Writing can be challenging for some students. Not knowing what to write about is one reason. One way to help students take the guesswork out of what to write is by providing a variety of
writing prompts.
Writing prompts can be specific or general. Sometimes just providing an interesting topic or picture can help students begin the writing process. Having a variety of writing prompts on hand helps prevent students from wasting time trying to figure out what to write about.
Some students will need further assistance to begin the writing process. Providing students with mentor sentences and modeling the writing process gives students a good starting point.
Writing should be fun! Giving interesting topics, prompts and ideas helps keep reluctant writers interested. Allow students to free-write about a topic of their choice whenever possible. This can be done as a daily warm-up, journal entry or as a reward for completed work.
Looking for interesting writing prompts for your classroom? This 10-month writing choiceboard set allows student choice and includes a variety of writing to include: story starters, writing descriptions, letters, poetry, songs, opinion and informative writing.
Kris McWilliams
Mistakes Allow Thinking to Happen
