it to your partner to write the second sentence.
You find buried treasure in the park, hidden in a big wooden chest. What kind of treasure is it? Who left it there?
Write a story about a family that can travel in time.
Write a story without using the letter “E”.
Write the funniest story you can think of.
There’s a kangaroo in your classroom. How did it get there? What happens when you find it?
Write a story about an explorer who keeps getting lost. Where are they trying to go? What do they find along the way?
Write a story about a wooden door, a can of soda and a blue shoe.
If there was a magical portal in the back of your closet, where would it lead to?
Finish this story: There was a knock on the door. I opened it to find a dog sitting there, and…
You come home and find that everything in your house is upside down. What happened?
Describe the color “red” without using the word “red”.
There’s an old, abandoned house at the end of your street that’s been empty for years. One day, someone moves in.
Rewrite the story of Cinderella from the perspective of the stepsisters.
Write a backstory for Ed, the orange Prodigy mascot.
You wake up one morning and find a mermaid in your bathtub. How did they get there? What do you do?
Write a story about a monster looking for some friends.
Oh no — your balloon blew away! Write about what happens from the balloon’s perspective.
You and your friends are out for a walk when, out of nowhere, your friends start disappearing! What’s going on?
Once upon a time, an old inventor built a weather machine. It sat undiscovered for years — until you found it. What happens next?
You just ate a cookie that turned you 15 feet tall. What do you do next?

Fun writing prompts for grade schoolers

Young child sits at a table in front of a window while writing on a sheet of paper.

Everyday life is full of great inspiration for writing! Get students thinking with these easy and fun writing prompts.Write about something you are good at.

If you could write a book about anything, what would you write about?
If you could have any animal as a pet, what would it be and why?
Do you have a favorite animal? Tell me all about it! Why do you like it?
What would you do if you woke up one morning and everything was pink — including you?
What food can you not live without? Why?
If you could add any class to your school schedule, what would it be?
Invent a new day of the week. What is it called? When is it? What do people usually do on that day of the week?
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?
If you could spend a Saturday doing anything you wanted, what adventures would you get up to?
If you could have any wild animal as a pet, what would you choose? Why?
What's your favorite, wacky food?
Where is your favorite place to read? Why?
What was the coolest day of school for you? What made it exciting?
Which of your toys do you wish could talk? What would they say?
If you could only wear one outfit for the rest of your life, what would it look like?
Invent a machine to do a chore for you. What does the machine do? What does it look like?
What's your favorite season? What makes it the best?
What is your favorite math game and why?
Describe your real-life superpower.
Finish the story: When I'm older I want to be an expert in…
If pets could talk to each other, what would they say?
If you were the captain of a ship, what would you call your ship? What would it look like? Where would you go?
If your pet could talk to you, what do you think it would say?
If you were the only person on earth for one day, what would you do?
Plan the perfect birthday party for yourself.
What is your favorite thing to do over summer break?
Describe your ideal birthday cake.
If you could add any type of room to your house, what would it be?
What’s your favorite movie and why?

Persuasive writing prompts for elementary school

Top-down photograph of a girl with braids sitting at a desk next to another student and writing in a notebook.

Are your students’ opinions up for debate? Ask them to flex their critical thinking skills with these persuasive writing prompts. Once they’re done, get class discussion flowing with a spirited debate!

Write a letter convincing your parents to let you get a pet dog. What arguments do you use to persuade them?
Convince your teacher that you should be allowed an extra 15 minutes of recess.
Convince your best friend to read your favorite book.
How would you convince someone to do your chores for you?
Write a commercial for your favorite breakfast food. What would convince someone else to try it?
What flavor of chips is the best? Why?
What would make a better pet — a monkey or a peacock?
Do you think children should be allowed to stay up as late as they want?
What’s your favorite holiday and why should it be everyone’s favorite?
Convince us that your favorite food should be a staple in everyone’s diet.

As students enter middle school, they’re starting to feel like bigger, older kids. They can start writing original short stories and abstract persuasive essays.

It’s best to inspire creativity at this age and encourage them to explore their own voice and different writing styles. These prompts will definitely go a long way in inspiring that.

Creative Writing Prompts for Middle Schoolers

Invent a new type of transportation for the future. Who uses it? Where does it go?
If you had a time machine, where would you visit first — the past or the future? Why?
You get on the bus and find a four-piece jazz band giving a concert. What do you do?
Design and name your own Prodigy pet . What element are they? What’s their special power?
Finish this story: “Something just touched my foot,” they shouted, swimming frantically towards the shore.
Write a silly or scary story to tell around a campfire.
Finish this story: Everything was going so well today — until I tripped and fell, right in front of…
Throughout your adventures as a pirate on the high seas, you’ve seen lots of strange and magical creatures. Which one was the most interesting?
Deep in the heart of a dark and mysterious cave, there lies a magic stone. Write about your quest to find it.
Write an acrostic poem using the word “strawberry.”
There was an old woman who lived in a shoe. She knit and she baked, but what else did she do?
Finish this story: “One thing I’ll never do again,” she said, “Is go on vacation with an alpaca.”
Make up a new planet and describe it.
Write a story about a family of penguins living on an iceberg.
Write a story about a girl who can walk through walls.
You’ve been invited to a ball at the Queen’s palace! What is it like?
Imagine you’re exploring the Amazon jungle. Write a diary entry about your day.
If you could invent a TV show, what would it be about?
You discovered an underwater kingdom! What is it like there?
A lonely trumpet player makes friends with the dancer who lives next door. What happens next?
You go to the park to fly a kite, but get carried away by the wind! What happens next?
Write a story about a volcano that’s about to erupt.
Write a story about visiting an old lady who lives deep in the woods.
Boom, you’re a superhero! Give yourself an origin story, describe your superpowers and plan what you’ll do to make the world a better place.
Write a story using these six words: calendar, headphones, lipstick, mug, bear.
You wake up to find you’re invisible. How did it happen? What do you do?
There’s been a robbery at the bank, and you’re in charge of finding the culprit. How do you solve the case?
Finish the story: Once upon a time, there was a dragon...
You just joined a super-secret spy organization. What’s your first mission?
Write a story about being cold without using the word “cold.”
You’re a scientist and you’ve just discovered a new type of bug. Describe what it looks like, where it’s from and what you’re going to call it.
Imagine a world where all the birds can talk. What would they say?
Write about what happens after the end of your favorite book or movie.
Finish the story: She sprinted down the driveway to the mailbox. The package was here!
You’re on a hike and a bird starts talking to you. What do you do? What does it say?
Write a story using these five words: bubblegum, stapler, spoon, lightbulb, strawberry.
You ate a magical carrot and your skin turned orange! What happens next?
Write about what it would be like if you had an elephant for a pet.

Fun Writing Prompts for Middle Schoolers

If you were in charge of the classroom for a day, what would your class do?
Tell me about the last dream you had.
You’re trapped on a desert island. What three things did you bring with you and why?
What mythical creature would you like to have as a pet? Why?
Invent a new type of pasta. What does it look like? What does it taste like?
If you could go on vacation anywhere in the world, where would you go? Make a plan and tell the story of your dream vacation.
Plan the perfect picnic. Where would it be? What food would you have?
If you could decorate your bedroom any way you wanted, what would it look like?
Write a story that sounds loud, using onomatopoeia (words that sound like their meaning, like crash, snort, bang and boom.)
Invent a new type of cookie. What does it taste like?
Invent a new sport. What is it called? What are the rules?
How would you disguise yourself to blend in with a forest?
You just won a special award from the president. What did you do to earn that award?
Do you collect anything? What is it and why? If not, what would you like to collect?
You just found a genie in a bottle. What three things would you wish for? (Remember, no wishing for extra wishes!
Explain how to play your favorite sport or do your favorite hobby. Make it as exciting as possible!
Describe the most beautiful sunrise or sunset you’ve ever seen.
If you could live in any book or movie, which one would you choose and why?
Imagine that you’re going on a camping trip. What do you pack to make sure the trip is fun?
If you could invent a robot to do any chore, what chore would it be? How would the robot do it?
Would you rather it was always raining, or always snowing?
Imagine you’re a toy inventor. What will you create?
Would you rather climb to the top of a mountain or go scuba diving?
Interview a family member about their childhood, then write it as a story.
What was your favorite toy growing up — why was it so special to you?

Persuasive Writing Prompts for Middle School

If you could change one thing about your school, what would it be and why?
Is it better to read the book before you watch the movie, or watch the movie before you read the book?
Persuade someone to try out your favorite hobby or sport.
What’s the best way to try and persuade a friend to do what you want to do?
When is peer pressure good? When is peer pressure bad?
Is it better to have lots of friends, or just a few really good friends?
Should students be in charge of what they learn in school?

High school students can either be tasked with more complex writing prompts or breathe nuance into simple story ideas. Students can drive these prompts in a million different ways.

So while not necessarily more complicated than middle school, these prompts can be tweaked, either by the student or teacher, to encourage thought-provoking output.

Creative Writing Prompts for High Schoolers

Write a story about someone your age who lives on the other side of the world.
Pick up the nearest book and turn to page 7. Close your eyes and point to a random word on the page, then write a story about that word.
Write a story in ten words or less.
You fell asleep for 100 years. What does the world look like when you wake up?
Finish the story: “This isn’t what I hoped would happen,” she said….
You’re walking down the street when you see someone who looks exactly like you.
Write a story where the main character learns something new about themselves.
Write a story that takes place in the desert.
Write a story about a day where everything seems to go wrong.
Write a poem about the color blue.
How would your life be different if you didn’t have access to a computer, video games or your phone?

Fun writing prompts for high schoolers

You win a million dollars, but there’s a catch — you have to spend it all in 24 hours, or you lose all the money. What do you do?
Write about something you or your family does from the perspective of someone from another country.
If you could make up a new holiday, when would it be and what would it celebrate?
Go out on a nature walk and find a tree. Write the story of that tree, from the time it was a seed until now.
What’s the most boring superpower you can think of? How would it be useful?
If you could pass any law, what would it be?
You meet yourself in the future, as a grown-up at age 35 — what do you talk about?
If you had to show aliens the most important/best things in the world, what would you show them?
Who is your hero and why?
Write about the best surprise you ever got.
What are three good things you can do for the environment? How can you encourage the people around you to do good things for the environment?
What is your earliest memory? Write down as many details as you can remember.
If you could take two people – real or fictional – on a cross-country road trip, who would you take? Where would you go?
If you could have any job in the world tomorrow, what would you do?
What is the best thing about living in your city or neighbourhood?
Write a letter to your 30-year-old self. What do you think you’ll accomplish by then?
Teach me how to make your favorite recipe.
Describe the sound of your favorite song using descriptive words.

Persuasive writing prompts for high school

Should kids be allowed to use social media unsupervised? Why or why not?
Persuade someone to start a healthy habit, or get rid of a bad one.
Should all single-use plastics be outlawed? Why or why not?
Should our school have a dress code? Why or why not?
Is it more important to be right or to not hurt someone else’s feelings?
What important historical figure do you think belongs on the ten-dollar bill?
Do you think you’re born with your personality traits, or do you gain them as you grow up?
Should mobile apps be responsible for protecting your privacy — why or why not?

Social emotional learning journal prompts

Two students sit outside against a brick wall, working in notebooks.

School is about more than just books and quizzes — it’s about preparing students for the rest of their lives. Social emotional learning teaches them how to build good relationships with peers, understand and control their emotions and make healthy life decisions.

Journaling is a great way for students to reflect on their feelings in a safe, private space. Use these journaling prompts as thought starters for more social emotional learning!

Check out our list of the 25 best social emotional learning activities for students here.

Tell me about a tradition you have with your family or friends.
What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?
Have you ever found something that you lost? How did you feel when you found it?
What is something you haven’t learned this school year that you’re still wondering about?
What do you do when you’re angry? Write about three ways you calm yourself down.
Where do you feel the safest? Why do you feel safe there?
Write a poem to make a friend happy.
When was the last time you were kind to someone? How can you be kind to someone today?
How are you feeling today? Are you happy, sad, excited or anxious?
If you could give your best friend a present, what would it be?
What are the qualities you look for in a friend? Why is it important to be a good friend?
What does responsibility mean to you?
Who do you talk to when you’re worried about something? How do they make you feel better?
If you could make a card for anyone in your life, who would it be for and what would it say?
What’s your favorite thing about yourself?
Write about a time you had to make a hard decision. How did you make your decision?
What do you do to make yourself happy when you’re sad?
Write about a time you were disappointed.
What are three things that make your best friend awesome?
What do you think empathy means? Why is it important?
How can you cheer up a friend who is sad?
What makes you a good friend? How can you be a better friend?
What’s the best piece of advice a friend, parent or teacher has ever given you?
Write three goals for the rest of the school year. How are you going to accomplish them?
What does responsibility mean to you? What are you responsible for at school and at home?
What person in your life makes you feel confident?
What scares you? How can you overcome your fears?
Tell me about a time when you tried something new. How did it feel? Did you do it again?

Math writing prompts for kids

A student holds an orange with an equation written on it while working on a math writing prompt.

Whether it’s tackling word problems or explaining a new concept, writing is a surprisingly good tool for the math classroom.

A math journal can help you understand what students already know, while giving them space to work through tricky concepts on their own. Use these writing prompts to promote literacy in every subject — and help students avoid math anxiety .

Tell me everything you know about ________.
Explain, in words, how to solve this problem.
What is and isn’t true about this situation?
What is _______?
Explain two different ways to solve this problem. Which one is better?
What did you get correct in this problem?
What mistakes did you make while solving this problem?
What do you not understand about _____?
Write a word problem using the concept we’re learning about.
What did you learn today?
How do you use math in your everyday life?
What is the easiest/hardest part of math class?
What discoveries did you make in math class today?

Final thoughts on writing prompts for kids

Writing prompts aren’t the end of the story — they’re just the beginning. Encourage your students to build a regular writing practice, and soon you’ll see the benefits in every class.

Where will your students’ imaginations take them?

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50 Essay Topics for Kids

Hi friends! A while back, after I did a post of story ideas for kids , I got requests for essay topics for kids. I thought it was a little out of my wheelhouse, though, since I’ve never taught children. But then I thought, wait a minute…I’m married to someone who used to teach middle school English! So I invited Mr. Donovan to guest post today. Take it away, honey…

For these, I tried to think about 5th and 6th grade writing topics, but the truth is, most of these writing prompts would also work for kids much younger, and some of them would work for older kids. If you’re a busy teacher or homeschooling parent, I hope you find good ideas you can use.

While this list focuses especially on persuasive writing, it offers a wide range of subjects. I think many students will feel strongly about them since they know about them firsthand, and they may have fun writing about them. Some prompts may encourage students to try to persuade through the use of humor and personal stories, while others may lead them to compare and contrast two things or use logic and/or ethical arguments to support their points of view. Hopefully, their strong feelings will lead student writers to experience persuasive writing as an essential tool for their success.[spacer height=”20px”]

50 Essay Topics for Kids | fun creative writing prompts for busy teachers and homeschoolers (image: stack of spiral notebooks)

Personal Narrative Essay Ideas

The three things I can’t live without are…
In the past year, I’ve changed in the following ways…
A close call I once had occurred when…
My favorite hour of the day is…
I once got lost for a long period of time at…
One thing I love to shop for is…
The best sporting event I ever attended was…
Here’s a time that I was scared but took a chance.
Here’s what happened when I tried something for the first time.
The thing I’m most looking forward to this summer is…
A decision that was very hard to make for me was…
The last time I laughed really really hard was…
A time I was really proud of one of my parents/siblings was…
Describe a favorite family photo and the story it tells.
One time when I was having dinner with my family…

Persuasive Essay Ideas

Why It’s Important To Be a Good Winner
How to Make Friends and Keep Them
To Be Successful, You Need To…
How to Disagree With Someone Without Being Rude
The Best Thing About This School Is….and Here’s Why
The Best Place to Live Would Be…and Here’s Why
Why It’s Important to Set Goals
How to Prevent Bullying
Students Should Be Allowed to Learn At Their Own Pace
The Best TV Show On Right Now Is…Because….
The Best TV Show Ever Made Is….and Here’s Why
My Favorite Superhero Is…Because…
Why My Favorite Sport Is the Best Sport
Students Should/Shouldn’t Have Their Phones at School
Our Country Would Be Better If We Passed This Law
No One Should Ever Watch More Than Four Hours of TV, Movies, and Videos a Day
Why It’s Time to Remove the Penny From Circulation
It’s Likely that Extraterrestrials Exist
Taking Photographs of People Without Their Permission Should Be Prohibited
Telling A Lie Is/Isn’t Always Wrong

Compare and Contrast Essay Ideas

Baseball and basketball have both similarities and differences.
Here’s what I would and wouldn’t be willing to do for a million dollars
The biggest differences between winter and spring are…
Ways I’m alike and ways I’m different from my parent/sibling are…
Cats and dogs may be very different, but they’re also alike in some respects.
My two favorite bands compare and contrast in the following ways.
Compare and contrast your two favorite superheroes.
My two favorite restaurants are different in many ways.
Though very different, the sun and the moon do have a few similarities.
While my two favorite classes have key differences, they also have much in common
Skating and running have a lot in common.
Parent teachers and classroom teachers are different and alike in many ways.
Poems and stories have some similarities and some differences.
PCs and Mac computers have less in common than you might think.
The book and movie version of my favorite story have a lot of similarities, but they’re different in some ways.

50 Essay Topics for Kids | image: Open blank notebook and pen

If you have other ideas for easy essay topics for middle school, let us know in the comments. And if you liked the list, please share them on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter—we appreciate it, and busy teachers might appreciate it, too! Thanks for reading this, and have a great day!

– Gill Donovan

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15 personal and creative expression essay topics for kids, 15 the world around us essay topics for kids, 15 factual and educational essay topics for kids.

In today’s world, where communication and expression are key, writing effectively is invaluable. This post aims to provide parents and educators with a list of essay topics for kids keen on nurturing this essential skill in their young ones.

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Writing essays is not just an academic exercise; it’s a fundamental tool that helps children develop their language skills, organize their thoughts, and articulate their ideas with clarity. Whether it’s a simple description of their favorite toy or a more complex discussion about their thoughts on environmental conservation, each essay topic offers a unique opportunity for growth and learning. Let’s dive in!

45 Easy Essay Topics for Kids

Let’s explore and discover fun differences and similarities! These compare-and-contrast topics are perfect for young minds to learn and think about the world around them in exciting ways.

For a more hands-on experience, check out these printable compare-and-contrast worksheets for kids that enhance writing and comprehension skills.

1. Cats vs. Dogs- Pets at Home: Discuss the differences and similarities between having a cat and a dog as a pet.

2. Summer Holidays vs. Winter Holidays: Compare and contrast how summer holidays differ from winter holidays, focusing on activities, weather, and family traditions.

3. Books vs. Movies: Explore the differences and similarities in storytelling between reading a book and watching a movie adaptation.

4. Rainy Days vs. Sunny Days: Compare what it’s like to experience rainy and sunny days. They can talk about the activities they do, the clothes they wear, and their feelings about each type of weather.

5. Traditional Games vs. Video Games: Compare playing traditional games like hide-and-seek or hopscotch with playing video games . Look at the social aspects, physical activity , and enjoyment.

6. Eating at Home vs. Eating at a Restaurant: Discuss the experience of eating a home-cooked meal versus dining out at a restaurant, including the atmosphere, food choices, and family interaction.

7. School Learning vs. Learning at Home: Contrast the experience of learning in a school environment with learning at home or homeschooling , focusing on interaction, discipline, and learning styles .

8. Trains vs. Airplanes: Contrast traveling by train with airplane travel. Kids can discuss speed, the scenery they see, the noise level, and what they find exciting about each mode of transportation.

9. Playing Inside vs. Playing Outside: Contrast the activities kids do when playing indoors (like board games or reading) with those they do when playing outdoors (like sports or exploring nature). Discuss the fun aspects and benefits of each.

10. Ice Cream vs. Cake: Kids can compare these two popular desserts, looking at flavors, occasions when they are eaten (like birthdays or hot summer days), and why they might prefer one.

11. Cars vs. Bicycles: Discuss the differences and similarities between these two modes of transportation. Kids can talk about the experience of riding a bike versus being in a car, the speed of travel, and when each mode is useful.

12. Story Books vs. Picture Books: Compare storybooks , which mainly focus on a narrative, with picture books, which use images to tell a story or convey concepts. Discuss the enjoyment of reading each type of book and how the pictures or stories help them understand and imagine.

13. Cartoons vs. Live-Action TV Shows: Discuss the differences and similarities between watching cartoons and live-action TV shows. Kids can talk about the characters, the stories , and what makes each type of show enjoyable.

14. Vegetables vs. Fruits: A great way to discuss healthy eating! Children can compare the taste, textures, and uses of fruits and vegetables and discuss their favorites and why they like them.

15. Storytelling vs. Reading a Book: Kids can contrast listening to a story being told (like a bedtime story ) with reading a book themselves. They might consider aspects like imagination to understand the story, which they find more enjoyable or easier.

Encourage kids to explore their inner world and creativity through these engaging essay topics. Perfect for enhancing imagination and personal storytelling, these prompts are ideal for essay writing for kids.

My Favorite Day and Why: Describe your most cherished day and why it stands out, making it a memorable essay for kids.
The Best Dream I Ever Had: Share the details of a wonderful dream and why it was so special to you.
If I Were an Animal, I Would Be…: Imagine being an animal and describe a day in your life, using creativity and fun details.
A Magical Adventure in My Backyard: Create a story about a magical adventure right in your backyard, perfect if you are looking for writing topics for elementary students.
When I Grow Up, I Want to Be…: Talk about your dream job and what makes it exciting.
My Superpower Wish: If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why? Describe how you would use it.
A Letter to My Future Self: Write a letter to your future self, sharing your hopes and dreams.
The Day I Learned to Ride a Bike: Narrate your experience of learning to ride a bike and how you felt.
My Favorite Holiday Memory: Recount a cherished holiday memory and why it’s important.
Building My Dream House: Describe what your dream house would look like and what makes it special.
A Trip to the Moon: Imagine a trip to the moon and describe what you see and do.
My Best Friend and Why I Cherish Them: Write about your best friend and the qualities that make your friendship special.
The Most Interesting Thing About My Family: Share something unique or interesting about your family.
If I Were President for a Day: Describe what you would do if you were the president for a day.
A World of Talking Animals: Create a story where animals can talk and share their adventures. This is a great choice for easy essay topics.

Discover and learn about our diverse world through these fun essay topics for kids. They are tailored to help kids observe, question, and understand the environment and cultures around them.

A Trip to the Zoo: What I Saw and Learned: This is a perfect essay topic for 5th graders . Ask them to describe their visit to the zoo and the interesting animals they saw
My Family’s Traditions and Celebrations: Share about your family’s unique traditions or celebrations and why they are important to you.
The Life Cycle of a Butterfly: Ask kids to explore and explain the transformation of a butterfly. It is a great prompt if you are looking for short essay topics.
How to Take Care of Our Planet: Discuss ways we can help protect and preserve our planet Earth.
A Day in the Life of a Firefighter: Imagine a day in the life of a firefighter and describe the challenges and rewards of their job.
Visiting a Museum: Write about a museum experience and what you learned.
The Importance of Recycling: Explain why recycling is important and how it helps our environment.
Different Cultures Around the World: Choose a culture different from your own and describe its unique customs and traditions.
Under the Sea: Exploring Marine Life: Dive into the ocean world and describe the fascinating marine life you find there.
My Favorite Season and Why: Share your favorite season of the year and what makes it special to you.
A Journey Through Space: Imagine traveling through space and describe what you might see and experience.
The Process of Making Chocolate: Describe how chocolate is made, from cocoa beans to your favorite chocolate bar.
Life on a Farm: Explore what life is like on a farm and the different tasks involved in farming.
The Wonders of the Rainforest: Discover a rainforest’s unique and diverse life and its importance to our ecosystem.
Celebrating a Festival in My Community: Write about a local festival, its significance, and how it is celebrated.

Informative essay topics written on white background

Explore and learn with these factual and educational essay topics. They are designed to encourage research, curiosity, and a deeper understanding of various subjects.

The Moon and Its Phases: Learn about the moon and why it looks different during the month.
Dinosaur Discoveries: Explore the fascinating world of dinosaurs and what they might have looked like.
Rainbows and How They Appear: Find out what makes rainbows and why they are so colorful.
Heroes in History: Write about a hero from history and what makes them special.
From Seed to Plant: Discover how a seed grows into a plant and the role of sun and water.
Planets in Our Solar System: Take a fun trip through space and learn about the planets.
Healthy Eating: Talk about your favorite fruits and vegetables and why they are good for you.
Simple Machines Around Us: Look at simple machines like the wheel and how they make life easier.
The Four Seasons: Describe the four seasons and what you like about each one.
The Fascinating World of Insects: Explore the diverse and interesting world of insects and learn about their lives.
Volcanoes: Mountains That Blow Their Tops: Discover what volcanoes are and why they erupt.
Our Bodies: Bones and Muscles: Learn about bones and muscles and how they help us move.
Under the Sea: Exploring Ocean Life: Dive into the ocean and learn about the fish and animals.
Why Do Stars Twinkle in the Night Sky? : Learn about the science behind the sparkling stars and what makes them look like twinkling from so far away.
The Secret Life of Ants: Discover how ants live, work together, and build their homes. Learn about the different roles ants have in their colony.

4 Importance of Essay Writing for Kids

Essay writing is more than just a school assignment; it’s a crucial skill that plays a significant role in a child’s development. Here’s why it’s important:

Improving Language Skills: Writing essays helps children enhance their vocabulary , grammar, and language proficiency. It’s a practical way for them to learn new words and how to use them effectively in sentences.
Organizing Thoughts: One of the key benefits of essay writing is that it teaches kids how to organize their thoughts. When they write an essay, they learn to structure their ideas logically, making it easier for others to understand their point of view.
Expressing Ideas Clearly: Essays allow children to express their ideas and opinions. This practice helps them articulate their thoughts in a coherent and concise manner. Expressing oneself is a valuable skill that will serve them well throughout their lives, both personally and professionally.
Academic and Future Career Success: Good writing skills are essential for academic success . Essays are a common part of school assignments; excelling in them can improve grades. Furthermore, writing well is a sought-after skill in many careers. Effective writing is key, whether it’s drafting reports, creating presentations, or communicating with clients.

In conclusion, by embracing the practice of essay writing, we open doors for our children to not only excel academically but also to develop essential life skills . Let’s encourage and support them in this journey, fostering a generation of articulate, thoughtful, and confident communicators.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

At what age should children start practicing essay writing.

Children can start practicing simple essay writing around 6 or 7. Starting with basic sentences and gradually moving to more structured essays helps build their writing skills early on.

How can I make essay writing interesting for my child?

To make essay writing interesting, choose topics that align with your child’s interests or current events in their life. Also, incorporating creative elements like storytelling or illustrations can make the process more engaging.

How long should essays for kids be?

The length of the essay should be appropriate for the child’s age and skill level. For younger children, a paragraph or two is sufficient, while older kids can aim for longer essays with more detailed content.

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The Absolute Best Creative Writing Topics for Kids!

Creative writing is a great way for children to express themselves using imagination. At Kids Play and Create, we value young writers, and we are constantly updating our list to bring you new, fun, and imaginative writing prompts for kids.

We have story starters, icebreakers, fiction writing prompts, and fun topics to inspire kids through writing. From young students to middle school students and even high school, we have great writing prompts for all writing styles and even the most reluctant writers.

Check the end of the article for updated Creative Writing Topics for Teens. Are you looking for Creative Writing topics for 1st grade and 2nd grade with free printables? We have that too!

What is Creative Writing?

Creative writing can be used to explain many types of writing. It is a writing style that lets the writer express themselves. Some forms of creative writing entertain the reader, while others are therapeutic. Creative writing lets the writer use their imagination and takes the reader on a journey into their thoughts.

Is Creative Writing Important?

Creative writing is a great way to learn more about the children you work with. You can find out things about what they like and don’t like. Depending on the topic you choose, you can also find out things about their personality, what kind of friends they are, how they feel about themselves, and if they set goals and more.

How do you get kids to want to write without complaining? Give them fun topics that they will learn about themselves while writing. On this list, you will find various good topics for both younger and older children.

Creative Writing is fun for All Ages.

Creative writing isn’t just for older children. It can be for the little ones too. Young students as early as Preschool or Kindergarten may not have the ability to write but can express themselves through drawing.

Have young students concentrate less on the writing and more on drawing a picture that goes with the topic. Children are great at expressing themselves through art.

Awesome Creative Writing Prompts for Elementary Students

1. Have the children write on top of the page: I Am Special Because… This is a good topic to help children express themselves.

Examples of powers they can write about are flying, super speed, eye lasers, walking through walls, shooting ice, shooting fire, changing the weather, camouflage, shapeshifting (changing shape), and turning invisible.

When the writing activity is over, split the children into two teams, the superhero team and the villain team. Have them vs. each other in a game of tag. Who will champion the superheroes or the villains?

3. What do I want to be when I grow up and why?

This is a fun topic. Children can think about having anything in the world. Will they pick something like peace on earth or go the million-dollar route?

5. If I could invent a new animal, what animal would it be?

Have the children ask themselves the following questions: What does the animal look like (what color, is it big or small, is it a combination of two animals)? What sounds does the animal make? What does it eat? Where does it live? Describe the animal’s habitat.

Creative Writing Topics for Kids

6. If I could invent a new toy, what kind of toy would I create and why? Or, If I could improve a toy, which toy would I improve, and how would I make it better?

Talk to the children about the creative process: First, you come up with an idea, then you have to get it made.

Talk to the children about manufacturing toys.

Here are some questions you can ask the children about improving a toy. How do you want to make the toy better? Do you want to make the remote control car faster? Is the game challenging enough? Do you want your doll to have more features or do more?

You can ask the children these questions to get their brains thinking.

7. If I could make something disappear in my life, what would it be and why?

Ask the children if there is something in your life that makes them unhappy. Is there a problem you are having?

8 . All About me essay.

Some sample questions the children can ask are: What are my likes and dislikes?

What is my favorite subject in school? What do I want to be when I group up? Who is their favorite actress/actor? Where do they want to visit? They can name the people in their family, talk about any extracurricular activities they do, etc.

9 . In what ways do I help my family?

Have children write about the ways they help their families. Do you have chores? If so, what are they? Do you help your mom or dad cook? Do you talk out the garbage? Do you take care of your siblings? Do you have a job to help pay bills?

10. How can I be a better friend?

Have children think about what type of friends they are. Are they good listeners? Are you kind? Do you talk about your friends to other people? Have them think about how they would like to be treated by a friend, do they treat their friends the way they want to be treated?

The Best Creative Writing Topics for 4th and 5th grade

11. If you could be invisible, what would you do and why?

Have the children think about what it would be like to be invisible. Would they use this new power for good or would they try to do something bad?

12. What do you think about bullies and why?

Have the children define what a bully is to them in their paper. Do they think they are a bully? Do they think bullying is wrong? Remember, these are things the children are feeling, there are no wrong answers.

To them, the children with their writing ask them the following questions. What does it mean to be honest? Have you ever told a lie that turned into another lie?

14. What would you do if you won a million dollars?

This question is usually a favorite topic with the children. Ask them if they think one million dollars is a lot of money.

Depending on where you live, it might be just enough to buy a small house and a car. What are some things you would buy? Would you save some or spend it all?

15. If you could change the world, what would you do and why?

Would they change things, such as ending hate and violence in the world? Would they change things such as making gas or food free for everyone? You will get various answers, making this a fun and interesting topic.

Fun Writing Prompts Ideas

This is a fun topic for both younger and older children. Activity: Have the children draw their kingdom and a picture of them as king or queen

This topic is also great for older and younger children. While children love playing video games, they may not realize that they can make video games for a living.

Talk to the children about video game developers and the process of creating video games. Have them brainstorm ideas for games and find out what they can come up with.

18. Write about a time when you had to be brave, what did you do, and how did it make you feel?

19. Write about a trip to the moon, how you got there, what you saw, and whether it was fun or scary.

20. Write about something you are good at.

22. Write about a time when you worked hard to get something.

This can be a thing or an accomplishment, like making a team, finally getting that cartwheel, or passing a test.

There is always room for improvement. Talk to the children about the importance of trying hard and working towards a goal.

24. If you had to give away $1,000, what would you do with it, and who would you give it to?

This is a great question to ask children when talking about being kind and helping others.

Journal Prompts or Kids

25. What is the best thing someone has ever given to you?

This question helps children think about what they’re good at and how they can help others.

Explain what happened and how it made you feel.

30. Did someone ever hurt your feelings?

31. Is there anyone you would like to switch places with? Who and why?

32. What does it mean to be loyal?

33. When was a time you were loyal to a friend or a friend who was loyal to you?

34. What famous person would you like to meet?

Self-Esteem Writing Topics

35. Have you ever been friends with someone who was unpopular or not part of the group?

This is a great question to ask children when teaching them about acceptance and how it feels not to be part of a group.

36. When was a time you felt you were treated unfairly? How did it make you feel?

37. Is it fair to give someone a head start in a race? When is it fair? When is it not fair?

Everyone makes mistakes. This writing topic helps children understand that mistakes are part of the learning experience.

40. Write about a time when you were very angry. What happened? How did being angry make you feel?

Did I make a good choice when I was angry? This is a great writing topic when discussing feelings with children. It is important for them to understand that anger isn’t wrong and that you are allowed to feel angry.

41. What would you do if you heard a rumor about a friend you knew wasn’t true? How would it make you feel? What would you do?

44. Write about three things that are hard for you and why.

46. What is the bravest thing you’ve ever done?

49. Write about your best friend. Who are they, how long have you known them, and why are they your best friend?

Short Story Writing Topics for Kids

52. If you could be on a t.v show, which one would it be and why?

55. You just found a treasure map; write about what you would do next. Do you decide to look for the treasure? Who is going to help you? What supplies do you need? Did the map lead you to the treasure, or was it fake? If you found the treasure, what was it? What did you do with it?

56. You just built a time machine. Where in time would you go? What did you do? What did you see? Would you want to stay there or come back to the present time?

58. Challenge the kids to write a scary story.

2. Create an animal. This is the same as the monster but just an animal instead.

3. Create new food. What kind of food is it? Is it a dessert, is it something spicy, is it a combination of both? Have the children draw a picture of their new food.

Group Writing Prompts for Kids

I’ve been working with kids on group writing and art projects. The kids enjoyed these topics the best.

58. Create a fairy tale. have each group member write one part of the story. Then have each member of the group draw one part of the story. When the children are finished writing, have them come up in front of the class and retell their story.

59. Create an amusement park. Discuss as a group the name of the park. Have each member of the group write about the parts of the park.

B. Write about the type of rides in the park. Are there shows in the park?

Art Project: On a large poster board, have each group member draw a park map. List of attractions, games, food, restrooms, gift shops, shows, etc..

Newly Added Creative Writing Prompts

61. Create a new food/or meal and make a recipe to teach others how to make it. Have the kids draw a picture of the new food/meal.

62. Create a new game and describe how to play. This writing topic lets children use their imaginations. Have the children draw out the game on paper. If creating a board game, have the children turn the paper into a board game.

64. Your video just went viral on YouTube. What did you do in your video? These days, children spend so much time looking at videos on YouTube. Have them imagine what it would be like to become famous overnight with a viral video.

Magical Writing Prompts for Kids

67. What is your sorcerer’s name? What kind of sorcerer would you be? Would you be evil or nice? What kind of powers would you have? What is something that you did as a sorcerer?

69. Write about a time when you were proud of your work and did your best. How did that make you feel? Do you always try your best? Why or why not

All about me collage self-esteem/character building activity for kids, being thankful activities for kids, thanksgiving activities for kids, feel good notebook self-esteem character building activity for kids, positive notes game self-esteem character building activity for kids, how to get kids to work together, games for kids.

127 Story Starters & Writing Prompts for Kids (Ages 10 – 14)

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

Learn about our Editorial Process

Coming up with story starters for kids can be difficult. This article provides 127 writing prompts that can get kids’ creative writing off to a great start. Download my three great creative writing lesson plans that I use as a supply teacher. They’re easy-to-use lessons that you can teach on the go.

Article Key Points

Select from the list of 127 writing prompts below for story ideas that you like.
Put these writing ideas in a hat and have students randomly pick out their assigned story.
Use the 3 lesson plans provided for a ready-made creative writing lesson. Great for supply teachers!

creative writing prompts and story starters for kids

You can get my printable story starters sheet at the end of this article

A full list of 127 story starters and writing prompts for kids

Writing prompts for adventure stories.

A princess who needs to rescue a puppy from a river.
A family on a road trip who got lost and ended up on a whole new adventure.
Two friends who go on an adventure down a river on a rowboat.

A superhero who lost his superpowers in the middle of a rescue.

A kid who wakes up one day to find out he / she was turned into a dog.
The day in the life of an inanimate object (tree, statue, etc.).
Three friends who can time travel forward in time. What will the world look like when they arrive?

The main character of your story has to escape a pirate ship after being captured in the night.

Pioneers travelling the whole way across a new land in just a wagon. What challenges will they face?
You’re a detective trying to uncover a crime: someone stole grandma’s apple pie when it was cooling on the windowsill!
You walk past a phone booth that is ringing. You answer the phone. Who is on the other end?

You wake up one day to find out that you grew and you’re suddenly 12 feet tall! You try to go to school but you find life’s hard as a giant…

A giant and a mouse live in a house together and are best friends. Tell a story about them preparing dinner together. What would each eat, and how would their preparations be different?
You’re half way up Mount Everest when you drop your pack with all your climbing gear off a cliff. What are you going to do about it?
A dorky kid suddenly develops superpowers and fights crime in the city at night.

A talking dog and his best friend race against time to defuse a bomb.

A firefighter is in a race against time to put out a fire before it burns down a magical forest full of talking animals (who help him / her to put out the fire!). Help him put out the fire safely !
You are walking along the beach and find a message in a bottle. The message provides the directions to something special – follow the directions!
Write a story about a refugee. They have recently had to flee their home to go to a safer place. Explain their journey.

You wake up one day and you’re only 6 inches tall! Write the story of what happens next – will you go on an adventure? Will you go to school? What will your parents say when they see you?

Write a story about being lost in a maze. How did it make you feel? What did you come across as you turned corners in your attempt to escape?
You’re going camping but you’re only allowed to bring 5 belongings. What would you bring, and why?
You’re the only survivor of a plane that has crashed in the wilderness. Describe how you will survive.

You’re a book that keeps getting passed from person to person and bookshop to bookshop. What sorts of people read your book and what crazy places do you end up going?

You’re 5 feet tall and live in a garden. How will you make your own comfortable little home in amongst the leaves?
You’ve found yourself trapped in a prison cell. What creative ways will you come up with to escape?
You dig a hole in your backyard and find a treasure. What is the treasure and what will you do with it?

You have to set up a new colony on Mars. Who would you take with you and what struggles will you have setting up your new colony? Who would be king? What would be the rules?

You have magical pockets. Every time you put your hand in your pocket, you pull something else out! Write a story of the 5 different, random things you pull out of your pockets. Will some of them be slimy and scary? Will some be alive? Will some be tasty?

Writing prompts for stories about your life

Your favorite memory with your family.
The best vacation or adventure you ever had.
A time you went to the dentist.

Your two favorite movies (and how they’re similar and different).

What you think would happen at a dinner party involving any three of your favorite people (living or dead).
Your hero and why they’re your hero.
Write a story about your ideal day. Start with your alarm going off to wake you up, and end with you closing your eyes and falling asleep.

The happiest moment of your life. What was it that made you so happy?

What a day in your life would be like if you had your dream job.
You have swapped jobs with one of your parents. You have to go to work for the day and they have to go to school. What funny things will happen?
Write a story about a dream you have had in your past. Was it a logical story, or did your dream defy the rules of the world? If you can’t remember your dream, you can make it up or fill in the gaps.

Write a story about a time you were wrong and how you felt. Were you glad you learned something new? Were you ashamed? Did you apologize?

Write a story about your favorite place. If you don’t have a favorite place, invent one and explain why it would be your favorite place.
Write about a skill you recently learned. Was it frustrating? After learning the skill how did you feel? How do you use the skill in your life now?
Write a story about the things you think about just before you go to sleep at night.

Write about exactly what you’re going to do when you get home from school today.

Write a story about all the things you’re grateful for and why you’re grateful for each one.
Write about the moment your parents or grandparents met and how they felt at that time. If you don’t know about it, make it up!
Write about your first day at high school or university. What will your emotions be? Will you meet anyone?

Read Also: A List of 107 Effective Classroom Teaching Strategies

Writing prompts for imaginative stories

What you would do if you could travel back in time to hang out with one of your ancestors.
You have a metal detector and are using it on a beach. What do you turn up? Describe it and what you would do with it.
You invent your own tree house. Describe it – how do you get into it? How many rooms are there and what is in each room?

You could travel back in time to any time in world history. What is it and why?

You meet a fairy who gives you any one gift – what would it be and how would you use it?
You just bought a haunted house and are about to spend your first night in it. It’s run down and creepy. Describe your first night, starting with when you step in the door at 5 pm.
You’re shipwrecked on a deserted island with only 5 of your belongings. Which would they be and why?

Imagine an older version of you has traveled back in time and has come to give you advice. What advice will they give you and what will your conversation be like?

Imagine you’re a farmer. Describe the farm animals or plants you would farm and a day in your life.
Write a story about having fear of the grass, but needing to walk through a park. How will you get across the park without touching the grass!?
Imagine it’s the world 2100 and climate change has changed the climate where you live. Describe the new climate, the new plants that grow there, and whether it’s extremely hot or extremely cold!

Imagine an ice age has arrived and the whole world is -30 degrees! How will you live? In an igloo? What clothes would you wear? Would the cities be made of ice? Explain a day in the life.

You have created your own personal robot. What does the robot do and how does this improve your life?
You wake up one day and the only people left in the world are 3 of your closest friends. How will you survive?
Your house has been converted into a spaceship and you’re flying to the mysterious planet Obertoron. What is the climate like in this new planet? What challenges do you face settling into this new planet?

You are in the middle of a lesson at school when … suddenly gravity stops working and everything starts floating into the air!

You can breathe underwater and go on underwater adventures to a city under the sea. You’re on a mission to save the city from an evil octopus.
You wake up in the morning and suddenly you’re 30 years old. What is a day in the life of the 30 year old version of you?
Make up the rules of your own sport. You can get inspiration from real sports or a made up sport like Quidditch.

Write a story about the most peaceful place you could imagine. What is surrounding you that makes it so peaceful?

Peter Pan flies in through the window to teach you to fly. Describe how it feels to fly out the window and look down on the streets below.
You’re in a garbage dump sifting for goodies. What do you find and what do you do with it?
You receive a mysterious item in the mail. Describe the item and why you might have received it.

You can read minds. What are the thoughts in the heads of people around you? Are you glad you can read minds, or will you end up regretting it?

You’re born into royalty and will be the future king or queen. How are people treating you and what will be your responsibilities? Are you happy about being the future monarch, or will you end up just wishing you were a normal person.
You’re the president, king or prime minister for the day. What will you do today to improve your society or change the world?
Invent your own movie. What is the main character’s name and what is the movie’s plot? How will the movie end?

Imagine you’re a mermaid for a day. What sea creatures would you talk to? Where would you sleep and live under the sea?

Imagine you are a teacher. What would you teach and why?
Imagine you have a secret hatch under your bed that takes you into your own private cave. What will you keep in your cave that makes it the prefect secret room for you?
Imagine you woke up one morning and there was no electricity for the next year. What would change about your life?

Write a story that involves the following 5 objects: a foot, a lake, a spaceship, a pizza, and a dinosaur.

Imagine you’re from a tribe that has never had contact with anyone else in the world. You go for a walk and stumble upon a city. Explain how you feel and what you see.
Everything you touch with your right hand turns to candy. Write about a day in your life and the sorts of issues you might come across during your day.
You feel the emotions of all the people around you. Write about a day walking through a city, the people you see, and how your emotions go up and down like a roller coaster.
Imagine your toys have come to life (like in Toy Story!) What sorts of things will they get up to while you’re at school?

Writing prompts for descriptive stories

Write a story about the weather. Choose one type of weather (thunderstorm, sunny day, humidity, rain) and describe it. Use adverbs, adjectives and superlatives to describe how the weather makes you feel.
Write a story about a delicious feast you made for your friends. What will be served? Describe its taste in your mouth. Don’t forget to describe the appetizers, main course and dessert!
Pretend you are the god of your own little world and you can invent an animal. What would its features be? Think about its head, body and limbs. Don’t forget to describe its skin (fur? Scales? hair?), eyes, mouth (or is it a beak or bill?), ears, fingers, etc.

You are on the train observing other people and listening in to their conversations. Describe the people on the train and what they’re doing with their lives.

You are Santa Claus and you’re reading children’s wish lists. Describe three different children’s wish lists. The children need to have different personalities and this needs to be reflected in their wish list.
You’ve been given $100 to spend in the supermarket. Start the story of you walking down the aisle trying to pick out what you want. First you’ll describe 7 objects that you find, but then you can only choose 3. Explain your choice.
Describe the taste of chocolate to someone who has never tasted it before. How will you explain it?

You’ve met someone who has never smiled before. Explain to them how to smile without using the word ‘smile’.

Describe what it’s like to see to someone who was born blind.
Describe what it’s like to hear to someone who was born deaf.
You start your own club. What would the club be, and what would be the conditions for entry to the club?

You’re about to take an exam. Describe your feelings before the exam begins, then your feelings during the exam, and finally your feelings after you leave!

You’re walking through a refugee camp. Describe what you see.
Write a story about how you feel on the first warm, sunny day of the year.
Describe snow to someone who has never seen or touched it.

Write a story about how it feels to be cold to someone who’s from Jamaica and has never felt the cold!

Write a story about how it feels to be hot to someone from the North Pole who’s never felt the heat!
You invent your own board game . What is the theme and what are the rules?
Describe what it feels to walk through a city to someone who has never been in the city before.

Describe what it feels like to be all alone in the forest to someone who’s never been in among trees before.

You move into a new house and have to set up your new bedroom. What would its theme be? What posters would you put on the walls?
You’re an architect and can design your dream house. What would it look like? What rooms would there be? What cool things would you include in your new house?
If there was one thing you could invent, what would it be? Describe it and how it is used.

A fire has started in your home. You can only save 3 of your belongings. What are they and why would you save them?

You make a new friend. Describe the friend’s personality and why you like them so much.
You have to plan a birthday party for yourself. What will be the party’s them? Where will it be?
You can invent your own car. What special features will it have that will make it your ideal car?

You are going to go a full year without creating and trash. Write about the lifestyle changes you will make in order to prevent making trash. How will you get food without wrappings?

There is a new kid who has arrived at school today. Write about what you will do to make them feel welcome.
You have to buy Christmas gifts for all of your family members. Describe what the gifts will be and why you think they’re ideal for each family member.
You can change your style to any style you like: what would you wear, what would your hair look like, and what sort of music would you listen to?

Describe what it’s like to feel hungry to someone who’s never felt hunger before in their life.

You have $50 to buy food for a week. What foods will you buy and why? Will you focus on health food to keep yourself healthy, or binge on junk that tastes so yummy?
Imagine you work for the post office. What is a day in your life? What dogs will you come across? What different sorts of letters will you deliver? Happy letters? Sad letters?
Describe what it feels like to take a shower to someone who’s never had a shower before.

It’s opposite day and you have to lie about everything. What sorts of trouble are you going to get into from all of your lies?

Explain how you would start a fire without a lighter or matches.
Describe the feeling of being sticky to someone who has never felt the feeling of being sticky. You can’t use the word ‘sticky’.
Describe the feeling of being dirty to someone who has never felt being dirty. You can’t use the word ‘dirty’.

Write a story about how it feels to be bullied, and someone who arrives and is kind to you. Describe how it feels to have a friend who is kind after you’ve been bullied.

You have been asked to create a new game show on TV (Think: Family Feud or Wheel of Fortune). What will be the rules of your new game show?
You are a genetic scientist and can create a new fruit. Describe the fruit: how it feels, tastes, and looks. What does the tree that it grows on look like? In what climate does it grow?
You’re an architect and you’ve been asked to design the ideal playground. What sort of cool play equipment will you place in your playground?

3 Great Writing Prompts and Story Starter Lesson Plans

Lesson 1: mix-and-match story starter lesson.

Printable 1: Fun Story Stater and Writing Prompt Mix-and-Match Lesson (Takes you to a Google Doc)

This lesson plan download has a list of mix-and-match story starters. Cut up each story element and put them into three hats: Character, Setting and Plot (you might also want to read my article about about all 8 elements of a story ). The students are blindfolded and must take one story element out of each hat and make a story out of the three elements they get!

Lesson 2: Planning your Creative Story Plot

Printable 2: Story Planning Template (Takes you to a Google Doc)

Teach students about the important elements of a story using this story planning lesson template. Your students need to describe their main character, plot and setting before they tell their story. It’s a great scaffold to ensure your students follow the conventions of story writing.

Lesson 3: Random Creative Writing Story Prompts

Printable 3: A List of 127 Story Starters (Takes you to a Google Doc)

I love this one for an easy afternoon. Simply cut up the 127 creative writing story ideas below, place them in a hat, and have students close their eyes and pick out the story that they will have to write about.

Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 25 Number Games for Kids (Free and Easy)
Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 25 Word Games for Kids (Free and Easy)
Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 25 Outdoor Games for Kids
Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 50 Incentives to Give to Students

How to write a perfect essay

Need to write an essay? Does the assignment feel as big as climbing Mount Everest? Fear not. You’re up to the challenge! The following step-by step tips from the Nat Geo Kids Almanac will help you with this monumental task.

Sometimes the subject matter of your essay is assigned to you, sometimes it’s not. Either way, you have to decide what you want to say. Start by brainstorming some ideas, writing down any thoughts you have about the subject. Then read over everything you’ve come up with and consider which idea you think is the strongest. Ask yourself what you want to write about the most. Keep in mind the goal of your essay. Can you achieve the goal of the assignment with this topic? If so, you’re good to go.

WRITE A TOPIC SENTENCE

This is the main idea of your essay, a statement of your thoughts on the subject. Again, consider the goal of your essay. Think of the topic sentence as an introduction that tells your reader what the rest of your essay will be about.

OUTLINE YOUR IDEAS

Once you have a good topic sentence, you then need to support that main idea with more detailed information, facts, thoughts, and examples. These supporting points answer one question about your topic sentence—“Why?” This is where research and perhaps more brainstorming come in. Then organize these points in the way you think makes the most sense, probably in order of importance. Now you have an outline for your essay.

ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, WRITE!

Follow your outline, using each of your supporting points as the topic sentence of its own paragraph. Use descriptive words to get your ideas across to the reader. Go into detail, using specific information to tell your story or make your point. Stay on track, making sure that everything you include is somehow related to the main idea of your essay. Use transitions to make your writing flow.

Finish your essay with a conclusion that summarizes your entire essay and 5 restates your main idea.

PROOFREAD AND REVISE

Check for errors in spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and grammar. Look for ways to make your writing clear, understandable, and interesting. Use descriptive verbs, adjectives, or adverbs when possible. It also helps to have someone else read your work to point out things you might have missed. Then make the necessary corrections and changes in a second draft. Repeat this revision process once more to make your final draft as good as you can.

Download the pdf .

Homework help

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How to Teach Your Child to Write an Essay – Step by Step

Children are naturally creative, and essay writing should come easy to them. But it usually doesn’t.

So, how can you teach your child essay writing while making the process enjoyable for both of you?

I’m Tutor Phil, and in this article I’ll show you how to teach your child how to express thoughts on paper, even if some resistance is present.

We’ll first learn three principles that will help you make progress fast. And then we’ll go through the step-by-step process of teaching your child how to write an essay.

Principle 1. Clarity equals motivation

We’ve all heard the expression: “You can lead the horse to the water, but you can’t make it drink.” One of your concerns can be your child’s motivation.

You may be convinced that your child hates writing or is really bored with it. Perhaps your child will do anything to avoid sitting down to write.

And you know what – any or all of the above may be true. But your child can still learn how to write an essay because it is not the lack of motivation per se that is the problem.

In this short video, Dr. Lee Hausner gives some eye-opening advice about motivating a child:

Here are the key points Dr. Hausner makes:

You cannot create motivation in somebody else.
Strong parents often mistakenly feel that they can transfer their motivation onto their children.
Motivation is internal.
Simplistic formula: “ Activity + Satisfaction = Motivation .”
Conversely, “ Activity + Stress & Pressure = Avoidance .”
Create an environment where your child can be successful and enjoy what he does.
Encourage and reward any small success and bit of progress.

Let’s apply these principles to motivating a child in writing an essay.

How to motivate a child to write

Chances are that if your child would rather not engage in writing, that is primarily because the process is fuzzy in his mind (and I’ll use the pronoun “he” to refer to your child throughout the tutorial, for the sake of elegance and brevity).

You see, essay writing is not really taught in school. It is taught kind of sort of, but not really.

Assigning a topic, grading the essays, and making suggestions for improvement is not teaching. It’s only a part of the process.

To teach is to give the student a method, a step-by-step process, in which every step can be measured and improved.

That’s what I’m about to give you. And that’s what you will need to effectively teach your child.

But when a child does not have a step-by-step method, the process is fuzzy in his mind. And whatever is fuzzy is viewed as complicated and difficult because it’s like eating an elephant whole.

Let’s revisit Dr. Hausner’s formula: “ Activity + Satisfaction = Motivation .”

Activity can be satisfying only if it is successful to some degree. When your child succeeds at something, and you acknowledge him for it, that becomes fun, enjoyable, and satisfying.

But you see, it’s hard to succeed at something without knowing what you’re doing. And even if you succeed, if you did not follow a recipe, then in the back of your mind you suspect that you probably can’t repeat or replicate the success.

Not knowing what to do while being expected to do it is a recipe for avoidance. And guess what – your child probably got his share of fuzzy instructions.

For example, consider this instruction:

“Tie it all together.”

This statement is meaningless – to a child or even to an adult. What does it really mean to “tie it all together?” And yet, this is how they usually teach how to write a conclusion paragraph, as an example.

But such a statement only creates fuzziness and demotivates.

So, in this tutorial, we’ll be cultivating clarity. I’ll be giving you crystal clear instructions so you could develop clarity in yourself and help your child develop it, too.

Principle 2. Writing is thinking on paper

An essay consists of sentences. The word “ sentence ” comes from the Latin word “sententia,” which means “thought.”

Thus, to write literally means to express thoughts on paper. Why is this important?

This is important because by teaching your child how to write an essay, you’re really teaching him how to think .

Your child will carry this skill through his entire life. It will be useful, even indispensable in:

Acing standardized tests
Writing papers in college
Putting together reports and presentation professionally
Defending a point of view effectively

You can tell I take essay writing seriously 🙂

But if you ever run out of patience yourself, just remember that you’re really teaching your child how to think.

Principle 3. Essays are built not written

When you child hears the word “ write ,” he gets that queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

We’ll make it a lot easier for him by thinking of writing an essay and referring to it as just “ building an essay.”

If your child has ever loved playing with Lego, then the method you’re about to learn will feel familiar, both in terms of motivation and developing the skill.

By the way, if you want to brush up your own essay writing skills before you sit down with your child to teach him, I highly recommend this article: Essay Writing for Beginners .

All right – without further ado, here are…

Six steps to teaching your child essay writing:

Step 1. Pick a topic and say something about it

In order to write, your child must write about something . That something is the subject of the essay. In this step, you want to help your child pick a topic and say something about it.

In essence, you’re asking your child these two questions:

What will your essay be about?

What about it?

For example,

“My essay will be about grandma’s lasagna.”

“Okay. What about grandma’s lasagna?”

“It’s my favorite food.”

The result will be a complete main point, also known as the thesis. A thesis is the main point of the entire essay summarized in one sentence:

“My grandma’s lasagna is my favorite food.”

Boom! Now, the reader knows exactly what this essay will be about. It is also clear that this is going to be a glowing review.

Here’s my short video explaining what a thesis is:

When teaching a child, it’s important to keep the topic unilateral. In other words, it should be either positive or negative. It should be one simple idea.

Don’t start out trying to develop a more complex topic that offers a balanced perspective with positives and negatives. Don’t do a compare/contrast, either. Keep it simple for now.

This is the first step because the main point is the genesis for all other ideas in the essay .

How to help your child pick a topic

Encourage your child to pick a topic he can get excited about because then he’ll be enthusiastic thinking and talking about it.

Try to think of some of the things you know he is interested in. He can write an essay about absolutely anything.

It doesn’t have to be a serious or an academic subject. It could be anything from apple pie to Spiderman.

Of course, the subject should be informed by your child’s age, as well. But once you sit down to work on essay writing, make it clear to your child that he can pick any topic he wants.

Ask your child what he would like to write about or “build into an essay.” And whatever he chooses, just run with it. That’s what your first essay together will be about.

Once you’re settled on the topic, just have your child write it down on a piece of paper or type it into the computer.

Here is a list of suggestions for essay topics to give a try:

What I love the most about the summer
My favorite thing to do on weekends
John is my best friend because…
Essay writing is…
My least favorite day of the week is…
My favorite season is…
It is important to be brave (intelligent, skillful at something, etc.)
If I could have any animal for a pet, it would be…
My sister (brother) makes my life (exciting, difficult, etc.)
Holidays are fun times (or dreadful times).

Remember – this is not the only or the last essay you’ll write together. Just encourage your child to pick a topic and write it down. Now, you’re ready for the next step.

Step 2. Practice the Power of Three

We’re building our essays, remember? Not writing them. At least at this point, all you’ve done is encouraged your child to pick a topic. No writing involved yet.

In this step, no real writing is involved, either. It’s just a mental exercise, really.

In writing or building an essay, it is necessary to break things into parts. Young children love to break things because they want to see how something works or what it looks like inside.

How do you write an essay about an egg?

You must first divide the concept of an egg into parts. How do you do that? I highly recommend this simple technique I call the Power of Three.

Three is an optimal number for a young brain, and really for adults, as well, to think about and process. Our brain thinks like this: “One, two, three, many.”

One doesn’t help us because you’re not dividing. Two is okay but not quite enough ideas to develop.

Three is easy to deal with while giving your child a challenge. And let’s set the record straight – thinking is not easy. It is challenging. This is why so few people teach it.

But we’re making it fun by breaking it into steps and providing clear instructions.

Okay, so back to the egg. Let’s apply the power of three to the idea of an egg:

You see, if we only have a whole egg as an idea, it’s like staring at the blank screen or sheet of paper. Nothing causes the writer’s block better than one solid piece.

But now that we’ve divided this idea into three sub-ideas, or supporting ideas, this makes our life discussing eggs a lot easier.

Now, if we wanted to write an essay about eggs, we can discuss:

The yolk and its color, taste, and nutritional content
The egg white, its color, taste, and nutritional content
The shell, its color, texture, and shape

Note that when we divide a topic or an idea, each part must be different from the other parts in some important ways. In other words, we want three distinct parts.

You can use this part of the tutorial and ask your child to think about how to divide an egg into parts. It’s a very intuitive step, and your child will love the challenge.

And by the way, you child may get very creative about it because the answer is not necessarily the yolks, the white, and the shell. It could be:

Chicken eggs
Ostrich eggs
Boiled eggs

Whatever way to divide eggs into three concepts your child comes up with, approve and praise it. Now, let’s apply the power of three to an actual topic.

We need a topic that we’ll use for the rest of the tutorial. Here it is:

“If I could have any animal for a pet, it would be a panther.”

Applying the Power of Three to an essay topic

Let’s apply what we just learned to this topic about a panther. Note that we have the entire thesis, a complete main point. Our subject is “a panther as a pet.”

We’re just using this example with an understanding that panthers don’t make good pets and belong in the wild. But since we asked, we should roll with the child’s imagination.

Now, you want to encourage your child to come up with three reasons why he would choose a panther as a pet.

This is a challenging step. The first one or two reasons will come relatively easily. The third reason usually makes the child, anyone really, scratch his head a little.

Let’s come up with three reasons why a panther might make a great pet.

Reason 1. Panthers are magnificently beautiful.

Great! That’s a good reason.

Reason 2. A panther is more powerful than virtually any other pet.

That’s another legitimate reason to want a panther for a pet – you’re the king of the neighborhood, if not the whole town.

And now, we’re thinking of reason 3, which will be the most challenging, so be ready for that.

Reason 3. Panthers are loyal.

I’m making this one up because I really have no idea if panthers are loyal to their human owners when they have any. But I need a reason, this is just a practice essay, and anything goes.

When your child comes up with a reason that is not necessarily true or plausible, let him run with it. What really matters is how well he can support his points by using his logic and imagination.

Working with facts is next level. Right now, you want your child to get comfortable dividing topics into subtopics.

The only criterion that matters is whether this subtopic actually helps support the main idea. If it does, it works.

Step 3. Build a clear thesis statement

Once you know the topic and the supporting points, you have everything you need to write out the thesis statement. Note that there is a difference between a thesis and a thesis statement.

Here’s a short video with a simple definition and example of a thesis statement:

Once you and your child have completed steps 1 & 2 thoroughly, step 3 is really easy. All you need to do is write out the thesis statement, using the information you already have.

In fact, at this point, you should have every sentence of your statement and just need to put them all together into one paragraph. Let’s write out our complete thesis statement:

“If I could have any animal for a pet, it would be a panther, for three reasons. Panthers are magnificently beautiful. They are more powerful than virtually any other kind of a pet. And they are loyal.”

Note that we added the phrase “ for three reasons ” to indicate that we are introducing the actual reasons. In other words, we are building an introductory paragraph. We’re just presenting our main and supporting points here.

When you read this opening paragraph, you unmistakably come away with a clear idea of what this essay is about. It makes a simple statement and declares three reasons why it is true. And that’s it.

It is so clear that not even the least careful reader in the world can possibly miss the point. This is the kind of writing you want to cultivate in your child. Because, remember, writing reflects thinking. It would be impossible to write this paragraph without thinking clearly.

Note also that there is no need for embellishments or other kinds of fluff. Elegant writing is like sculpture – you take away until there is no more left to take away.

And guess what – we now have a great first paragraph going! Without much writing, we have just written the first paragraph. We were mostly building and dividing and thinking and imagining. And the result is a whole opening paragraph.

Step 4. Build the body of the essay

The body of the essay is where the main point is supported with evidence. Let’s revisit one of the rules of writing – to write an essay, you need to divide things into parts.

The body of the essay is always divided into sections. Now, since your child is presumably a beginner, we simply call the sections paragraphs.

But keep in mind that a section can have more than one paragraph. An essay does not necessarily have the standard 5-paragraph structure. It can be as long as your child wants.

But in this tutorial, each of our sections has just one paragraph, and that’s perfectly sufficient.

How many sections will our body of the essay have? Well, we used the power of three, we came up with three supporting points, and so the body of the essay should naturally contain three paragraphs.

How long should the paragraphs be? Let me show you how to gauge word count.

This is just an example of how you can teach your child to distribute the number of words across paragraphs.

As you can see, our body paragraphs should probably be longer than the introductory paragraph and the conclusion.

This is how I always teach my students to go about a writing assignment that has a certain word count requirement. The essay above will contain about 400 words.

If your child needs to write 600 words, then the following might be a good distribution:

Introductory paragraph – 75 words
Body paragraph 1 – 150 words
Body paragraph 2 – 150 words
Body paragraph 3 – 150 words
Conclusion – 75 words

By doing this kind of essay arithmetic, it is easy to map out how much to write in each paragraph and not go overboard in any part of the essay.

Body paragraph structure

A paragraph in the body of an essay has a distinct structure. And this structure is not restrictive but it is rather liberating because your child will know exactly how to build it out.

The first sentence in the body paragraph is always the lead sentence. It must summarize the contents of the paragraph.

The good news is that this sentence is usually a form of one of the sentences that we’ve already written. How so?

Well, in our thesis statement, we have three supporting points. Each of them is essentially a lead sentence for that section or paragraph of the essay. For example, consider this sentence from our thesis statement:

“Panthers are magnificently beautiful.”

This is the first reason that your child would like a panther as a pet. It is also a very clear standalone sentence.

It is also an almost perfect lead sentence. I say “ almost ” because we don’t want to repeat sentences in an essay.

So, we’ll take this sentence as a base and add one or two words to it. We can also change a word or two by using synonyms. That way, we’ll expand it just slightly and turn it into a perfect lead sentence for our first body paragraph:

“ Panthers are very beautiful and graceful animals.”

Okay, so we added the epithet “graceful,” but that’s okay because grace is virtually synonymous with beauty. And now we have a great lead sentence and are ready to proceed.

Let’s write out the entire first body paragraph and see how it works:

“ Panthers are very graceful and beautiful animals. When portrayed in documentaries about animals, panthers are nicely balanced. They are not as huge as tigers or lions. And their size allows them to be nimble and flexible. Their size and agility make them move very beautifully, almost artistically. When I imagine walking with a pet like that on the street, I can see people staring at my panther and admiring its beauty. It would definitely be the most beautiful pet in my entire neighborhood.”

The first sentence, as we already know, is the lead sentence. The next three sentences explain how panthers’ balanced size and agility make them graceful.

The following sentence is an explanation of how these qualities make them beautiful through the power of movement.

And finally comes the most specific bit of evidence – an example. This child paints a perfect picture of himself walking his pet panther on a leash. People admire the animal’s beauty, and the kid gets a tremendous kick out of this experience.

It is an example because it contains imagery, perhaps even sounds. It is a specific event happening in a particular place and time.

As you can see, this paragraph proceeds from general to specific. It also follows the structure in the diagram perfectly.

Guide your child through writing two more of these paragraphs, following the same organization. And you’re done with the body.

Proceeding from general to specific

Argumentative (expository) essays always proceed from general to specific. Our most general statement is the thesis, and it’s the first statement in the essay.

Then we have our supporting points, and each of them is more specific than the thesis but more general than anything else in the essay.

Each lead sentence is slightly more specific than the preceding supporting points in the thesis statement.

Then, an explanation is even more specific. And finally, examples are the most specific elements in an essay.

When working with your child, cultivate this ability to see the difference between the general and the specific. And help your child proceed in that manner in the essay.

This ability is a mark of a developed and mature writer and thinker.

Step 5. Add the conclusion

I almost always recommend concluding an essay with a simple restatement. Meaning, your child should learn how to say the same things in different words in the conclusion.

Why did I say, “almost?” Because some teachers will require that your child write a conclusion without repetition.

In that case, the teacher should instruct the student what she expects to read in the conclusion. A great way to deal with this situation is to approach the teacher and ask what kind of a conclusion she expects.

And she’ll say what she wants, and your child will simply abide.

But in the vast majority of cases, simple restatement works just fine. All it really entails is writing out an equivalent of the thesis statement – only using different words and phrases.

Here is our thesis statement:

And here’s our conclusion:

“I would love to have a panther as a pet. Panthers are such magnificent animals that everyone would admire my pet. People would also respect it and keep some distance because of its power. And the loyalty of panthers would definitely seal the deal.”

All we did was restate the points previously made. Let your child master writing this kind of a conclusion. And if you’d like a detailed tutorial on how to write conclusions, I wrote one you can access here .

Step 6. Add an introductory sentence

The final step is to add one sentence in the first paragraph. I didn’t use to teach it because it’s perfectly fine to get straight to the point in an essay.

This little introduction is an equivalent of clearing your throat 🙂

However, teachers in school and professors in college expect some kind of an introduction. So, all your child has to do is add one introductory sentence right before the thesis.

This sentence should be even more general than the thesis. It should kind of pull the reader from his world into the world of the essay.

Let’s write such a sentence as our introduction:

“Not all pets are created equal, and people have their choices.”

And here’s our complete introductory paragraph:

And this concludes the tutorial. You can keep coming back to it as often as you want to follow the steps, using different topics.

If you’d like the help of a professional, don’t hesitate and hit me up .

Tutor Phil is an e-learning professional who helps adult learners finish their degrees by teaching them academic writing skills.

10 Fun Writing Activities for Kids to Improve Writing Skills

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Do your students grumble when it’s time to practice writing? Is getting them to write an essay about as much fun as getting grapefruit juice in your eye? Maybe it’s time to try some fun writing activities instead. Here are ten of our favorite fun writing activities for kids.

10 fun creative writing activities for kids - text overlay with two pictures of a little girl writing

Breaking Kids out of a Writing Rut

We’ve been through so many stages of learning to write in our homeschool: reluctant writers, frustrated writers, bored writers, curious writers, and obsessive writers (my favorite!).

Over the years, we’ve tried countless writing programs and curricula in a constant effort to keep writing fun and interesting. While we’ve had success stories with a few programs, I find one of the best ways to keep kids engaged with writing is to integrate a fun activity alongside our regular curriculum.

When kids are having fun, they want to write more, which helps them develop stronger creative writing skills and become better writers. Introducing them to different ways of generating creative writing ideas and thinking about writing turns a once-stressful activity into a much-loved pastime.

Here are ten of our favorite ways to make writing fun for kids.

10 Fun Writing Activities for Kids

1. write a comic book/graphic novel.

Using a template, students create their own comic strip or graphic novel complete with speech bubbles and annotations.

First, you’ll need a comic strip template. You can draw your own or allow kids to do so if they choose. Or, download the companion files at the end of this post to grab some pre-formatted templates.

The amount of guidance each student needs will vary depending on their age and ability. By design, comics and graphic novels are straight to the point. They don’t have room for any superfluous content.

Therefore, it’s a good idea to take time beforehand and plan what’s going to happen in the short story, either using a story planner or just jotting down a quick storyboard sketch. They’ll want to have a sense of what’s going to go in each square before they start drawing the pictures in earnest.

Have them draw the pictures first and then add speech and thought bubbles and annotations. If possible, display the finished works so everyone can enjoy them.

Kids are naturally drawn to the comic book or graphic novel format. It’s fun it’s engaging, it moves quickly, and there are lots of pictures.

But the space constraints make it necessary for them to think through their story before they start writing and this is such an important skill to develop. Usually, when we’re writing an essay or a short story , we just write whatever comes into our minds without editing as we go. Often, we write way more than we need to and when we go back to read it later, we find we haven’t even made our point.

Learning how to outline and determine in advance the best way to get a point across is an important skill and creating comic strips is a great way to learn it.

This writing activity can be adapted for any age range, from kindergarten to grade 12. Younger kids may need assistance with printing small letters.

2. Write a Story Together

What it is:.

Students work in pairs or groups or with a parent or writing coach to write a short story together.

There are many ways that two or more people can work together to write a short story. The method you choose will depend on who you’re working with, how much time you have, and what your goals are for the activity. Here are a couple of options:

Writing together: Kids work in pairs or groups (with or without a parent, teacher, or writing coach) to collaborate on each part of the story. Everybody pitches ideas and the group comes to a consensus about them. Kids can take turns acting as the scribe for the group (an adult can do the writing for younger children).

Agree in advance about how you’ll know when the project is finished. Are you aiming for a certain number of words or pages? Or do you just want to see a story with a beginning, middle, and end? Perhaps you want them to practice a specific concept, like seeing how many similes and metaphors they can use.

Determining and articulating the goal ahead of time ensures everyone knows what they’re working towards.

Writing consecutively. Students take turns writing sections of the story. For example, they might alternate paragraphs or pages, depending on how long it is.

You can either have them agree in advance about the topic and plot points or you could add a twist by not letting them talk about it in advance and having them improvise.

Another variation is to have a group of students working together and have each of them write a sentence or a paragraph of a story and then pass their story on to the person beside them. That person then continues on with that story while the one who started it is continuing on with another person’s story themselves. Continue passing them around in a circle until everyone has added to each story and then can share them with each other.

Write concurrently: Kids decide on a plot for a story and then divide and conquer. For example, they might come up with a story that has multiple perspectives and have each person can write scenes from a different perspective. After, they can integrate them into a cohesive, well-rounded story.

In my experience, kids love creating stories much more than they actually love writing them, especially when they’re younger. The physical act of getting their thoughts onto paper is time-consuming and because their hands can’t move as fast as their thoughts, kids often get discouraged.

Collaborating with a sibling, a friend, classmates, or adults gives them the immediate reward of progressing in a story without necessarily having to bear the burden of doing all the work themselves.

This writing activity can be adapted for any age range, from kindergarten to grade 12. Lower elementary students should work with a parent, teacher, or writing coach who can guide the collaboration and record the story for them.

For ideas to get you going on your collaborative writing project, check out this huge list of story starters and writing prompts .

3. Retelling a Favorite Story

Reading or listening to a favorite story and retelling it or rewriting it in their own words.

Ask a student to choose one of their favorite books. For younger kids, this would ideally be a board book or a picture book, while older students might like a chapter book or novel. If choosing a novel, make sure it’s one they’re very familiar with so they don’t need to re-read the whole thing.

(For inspiration on this, or to build out a mini-unit on the topic of retellings, check out this list of Peter Pan retellings ).

If it’s a shorter book, read it together. Then, ask the student to either narrate or write down the major parts of the story in their own words.

Another variation: if you have more time, get a big piece of paper or poster board and ask the kids to draw a map of the story. Then, have them draw and cut out pictures of the story’s characters and move them around the map as they tell the story.

Writers learn to write by imitating other writers. Reading a favorite story with the goal of committing its key points to memory is an important step toward becoming a better storyteller. By telling and retelling popular tales, students learn to intuit the elements of a great story and will naturally include those aspects in their own writing.

This writing activity can be adapted for any age range, from kindergarten to grade 12. Students who are not yet reading or writing will need someone to read the story and transcribe their words.

4. The End. Or, The New Beginning.

Students choose a book they love and give it a new ending or a sequel.

Have students choose a favorite book and decide whether they’re going to rewrite the ending or write a sequel.

Ask them questions to help them give structure to their writing and get their creative juices flowing. Here are some examples:

If re-writing the ending:

What did you like about the current ending?
What didn’t you like?
What questions did you have at the end of the book?
What event in the story, if changed, would have resulted in a completely different outcome?
Did the main character get what they wanted or not? What would have happened if they didn’t (or did)?

If writing a sequel:

Which character(s) in this story did you wish had bigger roles? What else might you have liked to know about their sides of the story?
What do you think happened after the last chapter of the story?
What other threats or enemies might still be waiting for the main character?
Think about the life of the book’s characters at the end of the story. What new character or event might completely topple the balance they’ve found?

Asking students to write a new ending or sequel takes away the pressure of having to come up with an idea from scratch, while still giving them a valuable opportunity to improve their writing skills.

Also, it helps them hone in on the skill of writing endings, which are often the hardest part of the story to write.

This writing activity can be adapted for grades 4 to 12.

5. Dictating a Story

Dictating a story using voice typing and then editing it

Using a Google Doc, click on the Tools menu and select Voice typing (or press CTRL+Shift+S). Click on the microphone icon and have the student start dictating.

When they’re done, click the microphone again. They can even make changes or fix punctuation as they go without disabling the microphone.

Again, people think much faster than they write or even type.

For emerging writers especially, printing each letter takes so long that by the time they’ve gotten a full sentence down, they may have lost their steam. Being able to dictate the story at the speed they think and talk is highly motivating and puts the focus on idea generation and plot progression, not on the physical act of writing.

Also, this activity gives kids a wonderful opportunity to practice their editing skills.

This writing activity can be adapted for any age range, from kindergarten to grade 12. Younger kids will need help with editing.

6. Create Mad Libs

Students design Mad Libs for you or for each other

If your students have never played Mad Libs, you will first need to explain this writing game to them and maybe have them do a practice round to get used to the concept. Here’s a sample Mad Lib you can use. It’s also included in the companion files download at the bottom of this post.

Then have them prepare the story. They can either create it from scratch or use an existing text. For example, they might copy out the first paragraph or two of a book. Have them write it on lined paper, double spaced.

Next, they can choose some words to remove from the story. Once they’ve erased the words they want to remove, they should draw a line for the blank word and write a hint under the line to indicate what kind of word is needed.

It’s helpful if they have an understanding of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. If they don’t, this is a great time to introduce these concepts. They might also use qualifiers such as ‘something you wear,’ or ‘a job people do.’

Here’s how a finished Mad Lib might look:

When they’re done preparing the story, someone else (a friend, parent, teacher, etc.) gives them the words needed to fill in the blanks. As the respondent gives their answers, the student writes them in the blanks. When all the blanks are filled, the student reads the finished work aloud.

I’ve yet to meet a kid who doesn’t love Mad Libs. They’re such a fun way to approach word choice and sentence structure! Kids get a kick out of making up a really silly story while subtly learning the differences between the various types of words.

This writing activity can be adapted for grades 3-12. Young learners can also enjoy and benefit from Mad Libs, but they aren’t likely to be ready to create their own. Instead, just ask them to provide words for the blank spaces.

7. Custom Printing Pages

Creating custom writing worksheets for younger kids who are learning to print

I know….I promised fun writing activities . And usually, worksheets are not fun. But I think these ones are different.

My five-year-old doesn’t enjoy practicing her letters and she puts up a huge fight when I ask her to copy things out. Fair enough—learning a challenging new skill is frustrating, even for adults.

But then I discovered this resource . Among the many cool custom worksheets this site can generate, I discovered the customizable printing pages. You can choose the line size, the style of writing, whether you want students to trace or copy, and—most importantly—the text they’ll be copying.

For my daughter, I wrote out a really fun story based on her life but with lots of embellishments and twists. She is the star of the story and she wants to know what happens to her. It took me about five to ten minutes to come up with enough content to fill 27 pages of writing practice sheets (about a month’s worth). I give her one page per day to copy. I haven’t heard a single complaint.

Give it a try. Pick the settings that suit your student(s) best and write a few paragraphs that they won’t be able to stop reading. Then have them trace or copy a small amount each day.

Young learners tend to engage more with the learning process if they think it’s a game rather than a lesson. Who wouldn’t want to read a story starring themselves? (I still have a customized Christmas book my dad ordered for me when I was three!)

It incentivizes them to practice their printing or cursive handwriting by giving them a delightful reward. This is the perfect exercise to do when you’re teaching handwriting .

This writing activity can be adapted for kindergarten to grade 6. For younger learners who need more extensive writing practice, I’m in love with these free printable alphabet worksheets for preschool . This is such a great resource for helping young kids master their letter formation skills.

8. Photographic Writing Prompts

Writing a story based on an image.

A picture is worth a thousand words, right? And nobody wants to read a thousand-word writing prompt , so why not try photographic writing prompts? This fun story writing activity is simple and can be pulled off with almost no prep time.

First, choose an image you want to display. Then, set a timer. Have everyone (even you) write a story inspired by the picture for fifteen minutes. No planning for this one; this time we’re writing by the seat of our pants. When the timer ends, stop writing. Give students an opportunity to share their stories if they like.

The companion files document at the bottom of this post includes ten fun images you can use as creative writing prompts.

Images are often more inspiring than words and leave more room for interpretation. This, combined with the focus on writing, rather than planning, encourages kids to simply write, rather than fretting about ideas or structure.

Because of the timed and independent nature of this writing activity, it’s best for older children in grades 5 to 12.

9. Convince Me

Using a creative piece of writing to influence someone’s opinion.

In this writing activity, students create a persuasive piece of writing aimed at convincing you that their favorite thing is the best, i.e. Why Wings of Fire is the Best Dragon Series You’ll Ever Read, or Why Strawberries are the One Fruit We Could All Live On.

Offer suggestions on what format they might choose, but leave the decision up to them. They might write a short essay, a poem , a song, or a rap. Maybe they’ll even decide to create a brochure. Put as few limitations on this final product as possible to encourage maximum creativity.

When they’re done, have them read what they’ve written to try to persuade an audience.

Kids can be highly persuasive, but adults often shut them down when they’re trying to make an argument. For example, every time my daughter says she has a compelling list of reasons why we should let her get a hedgehog, I typically say no immediately without giving her a chance to share her list.

Giving them the opportunity to persuade you about something that matters to them, and to do it in a format they feel comfortable with is an opportunity they won’t want to miss. This fun writing activity also helps them develop their persuasive writing skills. In your feedback, you might offer points on how they can enhance their argument even more.

This writing activity can be adapted for grades 2 to 12.

10. A is for Author

Using photos or drawings, along with original writing, to create a new alphabet book.

If possible, go on a nature walk or at least go to a yard or a field. For this writing activity, it’s important that students have many things to observe. Bring notepads and pens or pencils.

Have them try to find one thing for each letter of the alphabet. Allow them to be creative here: ‘eXcess dandelions’ might be a perfect choice to represent X. Have them use their notepads to keep a list of what they’ve found.

Then, set them to work. Let them choose how they will lay their book out. They might use a full page for each letter, a half-page, or a quarter-page. (I’ve included templates for half- and quarter-page layouts) below.

For each letter, they should include a drawing or photograph and a small amount of writing. The writing can be as simple as ‘C is for Crane,’ or it could be more creative, such as a short poem or a paragraph about that thing. Determine how much leeway you’ll give them with the writing component based on their ages and ability.

Have them add a cover page and then assemble their book with staples or by punching holes along the side and tying ribbon or string through each hole.

This fun writing activity works well for both reluctant and eager writers. It takes the focus of writing by including other activities such as walking outside and drawing, while also giving ample opportunity to practice printing (for younger kids) and composition (for older kids).

Eager writers will enjoy the opportunity to add prose or facts to their pages and appreciate the challenge of coming up with something creative for each page.

For this activity, kids may work independently or together, depending on time and preferences. Our family worked together on a single book and it turned out great.

Like most of the creative writing exercises here, this one can be adapted for any age range, from kindergarten to grade 12.

Get the Companion Files

Use the form below to download everything you need to start teaching with these fun creative writing activities for kids today!

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Thursday 18th of April 2024

Love these!

Monday 20th of May 2024

Monday 2nd of October 2023

Well, can't access anything.... disappointing. I subscribed like 4 times already.

Thursday 12th of October 2023

can you please email hello @ storywritingacademy.com (remove spaces) and let us know which download you're trying to access? We will send it over to you directly.

Thursday 22nd of June 2023

Very innovative ideas inculcate an interest in writing and then working on honing their writing skills

Shruti Shah

Sunday 28th of May 2023

Hi I can't see any form to fill up nor am I getting any access though I have already subscribed Pls help

Thursday 21st of September 2023

The form is at the end of this post, just above where you posted this comment. Thanks.

Friday 21st of April 2023

where the heck are the comic strip templates. I signed up 3 times!!!!!

I'm sorry you are having difficulty. Please feel free to email hello @ storywritingacademy.com if you need help and we can send them to you directly.

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The Best Writing Apps for at Home and in the Classroom

Writer’s block, you’ve met your match!

Some kids love to pour out their thoughts, feelings, and souls on paper. For others, it’s a challenge from the first time they pick up a pencil. Fortunately, these writing apps for kids can help—from the first shaky crayon-written “A” to polished college entrance essays and creative writing.

Some writing apps help kids form their letters or work to perfect their handwriting. Then there are writing apps for kids and teens who need help organizing their thoughts. Other apps give a little push to get creative juices flowing. No matter what your kids are working on, these are the writing apps students will want in their digital toolbox.

Best Apps for Practicing Writing Skills
Best Apps for Writing Inspiration

Writing Skills Apps

These are the writing apps for kids that help them practice handwriting, grammar, punctuation, and composition.

Why We Love It: iTrace gives young learners the practice they need writing letters and numbers. Customization options include letter style and the ability to specify right or left-handed, while fun animations and prizes keep kids motivated.

Cost: $3.99

Available On: Apple App Store: iTrace

LetterSchool

Why We Love It: LetterSchool teaches printing and cursive with beautiful graphics and animations. Kids will be so captivated, they might forget they’re learning.

Cost: School licenses are $4.99 per student per year. For individual use, prices vary and start at $4.99 per month.

Available On: Apple App Store: Letter School , Google Play Store: Letter School

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iWrite Words

Why We Love It: This writing app helps kids practice counting as they learn. Little ones drag a crab across the screen, following the numbered path to write letters. Once the word is complete, they’re rewarded with a cute drawing.

Cost: $2.99

Available On: Apple App Store: iWrite Words

Grammaropolis

Why We Love It: Grammaropolis teaches the parts of speech in a fun and engaging way. Animated shorts and music videos capture kids’ attention, and quizzes help track their progress. Some call this Schoolhouse Rock for the 21st century.

Cost: $5.99

Available On: Apple App Store: Grammaropolis

Grammar Pop

Cost: $1.99. Volume pricing is available for schools.

Available On: Apple App Store: Grammar Pop

Grammar Smash

Why We Love It: This no-frills app is excellent for older learners, especially ESL students. Review grammar guides and lessons, then play games to practice your skills

Cost: FREE. Unlock more features and remove ads for $2.99.

Available On: Google Play Store: Grammar Smash

Why We Love It: Everything you love about Mad Libs, in an app! Prompts ask you to fill in parts of speech to create a funny new story each time. If you’re stuck, you can ask for a definition or examples. This is a classic way to work on parts of speech and vocabulary.

Cost: The FREE edition comes with 21 stories. Additional story packs are available for $1.99 each.

Available On: Apple App Store: Mad Libs , Google Play Store: Mad Libs

Dictionary.com

Why We Love It: This app is everything you love about Dictionary.com, but it’s also available offline. That’s great for keeping students focused while they’re working; they can look words up without the temptation of checking social media or other distractions. You can switch between dictionary and thesaurus mode, too, making this app a real must-have.

Cost: FREE (with ads), upgrade to no ads for $1.99

Available On: Apple App Store: Dictionary.com , Google Play Store: Dictionary.com

The Grammarly Keyboard

Why We Love It: Grammarly is a beloved program that helps people of any age produce stronger, cleaner writing. The mobile apps work for anything you type on your phone, including social media and messaging. Premium features include analysis of tone and word choice, and a plagiarism detector.

Cost: Basic grammar and spelling checks are free. Premium features start at $29/month.

Available On: Apple App Store: Grammarly , Google Play Store: Grammarly

Essay Launcher

Why We Love It: No flashy colors or animations, just a simple and efficient way to help writers organize their thoughts. The app asks questions like “What is your first reason that supports that statement?”, helping you build an essay from the ground up. This app is ideal for older kids who need organizational help to stay on track when they write.

Available On: Apple App Store: Essay Launcher

Why We Love It: Mind mapping is an excellent method for brainstorming and organizing your thoughts before you begin writing. This app helps you through the process, creating maps that ultimately make your writing clearer and stronger.

Cost: SimpleMind Lite is FREE. SimpleMind Pro offers expanded features for $7.99.

Available On: Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Get links for all versions here.

Writing Inspiration Apps

These writing apps for kids solve the problem of “But I don’t know what to write about!” They provide story starters, writing prompts, and more to break writer’s block wide open.

Story Wheel

Why We Love It: This app sparks creativity in pre-writers and helps build their storytelling skills. Spin the wheel and record your voice telling a story about the picture. Spin the wheel again for more prompts. Several kids can play at once, building a story to playback together.

Cost: $2.99

Available On: Apple App Store: Story Wheel

Why We Love It: Every roll of the virtual dice yields pictures that tell a whole new story. Choose one or all of the images to use in your writing. Story Dice 3-D (Apple App Store only) adds the ability to move the dice around, and re-roll some or all of them.

Cost: $1.99

Available On: Multiple devices. Get the links you need for Story Dice here.

Writing Challenge for Kids

Why We Love It: This app generates a series of characters, scenarios, and situations to create unique creative writing prompts over and over again. You can choose from several choices to customize each prompt as you go along.

Cost: Varies by device, $1.49-$3.99

Available On: Multiple Devices. Click here for the links you need.

The Brainstormer

Why We Love It: This app is terrific for teens and older writers who need to generate new creative ideas. A selection of tools helps you find inspiration for characters, plots, settings, and more. You can even add in your own words to create custom sets.

Cost: $1.99, with additional features for $.99 each.

Available On: Apple App Store: The Brainstormer

Writing Prompts

Why We Love It: Get new writing prompts from hundreds of scenarios and ideas. Teachers, this is a nice way to come up with a daily bell-ringer or journal prompt. (This same company also offers Character Prompts , a similar app but for character inspiration.)

Cost: $1.99, with additional prompt packs available for $.99

Available On: Apple App Store: Writing Prompts , Google Play Store: Writing Prompts , Amazon App Store

Lists for Writers

Why We Love It: Add variety to your writing and break through writer’s blocks with these lists of, well, pretty much anything! Creating a new character and feeling stuck? Browse lists of names, character traits, physical characteristics, and more. Get the same for settings, plots, and all the other details that even the best writers sometimes draw a blank on.

Available On: Multiple devices. Get all the links you need here.

Toontastic 3D

Why We Love It: Kids build their story-telling skills while creating one-minute movies with this surprisingly robust free app. Encourage students to plan and script out their story in advance to work on writing skills, then enjoy the fun movies they create! (Teacher Tip: Try this app for incredibly creative book reports .)

Available On: Apple App Store: Toontastic , Google Play Store: Toontastic

Why We Love It: Storybird’s tools give kids the opportunity to write comics, short stories, chapter books, and more. Choose from existing illustrations and add your own text to create unique masterpieces. The professional artwork is wide-ranging, and writing challenges help kids expand their skills and push their creativity to new heights.

Cost: $8.99/month or $59.99/year. Schools can receive bulk discounts up to 50% off.

Available On: Apple App Store: Storybird , Google Play Store: Storybird

How do you use writing apps for kids and teens in your classroom? Come share your ideas and find inspiration in the WeAreTeachers Chat group on Facebook .

Looking for more writing prompts? Get 100 Creative Writing Prompts for Grades 4-8 , and 10 Fresh Writing Prompts for High School .

The Best Writing Apps for Kids and Teens, at Home and in the Classroom

Write animated stories, publish storybooks, and where to get 1,000s of writing prompts.

Best Websites for Teaching & Learning Writing

Our favorite free and paid writing resources across the web! Continue Reading

Image Prompts

85+ Picture Writing Prompts For Kids (+ Free Printable)

A picture is worth a thousand words. So how many words can you write for these 85 picture writing prompts for kids and grow-ups alike! Pictures, whether something as simple as an apple or as complex as an action scene can spark the imagination in more ways than one.

Of course, when looking at pictures you can take the literal route, and describe whatever you see in front of you. Or you can explore your imagination, and think about the ‘What Ifs..’ of a picture. What if that person is actually upset? What if this picture is of a broken family? What if the world looked like this years ago? A picture can have so many hidden meanings and can hide so many secrets. The slightest detail could mean everything. Just imagine you’re a detective solving a crime from one picture alone. Examine every detail, write it down and think why? Only then can you fully understand a picture.

For more inspiration take part in our daily picture writing prompt challenge . Each day you will be given a new picture prompt to write about.

Picture Prompt Generator

In this post, we have included a mix of simple pictures, story picture prompts, photographs, fantasy images and even some action-packed images.

You can find the complete list of our picture writing prompts below. We’ve also created a smaller PDF version that includes 30 random picture prompts. Download the printable PDF here .

You might also be interested in the following posts:

30 Christmas Pictures To Get You Writing ‘Tis Jolly Season
25+ Halloween Image Prompts For Mastering Horror Stories
How to Use Image prompts To Inspire You

150 Picture Prompts To Inspire

Over 85 picture prompts for creative writing, story-telling and descriptive writing assignments:

How to Use these Prompts

Picture prompts are the perfect writing stimulus especially when you hit writer’s block . Here are a number of ways you can use these picture writing prompts to spark your imagination:

Descriptive Writing: Directly describe everything you see in extreme detail. You could even go beyond the physical appearance of things, and explore your other senses, such as smell, hear, feel and taste.
Story-Telling: Pick just one image, and tell a whole story based on this one image.
Story Starter: Similarly you can pick one image, and use it as the starting place of your story.
Collaborative Story-Telling: In a group of 5 – 7 students, each student can have a random picture. The first student uses their picture as the story starter, and then the next student continues the story based on their own image. Keep going until the final student ends the story.
Idea Generation: Pick one image and try to think of at least 3 story ideas related to that one image.
Daily Writing Challenge: Give your students 7 images, and tell them to write a description for each image every day.

These are just some ways to use images as writing prompts. You can also check our post on 8 fun story-telling games using image prompts for more ideas. Did you find our picture writing prompts useful? Let us know in the comments below!

Marty the wizard is the master of Imagine Forest. When he's not reading a ton of books or writing some of his own tales, he loves to be surrounded by the magical creatures that live in Imagine Forest. While living in his tree house he has devoted his time to helping children around the world with their writing skills and creativity.

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Because differences are our greatest strength

Writing skills at different ages

By Gail Belsky

Expert reviewed by Charles A. MacArthur, PhD

A student uses a black pencil to do their math homework on a piece of paper. There is an open text book on the desk.

What you’ll learn

Toddlers (ages 1–2 years), preschoolers (ages 3–4 years), younger grade-schoolers (ages 5–7 years), older grade-schoolers (ages 8–10 years), middle-schoolers, high-schoolers.

Learning to write involves many skills. Kids need fine motor skills for handwriting and typing. Getting words on paper also requires spelling and other skills closely related to reading.

Writers need to organize their thoughts. As they get older, they’re expected to use more complex sentence structure and vocabulary. They also have to do more planning, drafting, and revising. Many kids have a tough time using these self-regulation strategies in writing .

Kids develop writing skills at different rates. But they tend to meet certain milestones by certain ages. Here’s how writing skills typically develop as kids get older.

Hold crayon in clenched fist

Understand that crayons are used for making scribbles

Draw wavy lines across the page that look like lines of text from a book

Make distinct marks that look like letters and that are separated from each other

Write some actual letters, especially the letters in their name

May write their name

May try different kinds of writing, like writing a list or a card

May start to draw pictures and label them using letters or letter-like marks

Hold pencil correctly and form letters accurately

Know the sounds letters make and spell words based on how they sound

Spell some common words that aren’t spelled the way they sound (often called sight words )

Use different endings for the same word, like walks , walking , and walked

In kindergarten, label pictures with a few words and begin to write simple sentences with correct grammar

By the end of first or second grade, write a page or more about personal experiences and what they’re learning in school

May start using different types of writing, like narratives and opinion papers (“Why I liked this book”)

Spell words using knowledge of prefixes, suffixes, and root words, like helpful , helpless , and unhelpful

Write more complex sentences and use a variety of sentences to express ideas clearly

Use different structure and content for different kinds of papers (narrative, informative, and persuasive)

Understand the process of planning, drafting, and revising, and begin to use strategies for each of these steps

May start to use source materials to gather information for writing

May begin to type fairly quickly on a keyboard, if the school teaches this skill

Continue to develop typing skills, grammar knowledge, and vocabulary

Write more complex narratives that describe personal experiences

Cite sources in informative/research papers

Write argumentative papers that support claims with reasons and evidence and that consider opposing positions

Use strategies for planning and revising, including how to search for accurate information on the internet

Write longer and more complex papers on various subjects (science, social studies, literature)

Use planning strategies to search for and combine information from multiple sources

Continue to develop strategies for revising

Remember that all kids are different. A child might do well with one skill but still be a little behind with another. Struggling with writing doesn’t mean kids aren’t smart. Some kids just need more support to thrive as writers.

If you’re concerned that a child isn’t hitting many of these writing milestones, find out why some kids have trouble with writing .

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Writing activities for ages 8-10.

26 Best Books For Eight Year Olds to Spark Their Imagination

Discover our guide to the best books for eight year olds that will keep your little one’s attention to the last page.

Storytime, bedtime, shared memories, and precious moments are all made to feel magical with the help of an excellent storybook. Reading is a bonding experience that will create treasured moments for you and your little one for years.

Favorites like Harry Potter and Matilda are classics that will go down a storm, but if you’re looking for something new and exciting, there are plenty of top-notch reads. If your kid is nearing teenage years, check out our round-up of the best books for twelve-year-olds .

1. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain

2. charlie and the chocolate factory, by roald dahl, 3. the bfg, by roald dahl.

4. The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster
5. The Indian in the Cupboard, by Lynne Reid Banks
6. The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame
7. A Series of Unfortunate Events, by Lemony Snicket
8. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis
9. The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien
10. The Swiss Family Robinson, by Johann David Wyss
11. The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett
12. The Call of the Wild, by Jack London
13. The Jungle Book, by Rudyard Kipling
14. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, by Grace Lin
15. The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate

16. The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick

17. the lost diary of sami star by jaren mccombie, 18. cookie (and the most annoying boy in the world) by konnie huq, 19. mega robo bros 3: mega robot revenge by neill cameron, 20. everest by sangma francis & lisk feng, 21. boot: small robot big adventure by shane hegarty, 22. mr. penguin and the fortress of secrets by alex t smith, 23. planet omar: accidental trouble magnet by zanib mian, 24. the wondrous workings of planet earth: understanding our world and its ecosystems by rachel ignotofsky, 25. hubert horatio: how to raise your grown-ups by lauren child, 26. charlotte’s web by e.b. white, what are the best books for eight year olds, what is a book with a good moral lesson for eight year olds, should 8 year olds be reading chapter books.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a classic children’s story that generations of readers have loved and cherished. The novel follows the main character, Tom Sawyer, as he embarks on adventures in his hometown, St. Petersburg. Check out our guide on the best books for ten-year-olds.

Twain’s vivid writing style weaves elements of humor with life lessons, making for an engaging and entertaining read for kids and adults alike! Whether Tom is painting fences or solving crimes, every page is packed with action and excitement. Check out The Adventures of Tom Sawyer on Amazon; click here .

“Ah, if he could only die temporarily!” Mark Twain, T he Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, by Roald Dahl

Mouth-watering and hilarious. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a much-loved storybook that includes a chocolate factory, a boy searching for adventure, and plenty of unexpected twists and turns. When Charlie wins the chance to enter Willie Wonka’s famous chocolate factory, all is not as it seems.

With plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, you’ll be surprised that this read is as hilarious as your little one will. It’s up for debate who the most intriguing and hilarious character is in this story, so you’ll need to read it to find out! Check out Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on Amazon; click here .

“You should never, never doubt something that no one is sure of.” Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

You might also be interested in our list of the best books for 7 year olds .

The BFG is a magical and enchanting adventure that will delight 8-year-olds. This book follows the journey of young Sophie as she befriends the Big Friendly Giant, and together, they embark on a quest to save the world from the gruesome giants. The writing is full of playful and whimsical language that will captivate your young reader.

With its larger-than-life characters and imaginative settings, The BFG is a book that transports readers to a world of endless possibilities. Read The BFG on Amazon; click here .

“What I mean and what I say is two different things,” the BFG announced rather grandly.” Roald Dahl, The BFG

If you’re interested in this topic, you’ll love our round-up of the best Roger Hargreaves books for kids!

4. The Phantom Tollbooth , by Norton Juster

The Phantom Tollbooth is an exciting adventure story that 7-year-olds will love. The story follows Milo through a world of wordplay and wit. The books have many fascinating characters like watchdog Tock, the Mathemagician, and the Spelling Bee.

The writing style is simple but engaging, with plenty of jokes and puns to make your kids laugh out loud. This enchanting story will encourage your little one’s imagination to picture the magical world, keeping their attention and entertaining them for hours. Read The Phantom Tollbooth on Amazon; click here .

“Expect everything, I always say, and the unexpected never happens.” Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth

5. The Indian in the Cupboard , by Lynne Reid Banks

The Indian in the Cupboard is about a young boy named Omri. Omri discovers that his toy cupboard brings his plastic figures to life. One of his toys, Little Bear, is a Native American figure who becomes his friend and teaches him valuable life lessons.

The language in the book is straightforward, making it an easy read for children. Read The Indian in the Cupboard on Amazon; click here .

“Omri and Patrick had spent many hours together playing with their joint collections of plastic toys.” Lynne Reid Banks, The Indian in the Cupboard

6. The Wind in the Willows , by Kenneth Grahame

The Wind in the Willows is a classic tale of friendship and adventure in the idyllic English countryside. With its gentle and flowing prose, the book evokes a sense of tranquility and comfort, inviting young readers to join the characters on their whimsical journeys. The story follows the adventures of a group of talking animals, including the sensible Mole, the loyal Rat, the reckless Toad, and the wise Badger. As they travel through the woods and rivers, the animals encounter challenges and obstacles that test their loyalty and courage.

The book’s detailed and evocative descriptions of nature create a vivid and immersive world that readers will want to revisit time and time. The Wind in the Willows is a timeless masterpiece that will transport your child to a simpler time and place, where nature’s beauty and friendship’s warmth prevail. Read The Wind in the Willows on Amazon; click here .

“Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing – absolutely nothing half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

7. A Series of Unfortunate Events , by Lemony Snicket

A Series of Unfortunate Events follows the Baudelaire siblings – Violet, Klaus, and Sunny – facing unfortunate events after their parents died in a mysterious fire. Throughout their story, each sibling faces many tragic events orchestrated by a villain – Count Olaf.

Even though the dark themes might not seem appropriate for young kids, be assured that these unfortunate incidents occur with a sense of whimsy and humor. Read A Series of Unfortunate Events on Amazon; click here .

“You know that a good, long session of weeping can often make you feel better, even if your circumstances have not changed one bit.” Lemony Snicket, A Series of Unfortunate Events

8. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe , by C.S. Lewis

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a classic children’s book about four siblings, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. The siblings embark on a magical journey set in the fictional world of Narnia.

Narnia is a mystical realm where animals talk, and a wicked witch rules the land with a never-ending winter. With the help of the lion Aslan, the children begin an adventure to defeat the witch and restore Narnia to its former glory. Despite being written for children, this story has been enjoyed by readers of all ages for its vivid descriptions and imaginative world-building. Read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe on Amazon; click here .

“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safety? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

9. The Hobbit , by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Hobbit is a classic children’s adventure book. Written by J.R.R. Tolkien, the story has everything children love – from dwarves to wizards and hobbits; your little one will adore every character. The story follows Bilbo and his friends as they set out for a once-in-a-lifetime adventure to reclaim treasure from a dragon.

With themes of loyalty, friendship, and courage, many important lessons can be learned from The Hobbit. Both children and adults love this classic tale, and you’ll be rooting for Bilbo Baggins from the first page. Read The Hobbit on Amazon; click here .

“There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after.” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

10. The Swiss Family Robinson , by Johann David Wyss

The Swiss Family Robinson tells the story of a Swiss family stranded on a deserted island after a shipwreck. The family must learn to survive and adapt to their new environment, using their resourcefulness and ingenuity to build shelter, find food, and defend themselves against wild animals. The storytelling emphasizes the practical aspects of survival, with detailed descriptions of the family’s innovations and strategies, which your 8-year-old will love.

Despite being written in the 19th century, the book’s themes of self-reliance and perseverance still resonate with modern readers. The Swiss Family Robinson is a timeless classic that offers a glimpse into adventure and discovery and will captivate your youngster. Read The Swiss Family Robinson on Amazon; click here .

“The monkeys seized all the cocoanuts within their reach and sent them down upon us.” Johann David Wyss, The Swiss Family Robinson

11. The Secret Garden , by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Secret Garden is a beautiful and wondrous tale of transformation and rebirth, told in a sumptuous and evocative way. Set against the backdrop of a sprawling English estate, the story follows the journey of young Mary Lennox, who discovers a hidden garden that has been locked away for years. With the help of her newfound friends, Dickon and Colin, Mary slowly brings the garden back to life and, in doing so, transforms herself and those around her.

The author’s rich and lyrical prose captures the natural world’s magic with its vibrant descriptions of the garden and its inhabitants. Even young readers who need help with books will get lost in the prose. The characters are very well developed, each with unique strengths and weaknesses.

Themes of growth, healing, and redemption are woven throughout the story without feeling like lessons are being taught. The Secret Garden is a true masterpiece of children’s literature that deserves a place on your child’s bookshelf. Read The Secret Garden on Amazon; click here .

“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.” Frances Hodgson, The Secret Garden

12. The Call of the Wild , by Jack London

The Call of the Wild is a rugged and wild adventure tale that is perfect for boys and girls who are animal lovers. The story follows the journey of Buck, a powerful and majestic St. Bernard-Scotch Collie, as he is stolen from his comfortable life and sold into the brutal world of the Alaskan wilderness during the gold rush.

With its vivid and visceral prose, the book captures the raw beauty of nature and the fierce spirit of the animals that inhabit it. Buck’s journey is a testament to the power of loyalty and the unbreakable bond between humans and animals. The Call of the Wild is a book that will thrill and inspire young readers while instilling a deep and lifelong love and respect for the natural world. Read The Call of the Wild on Amazon; click here .

“There is an ecstasy that marks the summit of life, and beyond which life cannot rise. And such is the paradox of living; this ecstasy comes when one is most alive, and it comes as a complete forgetfulness that one is alive.” Jack London, The Call of the Wild

13. The Jungle Book , by Rudyard Kipling

The Jungle Book is a collection of short stories that tell the tale of Mowgli, a boy raised by a pack of wolves in the jungles of India. The book follows Mowgli as he learns the ways of the jungle and encounters various friendly and dangerous creatures. Along the way, he must also contend with the humans who are encroaching on the jungle and threatening the balance of nature.

The author, Rudyard Kipling, expertly captures the beauty and mystery of the Indian jungle. His use of animal characters provides a unique and imaginative perspective on human nature, and his themes of self-discovery, loyalty, and the natural world have made the book a classic of children’s literature. Read The Jungle Book on Amazon; click here .

“Now, don’t be angry after you’ve been afraid. That’s the worst kind of cowardice.” Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book

14. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon , by Grace Lin

This enchanting and magical novel blends Chinese folklore and adventure storytelling. The story follows a young girl named Minli, who lives in a poor village at the foot of a mountain and embarks on a journey to find the Old Man of the Moon and ask him how she can change her family’s fortune.

Along the way, she meets a colorful cast of characters and experiences a series of magical adventures that teach her about the power of storytelling and the importance of gratitude. With its intricate plot and evocative imagery, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is a masterpiece of children’s literature that captivates and inspires your 8-year-old reader. Read Where the Mountain Meets the Moon on Amazon; click here .

“If you make happy those that are near, those that are far will come.” Grace Lin, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

15. The One and Only Ivan , by Katherine Applegate

This poignant and beautifully written novel is inspired by the story of a silverback gorilla named Ivan, who lived in a small cage at a shopping mall for 27 years. Told from the perspective of Ivan himself, the story follows the gorilla’s journey as he befriends a stray dog and a baby elephant and dreams of a life beyond his enclosure.

The book touches on themes of friendship, perseverance, and the power of hope and is a moving tribute to the strength and resilience of animals. With its gentle and empathetic writing style, The One and Only Ivan is a book that appeals to young animal lovers. Read The One and Only Ivan on Amazon; click here .

“Humans waste words. They toss them like banana peels and leave them to rot.” Katherine Applegate, The One and Only Ivan

The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick

This unique and innovative book is a blend of a graphic novel and a picture book and tells the story of a young orphan boy named Hugo, who lives in the walls of a Paris train station. The book is filled with detailed and intricate illustrations, and the story unfolds through a combination of words and images that work together to create a seamless and immersive reading experience.

With themes of imagination, creativity, and perseverance, The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a book that will inspire and delight your youngster. Read The Invention of Hugo Cabret on Amazon; click here .

“Maybe we are all cabinets of wonders.” Brian Selznick, The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Looking for more? Check out our guide with metaphor examples for kids !

The Lost Diary of Sami Star follows a little girl called Hannah as she navigates the struggles of early teen life. Feeling ignored by her parents and watching her friends grow up and drift apart, Hannah feels lost, that is until she finds an intriguing journal in the park. Intrigued by the quirky drawing in the diary, Hannah begins a quest to find Sammi and return it to her.

Tackling topics like new friends, new school dynamics, and growing up, this touching book will prepare your eight-year-old for the challenges they might already face at school. With an accessible, dyslexia-friendly layout, font, and paper, even reluctant readers will love this book. Read The Lost Diary of Sami Star on Amazon; click here .

“That’s my dad I can hear, shouting at my big sister. Dad only called her Victoria when he’s angry” The Lost Diary of Sami Star, Jaren McCombie

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Cookie! (and the Most Annoying Boy in the World follows Cookie, an excitable nine-year-old going through big changes. First, her best friend of all time moves away, then she sets her sights on a kitten, only for the new boy next door to adopt him instead, and would you believe that after all of this, Cookie then gets the chance to appear on her favorite show Brainbusters?

Cookie is full of life and inspires third-grade kids to be their authentic selves, even if it might annoy others. This is the first book of the three-part series and a must-read for parents and kids alike. It’s also available as an audiobook! Check it out on Amazon; click here .

“Perhaps Brainbusters is still within reach. Maybe I could even be teammates with Jake. If I have to. After the judging is complete everyone gathers round the front desk in the science lab to hear who the winners are. As I go over I catch Mrs Chen’s eye, and she gives me a HUGE grin. A sign? Once again I feel quietly confident. Brainbusters, here I come!” Konnie Huq , Cookie! (Book 1): Cookie and the Most Annoying Boy in the World

Get ready for action-packed robot adventures with Mega Robo Bros 3: Mega Robot Revenge. With vibrant colors and impressive illustrations, this graphic novel is ideal for reluctant readers or early readers who might need their interest sparked by cool drawings and awesome robots.

Mega Robo Bros is a book series following Alex and Freddy, powerful robots who journey on fun adventures together. The third book, Mega Robot Revenge, is one of the most exciting additions to the series, featuring a surprise evil half-brother hunting for revenge. Read Mega Robo Bros 3: Mega Robot Revenge on Amazon; click here .

Everest is a beautifully illustrated non-fiction book for third-grade kids to learn about Everest. As a part of the Earth’s Incredible Places series, this stunning graphic novel tells the story of those who have explored Everest, exciting facts about this wonder of nature, and the rich history of myth and legend associated with it. With plenty of interesting facts that appeal to young minds, this book is a great way to get your eight-year-old interested in topics like geography, history, and exploration. Read Everest on Amazon; click here .

“There are many legends surrounding the mountains, but none as mysterious and exciting as the legend of Shambhala… Folded into the unknown corners of the Himalayas, there is rumored to be a kingdom called Shambhala.” Everest, Sangma Francis & Lisk Feng

If you’re looking for a stunning book with uplifting illustrations, look no further! BOOT Small Robot, BIG Adventure is a unique book that will become a family favorite in no time. Follow Boot, a tiny toy robot who wakes up in a scrapyard without its owner, Beth, who is determined to find its way home.

Boot teams up with new friends Noke and Red, who help on the journey, navigating the world in secret as Boot makes its way back home. With new friends by its side, Boot is ready to set off on the dangerous adventure home. Read BOOT Small Robot, BIG Adventure on Amazon; click here .

“All I did know was that I only had two-and-a-half memories, I was lost, and one word kept going around in my brain. Boot.” BOOT: Small Robot Big Adventure, Shane Hegarty

Mr. Penguin and the Fortress of Secrets follows the thrilling adventures of the brave detective—Mr. Penguin. After escaping a wildly dangerous plane accident, Mr. Penguin discovers suspicious noises from a nearby fortress. Following his instincts, Mr. Penguin is convinced that the fortress has something to do with the missing pets in his village.

When disaster strikes and one of Mr. Penguin’s friends disappears, the gang takes action and finds a supervillain who plans to take over the world. Follow Mr. Penguin’s heroic journey as he takes on the evil villain and finds his best friend. With plenty of action, laughs, and all-around silliness, this uplifting book is ideal for 8 to 12-year-olds looking for a fun read. Read Mr. Penguin and the Fortress of Secrets on Amazon; click here .

“Mr. Penguin’s home and office—an igloo between two enormous skyscrapers in Cityville—is in darkness. All is still. The swivel chair behind the desk is empty. A cloth is draped neatly over the typewriter. And Mr. Penguin’s special hat is not hanging on the coat rack as usual. In fact, it’s not there at all.” Mr. Penguin and the Fortress of Secrets, Alex T Smith

Omar is an imaginative little boy who loves to daydream. When Omar’s family moves, and he has to start a new school, he is not pleased. What will the new kids be like? How will he make friends? These questions weigh heavily on Omar’s mind as he begins this new adventure.

Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet is a sweet book that teaches kids to deal with change, take on bullies, and embrace their identity. Omar’s funny and relatable personality gives a lighthearted take on the difficulties of growing up and moving schools. Read Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet on Amazon; click here .

“I don’t like things to change. It would be so much more convenient and better for everybody if things always just stayed the same.” Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet , Zanib Mian

The Incredible Ecosystems of Planet Earth

Inspire your third grader to explore our wonderful world by reading The Wondrous Workings of Planet Earth: Understanding Our World and Its Ecosystems . Give your 8-year-old a glimpse into the world of science and ecology with this beautifully illustrated non-fiction book.

There are many things to be excited about as a kid, and one of the best things is exploring the world around you. Learn about biodiversity, the cycles of nature, and the diversity of the Earth’s ecosystem. Read The Wondrous Workings of Planet Earth: Understanding Our World and Its Ecosystems on Amazon; click here .

“For starters, we all live on planet Earth. Together, plants, animals, and people spin through outer space, protected only by a thin layer of atmosphere.” The Wondrous Workings of Planet Earth: Understanding Our World and Its Ecosystems, Rachel Ignotofsky

Hubert Horatio: How to Raise Your Grown-Ups is a hilarious and heart-warming story about Hubert — a child genius and millionaire. Hubert lives a life of turmoil because, unlike him, his parents aren’t geniuses. Hubert’s parents are careless with money, and Humert worries that they are spending all of it. It’s up to him and his best friend Stanton Harcourt to fix this and save their fortune.

With a fun and light storyline, this easy-read book is perfect for a quick chapter before bedtime or encouraging independent reading for your third-grader. Written by famous children’s book author Laren Child, this story is an ideal reading book for kids ages 9-12. Read Hubert Horatio on Amazon; click here .

“Hubert Horatio Bartle Bobton-Trent was, in fact, a child genius — probably the cleverest boy you will ever meet — and he could do a great many things very well.”

Charlotte’s Web is a beloved children’s book that follows a pig named Wilbur, who has an unlikely bond with a friendly spider named Charlotte. Charlotte is intelligent, thoughtful, and sweet — much to Wilbur’s surprise!

This heartwarming story teaches children the importance of friendship, loyalty, and kindness. With plenty of imaginative stories and delightful imagery, this great book is a favorite for kids and parents. Read Charlotte’s Web on Amazon; click here .

“Wilbur never forgot Charlotte. Although he loved her children and grandchildren dearly, none of the new spiders ever quite took her place in his heart.” Charlotte’s Web, E.B. White

FAQs About Best Books for 8 Year Olds

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and The BFG are great choices for your third-grader to enjoy.

The Velveteen Rabbit has powerful moral lessons for kids with love, friendship, and authenticity themes. It follows a stuffed rabbit who dreams of becoming a real rabbit by a young boy’s love. This sweet book tells the story of transformative love resilience, and how genuine connections can improve our lives for the better.

Yes, 8 year olds can read chapter books. Reading skills have developed at this age, and attention spans have grown, so it’s the perfect time to begin reading longer books with chapters.

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5-Year-Old Killed After Bounce House Goes Airborne in Maryland

Children were inside the play structure at a baseball game when it was carried 15 to 20 feet in the air the by the wind. One child died and another was injured.

A deflated red, green and blue bounce house at the Regency Furniture Stadium.

By Sara Ruberg

A 5-year-old boy was killed at a professional baseball game in Maryland on Friday after a bounce house was picked up by a wind gust while children were inside of it, the authorities said.

Children fell from the inflatable play structure when it was launched 15 to 20 feet in the air before landing on the baseball field at Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf, Md., where the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs were playing Friday night, according to a statement from the government of Charles County, Md.

The 5-year-old boy, who has not been identified, was airlifted to Children’s National Hospital in Washington and later pronounced dead, according to Jennifer L. Harris, the press officer for Charles County, and the county’s news release. A second child was also airlifted to the same hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

The death took place while the Blue Crabs were playing against the York Revolution in an Atlantic League of Professional Baseball game in Waldorf, about 25 miles south of Washington. The teams then halted play, and the Blue Crabs postponed their games over the weekend.

“Our entire organization shares our condolences with the family mourning the loss of a child, and concern for the child who was injured,” Courtney Knichel, general manager of the Blue Crabs, said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with them all.”

The bounce house was on an elevated, fenced-off surface above right field, according to a report from WRC-TV , NBC’s Washington affiliate. After being lifted off the ground, it crashed on the field near the first-base line.

The bounce house is usually set up in an area for children to play in during games, Ms. Harris said in an email.

A spokesman for the Blue Crabs could not be immediately reached for comment.

Bounce houses have gone airborne and killed children before. This past April , a 2-year-old was killed and another child was injured in Arizona when the wind picked up the bounce house they were in and threw it into a neighboring lot. In 2021, five Australian children died after a bouncy castle was propelled 30 feet in the air during their school’s end-of-the-year celebration.

A study by the University of Georgia found at least 479 injuries and 28 deaths happened in wind-related bounce house incidents around the world between 2000 to 2021.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission, an independent federal regulatory agency, recommends that bounce houses should not be used when maximum wind speeds exceed 15 to 25 miles per hour.

The group advises that if “the tops of the trees are swaying” it may not be safe to use a bounce house. Bounce houses should be secured with at least six anchor points, according to the Amusement Devices Safety Council , Britain’s workplace health and safety regulator.

Sara Ruberg covers breaking news and is a member of the 2024-25 class of Times Fellows , a program for journalists early in their careers. More about Sara Ruberg

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Ancient discovery hints milky way is billions of years older than we thought: new data.

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A group of ancient stars have been spotted near our sun, hinting to astronomers that our galaxy is billions of years older than we first thought.

Most of the more than 100 bilion stars in the Milky Way rest on an invisible “halo” that rotates around the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy, which scientists previously estimated had formed about 8 to 10 billion years ago. However, new insights into these primordial stars by the European Space Agency’s Gaia spacecraft spacecraft suggest that Planet Earth’s cosmic community could be over 13 billion years old.

Rotational motion of young (blue) and old (red) stars similar to the Sun (orange)

Researchers with the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) in Germany officially announced their discovery on July 31 following the publication online of their unreviewed report earlier this year.

The whole of our measurable universe is thought to be about 13.8 billion years old, meaning the Milky Way would have formed during the first billion years of existence as we know it, per the study.

“These ancient stars in the disc suggest that the formation of the Milky Way’s thin disc began much earlier than previously believed, by about 4-5 billion years,” said lead study author Samir Nepal in a statement .

Machine learning helped scientists calculate new data into some 800,000 stars in our solar neighborhood, including their surprising metal content.

At the beginning of time, our universe was predominantly composed of hydrogen and helium — and most old stars are a reflection of this environment. However new data revealed that some of the oldest celestial crumbs are more metallic than previously thought possible —- with twice the metal content of much of our relatively young, 4.6-billion-year-old sun.

Milky Way captured with long exposure photography technique

The discovery of rapid metal enrichment in the early phase of galactic growth has changed how scientists are mapping our galaxy’s history .

“This study also highlights that our galaxy had an intense star formation at early epochs leading to very fast metal enrichment in the inner regions and the formation of the disc,” Nepal said.

10, 11-year-old children among those charged in death of 8-year-old boy in Georgia

Two juveniles were charged in connection to the death of an 8-year-old in Georgia earlier this year.

The victim, identified as Noah Bush, was discovered in mid-May in a pit that had pockets of water in it, in Jesup, a city about 67 miles from Savannah, Wayne County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Mike Hargrove told USA TODAY.

Noah's family reportedly said the child was playing with a friend before he died. Law enforcement initially suspected no foul play. An autopsy found no injuries on Noah's body and determined he died from drowning , per WLS and WSAV.

However, loved ones and community members believed there was more to the story.

“No justice, no peace. If there will be no justice, there will be no peace. In the city of Jesup, until we get justice, there will be no peace,” advocate Tierani Smith voiced at his funeral, captured by the local news station.

The Wayne County Sheriff's Office later charged two unidentified minors in this case.

Death investigations: Killing of Sonya Massey brings fresh heartache to Breonna Taylor, George Floyd activists

10-year-old sentenced; investigation continues

A 10-year-old and 11-year-old were charged with concealing the death of another person and criminal trespassing, Hargrove said, adding that the eldest was also charged with involuntary manslaughter and simple battery.

According to the chief deputy, the 10-year-old has been sentenced to two years at a youth detention center.

"Noah and the two juveniles involved in this got into some argument, and an argument led to them pushing Noah into the water and possibly holding his head underwater," Attorney Francys Johnson, who is representing Noah's family, said at a news conference, per WLS.

The investigation is ongoing, and authorities are looking into audio and video to determine if parents were involved. WJCL reported that the mother of the 11-year-old was charged with giving false statements .

At his funeral, Noah was described as a lively and ambitious child.

Taylor Ardrey is a news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at [email protected].

I Took My 15-Year-Old Son To See 'Barbie' Because I'm Worried He Could Become Ken

Guest Writer

"I’ll encourage all my friends and acquaintances to see the movie with their teenagers," the author writes.

“Barbie” is the movie I needed my 15-year-old son to see this summer. The kid has his learner’s permit for driving, medaled in a couple of swim events at a regional meet, recently went on his first date, and soon will be embarking on his sophomore year in high school. He’s on his way to becoming Ken on Venice Beach (as played by Ryan Gosling).

As his 51-year-old mother, I’m painfully aware that my son is merely six years away from having more rights in America than I do. He will soon obtain a driver’s license, and later get a voter’s registration. Due to the generosity of his grandparents and our ability to save money, he has a modest college fund. Once he reaches the age when he can legally consume alcohol and has a college degree, he might arrive on a relatively level playing field with Gosling (minus the fame and the eight-pack abs). He will have bodily autonomy — a privilege I lost in June 2022 when six Supreme Court justices voted to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Undoubtedly, those who seek to uphold the current status quo in American society and applaud the SCOTUS decision will label my actions “indoctrination” and “woke.” I’ll happily admit it: They are. To borrow an African proverb, “If the wise elders of the village don’t teach the children, the village idiots will certainly do so.”

I’ve been inoculating my son against hate for years. On the morning of Nov. 9, 2016, my then 8-year-old son found me sobbing on our family room couch in a suburb outside Washington, D.C. Right then and there, I gave him a gargantuan task that amounted to “don’t sit by and let people bully others.” I implored him to use his privilege to help. It was a huge ask and perhaps an inappropriate burden for a kid that age, but I’d already put some scaffold in place.

Up to that point, I’d tried to model this behavior by doing whatever I could ― and using my own privileges ― to help those around me. I drove an immigrant mother to a local community college for classes and helped her with English. As a family, we participated in Help the Homeless walks through our local community service organization. For years, we purchased backpacks for kids in transitional housing each August and packed Thanksgiving boxes with groceries and gift cards for those less fortunate each November. We visited a mosque in Virginia for its open house at a time when backlash against Muslims was heating up again. During Donald Trump ’s presidency, I advocated on Capitol Hill for increasing immigration quotas for refugees, especially for Afghans and others who had assisted U.S. troops in exchange for our protection.

Despite these efforts and a new administration, we live in a country where white nationalism is on the rise, as are antisemitic incidents and anti-LGBTQ legislation. We live in a country where women do not control our own bodies. In 2023, I am fighting to raise a son who doesn’t become the next Kyle Rittenhouse, Brock Turner or Elon Musk.

Movies, like books, invite dialogue. As a former high school English teacher, I wish all teachers would assign their students to watch “Barbie” in place of summer reading selections like “The Grapes of Wrath.” Since it’s too late to amend summer assignments, I’ll encourage all my friends and acquaintances to see the movie with their teenagers.

Analyzing the “Barbie” film is as foreign to my son as reading Shakespeare’s comedy “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” was last year in ninth grade. It requires a guide who can explain that Ken’s inferior position in Barbieland is a mere inversion of the patriarchal American society we live in today. I was thrilled to be given the chance to provide that guidance.

The experience of sitting in a theater with my son and watching Ken ask Stereotypical Barbie (played by Margot Robbie) if she wants to have a sleepover offered me the opportunity to point out that consent is important and needs to be honored.

We discussed how the frustration Ken feels at being left out of fun in Barbieland mirrors how women and other minorities feel in America today. Together, we laughed about Barbie and Ken’s trip to the “real world” and the Mattel corporate headquarters, where only men sit in the boardroom. I assured my son that it’s OK to feel slighted and want to be in charge. It’s understandable that after his return, Ken leads a revolt and tries to rewrite the Constitution to put Kens in power. I get it: I’m pretty mad there are only four female Supreme Court justices and a female vice president.

To be voiceless or outnumbered is to be vulnerable ― and worse, too often it means being unable to succeed in a world where you don’t have the same rights or access to opportunities as others. I acknowledged my own substantial privilege as a white, cisgender, heterosexual, educated woman while I confessed to him that I feel guilty about how my status gives me advantages. Being human is complicated. But, as “Barbie” points out, we all get a choice in what we do with our lives ― we get to decide what we do with our privilege, and if and how we help make this place better for everyone.

I can rail against book bans in this country all I want, but nobody is burning copies of John Steinbeck novels anymore. Instead, Ben Shapiro is igniting Mattel’s 11.5-inch plastic dolls . In taking my son to the “Barbie” movie and talking with him, I seized the lesson plan that Hollywood handed me. Although I don’t live in Florida or plan to visit the state anytime soon, I challenged the anti-woke agenda that Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is trying to impose there ― and everywhere. I want my son to fully understand the message that “Barbie” has emblazoned in front of us, because the patriarchy is real and too many people are suffering under it. And he can help change that.

Here’s the thing that haters missed about the ”Barbie” movie: It wasn’t about revenge. Weird Barbie (my favorite character, played by Kate McKinnon) sent Stereotypical Barbie on a quest back to the real world to find Gloria (a low-level Mattel employee having an existential crisis) and her daughter Sasha, who discarded her Barbie doll years earlier. When the trio returns to a Barbieland in shambles, Ken’s sidekick, Allan, and all of the other discontinued Barbies team up to voice ways in which the matriarchal society that existed before the Kens took over was also flawed and excluded them. They ask for a new place ― not a return to the past or a punishment for anyone. In the end, Stereotypical Barbie tells Ken to get a life that doesn’t depend on others for happiness ― a life that gives him equal status without infringing upon the status of anyone else. I want that for your sons and my son as well.

In the spirit of cooperation, my son signed off on this essay about our excursion. It’s just one instance in an ongoing process of negotiations between parent and child. I’m grateful to see glimmers of the man he is becoming, even wrapped in a sometimes surly exterior. One day, months before we saw “Barbie” together, he surprised me during a car ride by saying how messed up it was that people were boycotting a product advertised with the help of a transgender celebrity. It’s those small interactions that convince me he understands his privilege and sees a world that desperately needs diversity. Going forward, I’ll keep teaching him about this messy world whenever I can ― even if it’s at the movies and with the help of a doll ― and I’ll keep saying and doing things that embarrass him, a skill that he swears I excel at. And he’ll do his best to grow into the man he’s becoming, who currently wears a men’s size 11 shoe. I am hopeful that he will learn to tread lightly to avoid stepping on Barbie’s Birkenstocks.

Wendy Besel Hahn (she/her) is the nonfiction editor for “Furious Gravity” (May 2020), a collection of 50 stories by D.C.-area women. Her work appears in The Washington Post, Scary Mommy and The Fem, and is forthcoming in Hippocampus. She lives in Denver, where she is working on a novel.

Do you have a compelling personal story you’d like to see published on HuffPost? Find out what we’re looking for here and send us a pitch .

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