Writing Prompts: 250 Knock-Their-Socks-Off Writing Prompts to Inspire Super Writing All Year Long!

64 Pages·2016·0.87 MB·English

by  McCory Justin Martin.

Marvelous Month-by-Month
Writing Prompts
250 Knock-Their-Socks-Off Writing Prompts
to Inspire Super Writing All Year Long!
By Justin McCory Martin
S C H O L A S T I C
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Marvelous Month-by-Month Writing Prompts © Justin McCory Martin, Scholastic Teaching Resources
Dedication
To Diane Caldwell—a wonderful aunt and inspiring teacher
Scholastic Inc. grants teachers permission to photocopy the contents of this book for classroom use only.
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Cover design by Norma Ortiz
Cover artwork by Amy Vangsgard
Interior design by Sydney Wright
Interior artwork by Brian Floca
ISBN: 0-439-22250-8
Copyright © 2001 by Justin McCory Martin
All rights reserved.
Printed in the U.S.A.
Marvelous Month-by-Month Writing Prompts © Justin McCory Martin, Scholastic Teaching Resources
Introduction
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Writing Prompts
September . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
October . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
November . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
December . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
January . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
February . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
March . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
April . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
May . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
June . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
Marvelous Month-by-Month Writing Prompts © Justin McCory Martin, Scholastic Teaching Resources
riting can be a deeply satisfying activity for kids. It’s a great outlet
for their creativity, one that lends itself to wild flights of fancy. It’s
also a wonderful vehicle for personal expression, more so now than ever
in this age of e-mail.
But writing is also tough. Simply staring at a blank piece of paper is no
way to get started. It’s just too discouraging, when what is needed is
encouragement and plenty of it. If only kids can start with the seed of an
idea, their imaginations can flower. Writing can become an activity that’s
both exciting and enriching.
That’s the purpose of the prompts contained in this book. Think of them
as a little push to help your students get started, the same kind of push
that any writer—even the most gifted veteran—naturally needs.
The prompts are organized by the ten months of the school year. Most of
them are tied to specific events in a given month. For example, October
includes a selection of Halloween-related prompts and June is full of those
with summer themes. There are also prompts pegged to the anniversaries
of historic happenings, like the Wright Brothers’ famous flight (December
17); prompts tied to the birthdays of famous children’s authors such as
Theodor Geisel (March 2); and even some that relate to unusual dates
such as Elephant Appreciation Day (September 22).
Kids will find that the prompts send them off in all kinds of directions,
urging them to write stories, poems, songs, and mini-essays. The emphasis
is on variety—interesting exercises spur interesting writing. Kids are even
encouraged to write rap songs, e-mails, petitions, sports stories, and gos-
sip columns—all in an effort to get those creative juices flowing.
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Marvelous Month-by-Month Writing Prompts © Justin McCory Martin, Scholastic Teaching Resources
1 3
Back-to-School List New School-Year’s
Resolutions
It’s the beginning of a new school year.
Make a list of the top ten most impor-
In January, people often make New
tant things you will need for school.
Year’s resolutions. They promise them-
This will help you get started: You’ll
selves that during the coming year they
need your own desk, some paper, some
will change their lives in good ways.
pencils. What else? Think of at least ten
September is the beginning of the
other items.
school year. Maybe there are some
things you would like to do differently
this school year. Maybe you want to
improve at math or
2
learn how to play
soccer. Write
The Rap on Summer
down five
This past summer, did you have fun in New School-
the sun? Did you swim with your friend Year’s
Tim? Write a rap song that describes Resolutions.
what you did this summer. Rap about
all your good times and make sure
it rhymes.
5
Marvelous Month-by-Month Writing Prompts © Justin McCory Martin, Scholastic Teaching Resources
4 6
Dear Diary Bothered in Boston
Start a back-to-school diary. What sub- September is Children’s Good Manners
jects are you studying? What are some Month. Pretend you write an advice
fun activities that you have done? Have column in the newspaper called “Ask
you made any new friends? Each day the Manners Expert.” Here’s a letter
during the first week of school write you receive: “Dear Manners Expert, I
down your thoughts. like my friend Josh. But when we eat
lunch in the cafeteria he always talks
with his mouth full. How can I make
him stop this without hurting his feel-
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ings? Signed, Bothered in Boston.”
Now, write an answer and give some
Photographic Memory
good advice on good manners. Start
out, “Dear Bothered in Boston, . . .”
Look at a photograph in a magazine or
newspaper for one minute. Study it
very carefully. Then, put the photo-
graph away where you can’t see it.
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Write down every single detail that you
can remember.
Grabmunch for Thought
Here are some made-up names for
very common things. Sun = Brighto.
House = Livebox. Car = Gobox.
Person = Smartbot. Food = Grabmunch.
Talk = Yakyak. Write a story using
all of these made-up words. This will
help you get started: “Two smartbots
were driving in a gobox. They were
yakyaking about ...”
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Marvelous Month-by-Month Writing Prompts © Justin McCory Martin, Scholastic Teaching Resources
8 10
In Reverse Festival of the Prunes
Tell the story of coming to school this Each year on September 9 and 10, Yuba
morning, backwards. This will be City, California, holds a Prune Festival.
tough. Waking up was the first thing That sounds pretty silly, right? What
you did. But in a backwards tale, it do you think happens at the Prune
becomes the end of your story. Here’s Festival? Is there a prune toss? Do they
the beginning of your story: “I arrived crown a really wrinkly person as Mr. or
at school.” Miss Prune? Write a story about what
you think happens at the Yuba City
Prune Festival.
9
3001: A Space Oddity 11
The popular show Star Trek was first
Summer.com
shown on TV on September 8, 1966. Star
Trek is an example of what’s known as It’s a new school year. But what did you
science fiction. It’s a type of story about do this past summer? Create your own
the future that’s full of exciting inven- pretend Summer.com web site so you
tions like time-travel machines. What can remember all the fun you had. Did
do you think the future will be like? you go on vacation? Did you have some
Write your own science fiction story favorite summer songs? What flavors of
full of rocket rides, space aliens, and ice cream did you eat? Make lists, draw
cool gadgets. pictures, and write short stories for
your very own Summer.com site.
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Marvelous Month-by-Month Writing Prompts © Justin McCory Martin, Scholastic Teaching Resources
12 15
Town Anthem Class Constitution
On September 13, 1814, Francis Scott On September 17, 1787, the leaders
Key wrote the “Star Spangled Banner,” of the United States agreed on the
our country’s national anthem. Make up Constitution. The Constitution is a very
the words of an anthem for your town. important document. It spells out many
You can mention local sports teams or of the rules for making the United
foods that your town is famous for. States a good place to live. Create your
own School Constitution, with rules
such as “use quiet voices in the class-
room” and “walk in the hallways.”
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The Riddler
16
Do you like riddles? Here’s one: What
has teeth, but cannot eat? Answer: A
Clowning Around
comb. Come up with some riddles of
your own. Write them on one side of a Clowns from all over the United States
piece of paper; write answers on the attend Clownfest. It’s held in Seaside
other. When you’re done, share them Heights, New Jersey. It starts each year
with a classmate. on September 17 and runs for five days.
Make up a clown of your own and give
him or her a name. Then, write a story
describing the adventures and misad-
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ventures of your clown.
Big Whopper
A really ridiculous story that isn’t true is
called a whopper. Each year on Septem-
ber 16, the town of New Harmony,
Indiana, holds a “Big Whopper” contest.
Dream up the biggest whopper you can
and write it down.
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Marvelous Month-by-Month Writing Prompts © Justin McCory Martin, Scholastic Teaching Resources
17 19
Trading Cards Elephant Appreciation Day
Use two index cards for this exercise. September 22 is officially Elephant
Label one “Character” and the other Appreciation Day. Go to the library or
“Place.” On the Character Card, write get on the Internet and do some research
down a type of character. It can be about these fascinating animals. Then,
anything: a genie, a farmer, a world- write down ten facts about elephants.
champion ping-pong player. On the
Place Card, list a location. Again, it
can be anywhere: Kansas, Mars, a 20
shopping mall. Trade your Character
Card with one classmate and your All About Neptune
Place Card with another. Write a story
On September 23, 1846, the planet
featuring the character and place you
Neptune was discovered by astron-
wind up with.
omers. Do some research to learn about
this planet. How large is Neptune and
how far is it from Earth? Write a mini-
18 report about Neptune that includes your
own ideas about what might be discov-
Mini-Dictionary ered in the future if a spaceship lands
on the planet.
Samuel Johnson was born on
September 18, 1709. He created the
very first English language dictionary.
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Here are ten words: sausage, tennis,
school, rain, gorilla, wristwatch, rock-
Snail Mail
et, peach, movie, computer. Think of
good definitions for these words and There’s regular mail that arrives in the
create your own mini-dictionary. mailbox. And there’s e-mail that shows
Because this is a dictionary, remember up on your computer. Imagine another
to put your words in alphabetical order. kind of mail: catmail or watchmail or
superball mail. Write a message to a
friend using your strange new kind of
mail.
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Marvelous Month-by-Month Writing Prompts © Justin McCory Martin, Scholastic Teaching Resources
22 24
Wild Fans Add Those Adjectives
What is your favorite sport—basket- “The man put on his coat and walked
ball, football, gymnastics? And who is down the street to his car.” This is a
your favorite athlete? Pretend you are pretty boring sentence, right? But add
a reporter for a TV show called “Wild some adjectives to make it more inter-
Fans.” What questions would you want esting, like this: “The angry man put on
to ask your favorite athlete? Make up his heavy coat and walked down the
the answers that he or she would give dark street to his fancy car.” Rewrite
to your questions. the sentence three times using various
colorful adjectives.
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25
Whale of a Tale
Imperfect Ira Saves
Shamu the orca whale was born on
the World!
September 26, 1985. Shamu was the
first orca born in captivity that sur- The fourth week of September is
vived and grew to be an adult. Do some National Imperfection Week. Pretend
research on orcas. Then, imagine that that the mascot for this week is a boy
you are a trainer for an orca. What named Imperfect Ira. Imperfect Ira
will you name it? What tricks will you brushes his hair with a toothbrush,
teach it? Write a whale of a tale about always forgets to tie his shoes, and
your adventures. his favorite sandwich is a slice of
bread between two pieces of bologna.
But guess what! Imperfect Ira has to
save the world from an invasion of
three-legged monsters. Write a story
and describe how Imperfect Ira saves
the day.
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Marvelous Month-by-Month Writing Prompts © Justin McCory Martin, Scholastic Teaching Resources