the road to inspired learning
I’ve already shared a ton of my own creative writing activities and ideas. Today I’ve scoured the web to bring you even more ideas from creative homeschool and kid bloggers. Creative writing is fantastic for kids; it bolsters imagination, help students practice expressing their ideas, and develops individual creativity. So, grab your pencils (and probably […]
I have a lot of magic tricks in my bag when it comes to creative writing lessons. One of my favorites is using pictures to inspire creative writing. Students love animals. This set of Pet Picture Writing Prompts will provide countless writing ideas for your students. Even unenthusiastic writers may push their pencils across the […]
Do you need a new creative writing activity for your students? Motivate your students to think and write creatively with these dinosaur creative writing prompts. Dinosaur Creative Writing Prompts The dinosaur writing prompt cards include these twelve imagination-boosting writing prompts: If you built a house for a pet dinosaur, what rooms would you include? What […]
Creative writing for Grade 2 can be tricky. Sammy sits at her desk ready to tackle the task of writing a story. She is staring at her blank piece of paper, and gripping her pencil. She has fantastic ideas about silly monsters and funny dragons and pink princesses, but she is scared. When she starts […]
Stories need conflict, and The Pencil by Allan Ahlberg wonderfully illustrates the push-pull of conflict and resolution. You can easily use this book to teach elementary students about conflict and resolution as story elements. Conflict and Resolution Lesson Plan Discuss conflict with your student. What is conflict? Why is it a story element? Conflict […]
First graders have big ideas. Great ideas. But sometimes they struggle to get those ideas from their heads to their pens to their papers. Writing is hard work. Make creative writing for Grade 1 easier with this Imaginary Animal Writing Activity. Your student will fill in the form and then publish their paragraph on their […]
I am always, always looking for ways to motivate students to write. One of my tricks is the list prompt. Making a list is an easy writing prompt for students. Before you protest and try to tell me that making a list isn’t bona fide writing, I am going to interrupt. I am going to […]
Even if you aren’t a trained teacher, you can use picture books to teach creative writing. Help! We Need a Title! by Herve Tullet provides a fun and funny springboard into the world of story writing. You can use this picture book to teach story elements to early elementary students. How to Use a Picture […]
Do you use pictures to inspire creative writing? I do! I taught creative writing lessons for several summers at a local enrichment program, and I used various artists such as William H. Johnson with bold, bright pictures to provide ideas for my students. I keep an eye out for interesting artwork and pictures that would […]
Did you know you can build your student’s creative writing skills long before he can write? Creative writing doesn’t happen without creative thinking. You can build your student’s creative thinking skills by diving into wordless books. Use this wordless book lesson plan to help your students strengthen their creative thinking which will help them to […]
Creative writing lessons for elementary students don’t have to be complicated. You can keep them simple and engage students with activities and games. In this dialogue lesson plan for young writers, your goal is to simply introduce dialogue and it’s purpose. You can also introduce the correct way to punctuate it. Why Is Dialogue Important […]
Calling all creative writers, budding authors, young lovers of stories (or maybe even those who despise writing): It’s your lucky day! I’m offering a set of story writing prompt cards that will make it easy for your student to push his pencil and, most importantly, to write a great story! The prompt cards provide guidance […]
My Simon-boy just started writing. A few days ago I showed him the free web interactives at ReadWriteThink, and asked him which one he would like. He has lots of ideas. Big ideas for future writing projects, but none of them included poetry. That's okay. But I want to stretch him a bit. And I love poetry. […]
This unique creative writing lesson that may appeal to the most reluctant writer you know: Design a Circus Poster. Paul Fleishman and Kevin Hawkes teamed together to create Sidewalk Circus, a fun story in which the people of the town, living their everyday lives, are seen as circus performers. Design a Circus Poster Lesson Plan […]
Disclaimer: I chose to receive these nine books from Candlewick Press, and I was compensated for the time I invested in this post. All opinons belong to me (and my children) and are truthful. I don’t use formal writing curriculum or require my students to compose stories and essays in their elementary years. But I do look for ways […]