World's Best Writing Prompts/World's Worst Writing Prompts

[Barry Lane]

I know what you are thinking. The best writing prompt is anything you want to write about. Choice rules! But a great writing prompt can illicit amazing writing and stir up stagnant thinking. Photos and music can also fall under the heading writing prompt. This blog is a place for us to share our successes and failures with writing prompts.

Here is one of my favorites. It is in my book "The Healing Pen."

Write an express letter to some in your family or in your past. An express letter is your chance to tell them anything you need to tell them and they have to listen.

[RealWriter24]

Here are some additional prompt writing ideas:

I used to find plush toy characters at garage sales/flea markets/etc. and develop simple plot starters for kids to write about. They loved these writing activities!

Another idea is to use songs from Sandra Boynton's(sp?) books that come with the musical CD's---Philadelphia Chickens is great fun. We listened to a song, I put a transparency up with the words to the song, then the kids would write some sort of open response to the song...whatever came to mind.

David Shanon's DAVID books offer tons of writing prompt possibilities...

[RealWriter24]

Well, I am a huge advocate of kids using real writing notebooks, but prior to using them I did lots of prompted writing with upper elementary kids. The prompts that worked the best were the ones that generated the most interest and enthusiasm when we shared together as a writing community. I remember one prompt being something like, "Your dad decides to dye his hair green. Described what a trip to the grocery store with him might be like for you and then explain how you feel about his green hair." Some kids took advantage and wrote some humorous stuff as you might expect, while others took a totally different path and used the situation to explain how they love their dads unconditionally and how proud they would be/are to have a dad like that. The resulting discussion was not at all what I would have predicted, and those are the BEST discussions of all! Another very popular prompt for this age was "Who has it tougher, boys or girls?" They loved the opportunity to discuss how easy they believe the other has it and how challenging they have it, though again, some surprised us by admitting they thought their own gender had it the easiest! Prompt writing is like so many other things in teaching...you make it work if/when you have to...Just my two cents!

[Joan Carnosso]

Last semester all of the first year students had to read the book "Three cups of tea" by Greg Mortenson. (Who by the way was a nurse). The book is about him raising money and building schools in Pakistan for young girls. I suggested that the whole nursing department, faculty as well as students read the book and we could include discussions or writings in our class. Well for most of the faculty this did not go over to well because we are not English teachers. And I do believe this also but I believe that we are "thinking teachers' and should always be encouraging our students to think and reflect.
So I teach pathophysiology and included 4 writing prompts during the semester. It turned out fantastic and the students loved it. An example was Mortenson's sister was disabled and it was questionable if it was because of an immunization she received. So I asked them what they thought of that and how they would respond to a mother asking if she should immunize her child. All 4 were like that. So I continued it this semester but this time I put up 4 different paragraphs about ethical problems and am having them think and reflect and respond about them.
I never would have had the courage to do this if I had not attended that writing institute, now I can't stop thinking of ways to have my students write. But because it isn't a formal paper they really don't think they are writing. And their writing and voices are wonderful.

[Barry Lane]

Cool ideas, Jamie!

[Jamie Schwantes]

What ever you do...don't press the little red "x" next to your comment. That little "x" should come with a warning sign.
Here we go again.
Some prompts I like to use in my First Grade classroom:
1. Sticker Stories: Students pick stickers and create a picture using their stickers and pens, pencils, markers...After creating their picture, they write a story about their illustration. Nothin' beats using Dinosaur, Fairy, X-Men and Smelly Stickers.
2. Squiggle Write: I draw a squiggle (random line, shape, whatever) and the students complete the picture. After finishing their art they will then write about their creation. It's fun to see the pictures they come up with...each child seeing the world in their own unique way.
3: Think Write: I give the students a word and they then write whatever the word makes them think of (a big shout out to my boy Gaetan P for this gem of an idea). Our last Think Write was HMMM...Clouds. One student wrote about what it would be like to be a cloud and another wrote about cool facts they have learned about clouds.
In closing...do not click the red "x" next to the comment you just posted. You have been warned.

[Gaetan Pappalardo]

Play BAll!!!

[Jamie Schwantes]

A Season's curtain soon falls
Winter is slipping away
A bitter cold is retreating
Spring is slipping in
A sleeping frost covered field lies in wait
The Boys of Summer rise up
Lace up your cleats...Play Ball!

[Barry Lane]

Gaetan,

Try this one with your 3rd graders.

b

[Barry Lane]

Mother folds
the twilight into the warm place
beneath the covers,
her hands
kneeding the dough
of day
into night

[Gaetan Pappalardo]

The timeless tunes
lift me above the clouds
beyond the moon
my arm extended like a branch towards the sun