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20 Creative Writing Activities for Middle School
June 10, 2022 // by Stephanie Ledford
Some students are prolific writers, needing no help putting pen to paper and telling their stories. However, there are other students who need a little more direction in order to get their stories out. Whatever the case may be, these 20 creative writing activities for middle school will have all of your students showing their creative prowess.
1. I Am From
After reading the poem "Where I'm From" by George Ella Lyon, have students write their own "I Am From" poems. Using a template, all students will be able to create wonderful poems illustrating their own unique backgrounds.
Learn more: Regents of the University of Minnesota
2. Found Poems
Using the words of others, students create their own "found poems." By taking a snippet here and a line there, they can arrange them in their own creative ways to create new, interesting poems. Reading a book as a class? Have them use the book to create a found poem!
Learn more: Read, Write, Think
After reading "My Name" by Sandra Cisneros , have students create their own name poems. This assignment asks students to connect themselves to something bigger--their families, their cultural, and their historical background. All students will feel like poets after this assignment.
Learn more: Ojanpa
4. Chain Stories
This assignment has each student start with a blank piece of paper. After giving them a writing prompt , every student begins writing a story. After your chosen time limit is up, they stop writing and pass their story to the next person in their group who then has to continue telling the story. When each story returns to its original author, the activity is complete.
Learn more: Creativities ESL
5. Visual Character Sketch
Being able to add depth to a character can be difficult for many students. By allowing a student to create a visual sketch, you are allowing them a different approach to writing a character description.
Learn more: Adobe Education Exchange
6. What If...
"What if" writing prompts are a great way to get students' creative juices flowing. By posing a question, students are given a starting point, and it is up to them what twists and turns their stories will take. Will they write a sad, action-packed, or scary story? The possibilities are endless.
Learn more: The Wolfe's Writing Den
7. Descriptive Writing Prompts
Descriptive writing activities are another way for middle school students to practice their creative writing skills. They can give their descriptions their own unique twists by using their different writing styles to describe common objects. And hey, they might have a different appreciation for the things in their everyday worlds after this assignment!
Learn more: Academic Writing Success
8. Scary Stories
Go through the entire writing process and teach your students how to write scary stories! Before you begin writing, though, read them some (age-appropriate) scary stories to give them the chills and an idea of what is expected in a scary story.
Learn more: Keep 'em Thinking
9. Daily Journal Writing
There is no better way to improve students' writing abilities than to do daily writing. Each day, give students a different prompt and allow them to write for fifteen minutes. After, allow them the opportunity to share their story with their peers or the class.
Learn more: Daily Teaching Tools
10. So Much Depends Upon...
" The Red Wheel Barrow "--such a simple yet eloquent poem. Following this lesson plan, your students will be able to write their own simple yet eloquent poems and feel like accomplished writers.
Learn more: NYLearns
11. An Ode to...
Reluctant writers are often intimidated by complicated writing ideas. By using a template like the one pictured above, your students will all be able to feel like poets as they create their own odes about a person, place, or thing.
Learn more: Crafting Connections
12. Story Starters
Story starters are a great way to help students begin their stories. If you have a digital classroom, the Scholastic story starter page is great because it can formulate much different writing prompts, helping engage all students.
Learn more: Scholastic
13. My Time Machine Trip
What is everyday life like in 1902? How about in 2122? Have students write stories about their experiences traveling through time using the attached worksheet. For those that need a little extra help, allow them to research time periods so they have an idea of what life was like then.
Learn more: K12 Reader
14. Writing and Math
This is a great assignment for a math class! Using the provided instructions, students are to write a story that explains to their boss the math they used while delivering packages. Since this assignment asks them to cover specific math concepts, make sure you cover them in class first (or hand this assignment to a math teacher and let them have at it!).
Learn more: Dr. Hamblin
15. How to Bake Cookies for Santa
Seasonal writing activities are a great way to get kids excited around the holidays! One way to get descriptive paragraphs out of your students is through these instructions on how to bake cookies for Santa. The great thing about this assignment is all levels of writers can participate. Those that are more advanced can provide more details and struggling writers can still feel accomplished by explaining the cookie-making process!
Learn more: Teachers Pay Teachers
16. Diary Entry of a Literary Character
Another favorite among creative writing ideas is having students write diary entries in the voice of a character from literature. This can be a character from a book you read as a class or from a book they read on their own. Either way, it will showcase their creative writing skills and their knowledge of the character!
Learn more: Banana Magic
17. Write a Rant
Writing a rant is a good assignment to use when you are trying to teach about the different voices we use when writing. When writing a rant, you are going to use an angrier, more aggressive voice than if you were writing a children's story. This is a great warm-up to get students ready to write persuasive essays.
Learn more: Teachers and Writers Magazine
18. Write a Newspaper Story
After reading through some newspapers to get ideas on how newspaper articles are formatted, have each of your students write their own article. When they are all done, you can compile a classroom newspaper!
Learn more: Nie Online
19. Coat of Arms
Studying Shakespeare? Maybe European countries where it was common to have a Coat of Arms? If so, this assignment is perfect for your class. Have students create a coat of arms and then write a few paragraphs explaining their choices.
20. A Letter to Yourself
Have students write letters to their future selves. Give them specific questions to answer like "where do you see yourself in five years? Are you happy with your life? Is there anything you would change?" And then in five years, mail the letters to their parents!
Learn more: Ms. Carota
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Fun Writing Activities for Middle School
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Does your middle schooler heave a sigh when it’s time for writing?
Add some appeal to the subject of writing with these fun writing activities for middle school.
Writing Activities for Middle School
The six types of writing are descriptive, expository, persuasive, technical, and poetic. (I know, I know, your middle schooler is nodding off already.)
The truth is these writing types can be enjoyable if you have some fun topic ideas.
Read on for some writing activities that are fun and (ssh! Don’t tell!) educational.
This article contains affiliate things that you might like.
Descriptive Writing Activities for MIddle School
As the name implies, descriptive writing describes something. You want to create mental pictures for your reader, so they can see in their mind’s eye exactly what you are describing.
This writing style can be a delight to compose if you like the topic, so pick one that resonates with your student.
Describe the car of the future
Use your imagination to describe all the amazing features it will have. What will it look like?
Imagine an alien is your pen pal
How would you describe yourself so your alien friend knows what you look like?
Describe the ideal pet
Some people love hamsters and others love hounds. Some adore cats while others keep chameleons.
What is your ideal pet? Describe it in detail. What does it feel like? Look like? Eat? How does it act?
Expository Writing Activities for Middle School
Expository writing gives information, but it does so in a different way from descriptive writing.
It is all about the facts and lacks flowery language.
Like a newspaper article, it investigates an idea, subject, or event.
Newspaper article written by dogs
Imagine there is a secret underground dog newspaper that dogs write and distribute that tells the news of the day from their perspective.
Write an article for that paper as a doggie journalist.
Consider possible titles like “Scuffle at the Dog Park,” “Duck Befriends Dog,” or “Frisbee Competition Wows All.”
Compare and contrast the best and worst pizzas
Everyone has an opinion on pizza. Compare your favorite pizza with your least favorite.
Consider all the elements: size, crust, temperature, and toppings.
Write a how-to
Topics could be how to be happy, how to play Minecraft, how to be a good friend, how to make perfect pancakes, or anything else you know how to do (or would like to think through how to be).
Persuasive Writing Activities for Middle School
Ah, middle schoolers, how they love to argue. Channel that natural proclivity to argue into persuasive writing.
Whether children should have chores
Let them choose pro or con (can you imagine a child choosing pro?).
Whether parents should limit their kids’ screen time
Consider having them outline both pro and con and choose one to write about.
It’s always good to think through both sides before you write about one.
Whether companies should market their products to kids
Aren’t you curious as to which side your student will pick?
Technical Writing Activities for Middle School
Some students say they are not good writers because they dislike creative writing, but your logical, detail-oriented students will shine doing technical writing.
Although this writing style is, well, technical, you can introduce it in middle school.
Write a manual on how to use a certain phone app or device
My son has to show me how to manage the settings on my Roku, so he could write me a manual for that…
Create a sales pitch brochure
Imagine a product you invented, and write a brochure convincing someone to buy it.
Be informative and persuasive. You can include pictures!
Poetic Writing Activities for Middle School
Children were raised on poetry (think of Dr. Seuss), so although writing poetry may seem like a daunting task to some, they have already been steeped in it.
Reawaken the poetic with these poetry activities.
Think of a word or phrase like “SUMMER” and write it vertically down the page.
Then compose a line that starts with each letter. For example, “Sunny, unstructured, magazines at the beach, etc…”
Haikus are three-line poems that have 5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the second, and 5 in the third.
They are traditionally about nature.
These tiny poems can be fantastic first poems for the poetry intimidated.
Texting poem (or poem for two voices)
Write a poem that can read like a text conversation between two people
Middle School Writing Activities
Not every writing assignment has to be a five paragraph essay. Writing should be fun and personal as well as educational and informative. Keep it fun and fresh with these fun writing activities for middle school.
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- Writing Prompts
150 Writing Prompts For Middle School (+Free Printable)
Make writing fun and easy, with these 150 writing prompts for middle school students.
The more you write, the better you become at writing. But the problem is not all middle schoolers enjoy writing. There’s always something better to do, playing video games , watching YouTube videos , hanging with friends , lazing about the house – Why bother writing, right? The trick is to understand that even the smallest piece of writing can make a huge difference in a student’s attitude towards writing.
If you unload too many lengthy assignments, such as writing 1,000 words on topic X or 3,000 about something, something – Writing can seem like a long, boring chore for some students. But if you break it down, and mix it up a bit, then your students have a real chance of actually liking writing for fun. Think of creating small writing tasks that take no longer than around 10 or 15 minutes to complete. As students complete these small tasks with ease, their confidence will grow, eventually turning them into avid young writers.
To help inspire and motivate young writers, we have created this list of 150 quick and easy writing prompts for Middle School students. Keep reading for a free printable writing pack for middle schoolers as well! Here is a quick generator that will generate a random middle school prompt for you:
For more fun writing ideas, check out this list of over 300 writing prompt for kids .
150 Writing Prompts For Middle School Students
This list of prompts is great for whenever your middle-schooler is bored and needs some quick ideas to write about:
- Make a list of at least three different opening lines for this story idea: A space knight living in outer space wants to fight a real fire-breathing dragon.
- Complete this sentence in at least three different ways: When I’m bored, I like to…
- Draw a picture of your dream house, and describe some of the coolest features it has.
- Make a top ten list of the scariest animals in the animal kingdom. You could even write down one scary fact about each animal.
- Write an acrostic poem using the letters that spell z-o-m-b-i-e.
- Describe the scariest monster that you can think of. You could even draw a picture of it.
- Complete the following sentence in at least three different ways: My goal for the next month is to…
- Make a top ten list of your favourite foods of all time. You could even write down one reason for why each food is your favourite.
- Create your own A-Z book or list of monsters. For A is for Abominable Snowman, B is for Bogeyman and so on.
- Research and write down five facts about an endangered species of your choice. Examples of endangered species include the blue whale, giant pandas, snow leopards and tigers.
- Create a postcard for your local town or city. What picture would you draw on the front? And what message could you include on the back?
- Write an acrostic poem using the letters that spell out your own first name. This poem could be about yourself.
- Make a top ten list of your favourite movies of all time.
- Make a top ten list of your favourite songs of all time.
- Complete the following sentence in at least three different ways. When I grow up I want to…
- Which is your favourite season, Winter , Spring , Summer or Autumn? Write a haiku poem about your favourite season.
- Create a party invite for a dinner party at your house. Think about the party theme, entertainment, food and dress code.
- Write down a recipe that uses eggs as one of the ingredients.
- Write a how-to guide on how to take care of a kitten or puppy.
- What do you enjoy doing on the weekends? Start by making a list of activities that you do on the weekend. Then you can pick one to write about in more detail.
- Using a photograph (or one of these picture writing prompts ), write a short caption or description to go alongside it.
- Imagine you are the owner of a new restaurant. Create a menu of the dishes you will serve at this restaurant.
- What has been the best part of your day so far? And what has been the worst part of the day?
- Imagine that you have a time machine. What year would you travel to and why?
- If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?
- If you could keep one dinosaur as a pet, which dinosaur would you pick and why?
- Write down everything you remember from a recent nightmare that you had.
- What is your favourite country in the whole wide world? List at least five fun facts about this country.
- Make a list of at least 3 different story ideas about aliens.
- Create a character description of the world’s most evil supervillains.
- What is your greatest achievement to date? What are you most proud of and why?
- Write an action-packed scene that contains the following: A car chase, a lucky pair of socks and a talking parrot.
- What advice would you give to someone who is being bullied? You could make a list of at least three pieces of advice that you might give.
- Imagine you are stuck on a desert island. Write a diary entry of your first day on the island.
- Imagine you are a pirate sailing the seven seas. Talk about the scariest thing you faced while out at sea.
- You just discovered a new planet . Can you describe this new planet in detail? What would you call it? Does any life exist on the planet? What type of climate does it have?
- Would you rather have a magical unicorn as a pet or a fire-breathing dragon?
- Complete the following sentence in at least three different ways: One day I was walking through the forest and discovered…
- Write a letter to your friend about a favourite memory you have of them. You can use the following starter as inspiration: Remember that time…
- Make a list of book title ideas for a story about a girl who can go invisible whenever she wants.
- A talking cat is fast asleep, then suddenly someone wakes it up. Write down a short script between the cat, and the person arguing.
- What is the nicest thing that anyone has done for you recently?
- Make a list of 10 online safety tips to help you stay safe online.
- Can you think of at least 5 ways to prevent climate change in your daily life?
- Make a list of your top ten favourite books of all time.
- Think about a movie that you’ve seen recently. What did you enjoy most about this movie, and what did you dislike about it?
- You are just about to take a bite of an apple. And then suddenly the apple starts screaming. What do you do next?
- Describe a magical forest in great detail. What makes this forest so magical?
- Write a super scary scene, using the following starter: As I walked into the haunted house…
- What is your greatest fear? Is it possible to ever overcome this fear? If so, how would you do it?
- Make a list of at least five things you like about yourself. And then make a list of five things that you would change about yourself.
- What would the perfect day look like for you? How would it start? What activities would you do? And how does it end?
- You are standing in the playground when you hear two of your classmates making fun of your best friend. What do you do next?
- A young boy yells at his pet eagle to fly away into the wild. The eagle does not respond. Write down this scene between the two characters in great detail.
- Describe a pencil in the greatest detail possible.
- Create your own superhero character. What are their strengths and superpowers? What about their weaknesses? Also, think of a cool superhero name for them!
- What is your dream job? What skills and traits do you need to do this job well?
- Imagine that you have had the worst day ever. Write down what happened to make it so bad.
- What is your favourite colour? Now write a short rhyming poem about this colour.
- If you had three wishes, what would you wish for and why? Wishing for extra wishes is not allowed.
- Write an action-packed scene of a lion chasing a zebra in the wild from the perspective of the lion.
- Imagine you own a video gaming company. Your task is to come up with a new video game idea. Explain this new video game idea in detail.
- What would you do if you were given $1 million dollars?
- What is your favourite hobby or interest? Can you provide at least five tips for beginners who might be interested in starting this hobby?
- Make a top ten list of your favourite celebrities or YouTube stars.
- Write the opening paragraph of a fairytale about a zombie prince who has returned from the dead.
- Write an alternative ending to a fairytale that you are familiar with. For example, you could write a sad ending for Cinderella or a cliff-hanger style ending for Jack and the Beanstalk.
- Write down a conversation in a script format between two people waiting for the bus at a bus stop.
- Would you rather get abducted by aliens, or discover a magical portal to another realm in your bedroom? Explain your answer.
- Write a shape poem about your favourite food in the shape of this food.
- If you had to prepare for a zombie invasion, which three items would you pack in your bag, and why?
- Describe the most beautiful garden in the world in detail. What type of flowers would it have? Would it have any garden furniture?
- You receive a strange parcel in the middle of the night. You open the parcel to discover… Write down at least one paragraph of what you discover in the parcel.
- Use the word, ‘Stampede’ in at least three different sentences.
- Complete the following metaphor in at least three different ways: Your smile is like…
- Describe the city of the future. What would the buildings look like? How will people travel? What kind of homes will people live in?
- What is Marie Curie (the physicist) famous for? Research and write down five facts about her research and studies.
- You have just been made leader of the Kingdom of Kinloralm. As the leader, what rules would you set for the kingdom? Make a list of at least 10 rules that you will enforce.
- A witch has cast a spell on you. Every night at midnight, you turn into a werewolf. Describe this transformation in great detail. What does it feel like when you are transforming? How does your skin change? What about your teeth and fingernails?
- Using the following starter , write at least one paragraph: When I look outside the window…
- After a deep sleep, you wake up to find yourself locked inside a cage. No one else is around. What do you do next?
- You keep on having the same nightmare every night. In your nightmare, you are running as fast as you can, and then you suddenly fall. When you turn around you see… Write at least one paragraph about what you see.
- Write down at least 10 interview questions that you can ask your favourite celebrity. If you have time, you can even write down the potential answers to these questions from the perspective of the celebrity.
- Write a how-to guide on how to grow tomatoes at home.
- Make a list of at least five tips for keeping your bedroom clean.
- Would you rather drive the fastest car on Earth for one hour or own a custom-made bicycle? Explain your choice.
- Write a limerick poem about an old snail.
- Find something in your room that begins with the letter, ‘R’, and write a paragraph describing this object in detail.
- Research the history of how the first mobile phone was invented. Create a timeline of mobile phone inventions from the very first mobile to the current time.
- If you were the headteacher of your school, what changes would you make and why? Try to list and describe at least three changes.
- What are the benefits and drawbacks of having access to the internet? Try to think of at least five benefits and five drawbacks.
- Write about the best day of your life so far. Then write about the worst day of your life so far.
- Imagine that you are an agony aunt for a newspaper. A reader has written to you with the following problem: Dear Agony Aunt, I have no friends at school. And my classmates are always making fun of me… What advice would you give this reader?
- Imagine that you are a salesperson. Your task is to sell a new chocolate bar to customers. Write down a sales pitch that was selling this chocolate bar. What features would you highlight? What are the benefits of this chocolate bar?
- Can you complete the following sentence in three different ways: When I feel upset, I …
- What is the most difficult part about being in middle school? What is the best part of middle school?
- Imagine that your best friend has just revealed a huge secret. How would you react? Write down a script of the conversation between you and your best friend.
- Have you learned any new skills recently? How did you learn these?
- Imagine you are sitting at a dinner party with a group of strangers. Describe the atmosphere in great detail. Who are you sitting next to? What sort of conversations are the other guests having? What food is being served?
- Five years from now, where will you be? Will you be the same person? How would you have changed?
- Write about your plans for the weekend.
- Describe a day in the life of being a goldfish in a fishbowl at a pet shop.
- While at the seaside, a message in a bottle washes up onto the shore. You open the bottle and read the message. The message reads: Help Me! I’m stranded on an island! What do you do next?
- A mother and her son are baking some muffins in the kitchen. Write down a conversation that they might have while they bake together.
- Make a list of indoor activities you can do when it’s raining outside. Try to think of at least ten activities.
- Write down a diary entry from the perspective of an alien secretly living undercover on Earth.
- Write at least three different opening lines for the following story idea: A king needs to keep his kingdom safe from the ravenous trolls that come out at night.
- Imagine you are a secret agent cat, write about your most recent mission.
- Complete the following sentence in at least three different ways: If I could change the world, I would…
- If you could program a robot, what tasks would you program it to do, and why?
- Imagine you are the owner of a toy shop. Your task is to hire some toy makers. Write a job description for a toymaker. Think about the skills and traits required to become a toymaker.
- You are the owner of a zoo. Suddenly you hear people screaming as the lions are accidentally released. What do you do next?
- Your future self comes from the future to warn you about something. Write a conversation that you would have with your future self.
- If you had a choice to become a superhero or a supervillain, which one would you be and why?
- Can you think of at least three things that no one knows about you? Why have you kept these things a secret?
- During a science experiment, you mix up the wrong chemicals. The liquid turns blue and jumps out of the glass container. It then slides into your backpack. What do you do next?
- Write down at least five things that you are grateful for in your life right now.
- You notice some strange footprints in your backyard leading to your shed. You follow these footprints and discover…
- When was the last time someone upset you or hurt your feelings? How did they hurt your feelings? Do you remember what was said?
- You walk inside a magic shop. You see all sorts of weird and fun things. Describe the inside of the shop in as much detail as possible.
- Write at least three different opening lines for the following story idea: A young werewolf wants to be a human again.
- Make a list of three different story ideas about dragons.
- Write from the perspective of a kite flying high in the sky. Think about what you feel, see and hear.
- Write about your favourite subject at school. Why do you like this subject?
- Write a haiku poem about the full moon.
- Imagine you are the manager of a TV channel. Make a list of at least three new TV show ideas you can air on Saturday evening.
- You find a baby alien in your basement. What do you do next?
- Think of at least three newspaper headlines for the following article idea: The new mayor of your town/city is planning on creating more homes.
- Imagine that your pet dog has gone missing. Create a missing poster to find your dog. Remember to describe any important details relating to the dog in your power.
- Write an advertisement for the brand new mixer 3000. It mixes all the best music tracks with sounds to create the ultimate track.
- Write down three sentences. One of something interesting that happened to you today. Another of something positive that happened. And finally another sentence of something negative.
- Write down four different character descriptions. Each character must have a different background story or history when growing up.
- Imagine you had a terrible experience at a restaurant. Write a complaint letter to the restaurant manager, outlining the problems you had.
- Imagine your family is planning to go on a cruise. As you drive to the boat, a person walks up to your car window, holds up a flyer, and demands that they do what they were told. What is your family’s reply?
- As you’re making your way home, you pass by a group of people. It turns out the person who was walking next to them is a ghost. What do you do next?
- Your best friend has had a terrible year. You need to plan the best birthday party ever for them. Make a list of items that you will need for the party.
- Using the 5 W’s and 1 H technique, outline the following newspaper article idea: A new breed of wolves was discovered nearby. The 5 W’s include: What, Where, When, Who and why. The one H is How.
- Write a positive self-talk poem, using the following starter: I am…
- Take a recent picture that you have drawn at home or during art class. Using this picture, can you think of at least three ideas for stories from it?
- How can you prevent bullying in your school? Make a list of at least five different ways to prevent bullying.
- Write a list of at least 10 interview questions that you can ask your favourite teacher at school. If you want, you can actually ask these questions and write down the responses your teacher gives.
- Describe a day in the life of being a mouse that lives in your school.
- What qualities to look for in a friend? Make a list of at least 3 qualities. Also, think about what qualities you try to avoid.
- Complete the following sentence in at least three different ways: When I wake up in the morning, I feel…
- Do you ever wish you could do more to help people? Make a list of at least five ways you can help a friend who is going through a tough time.
- When was the last time you felt angry? How did you deal with this anger? Do you think it is okay to be angry all the time?
- Write down at least three predictions for the future. These predictions can be personal or about the world. You can use the following starter: In 10 years time…
- Do you enjoy writing? If yes, then what kind of things do you enjoy writing about. Explain your answer.
- Think about the last book you read. Which scene in the book stood out to you the most? Why did it stand out for you?
- Complete the following sentence in at least three different ways: The biggest question on my mind right now is…
What did you think of this list of quick and easy writing prompts for Middle School students? Did you find this list useful or difficult to use? Let us know in the comments below!
Printable Writing Pack for Middle Schoolers
Thank you for reading this post! You can download the free PDF writing prompts for Middle School students pack here .
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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Journal Buddies Jill | February 14, 2023 February 13, 2023 | Prompts by Grade
31 Fun Writing Prompts for Middle School
Fun Writing Prompts for Middle Schoolers— Middle school writing skills are essential to building a solid educational foundation in children. To help reinforce the habit of regular writing, it is essential to show kids that writing in school can be fun. Journaling is one way to do so.
Journal writing is a fabulous way to reinforce your child’s middle school writing practice because it is creative, versatile, and easy to implement into lesson plans.
Writing Topic and Journal Prompts to Make Writing Fun
There is much evidence to support the fact that journal writing will help children to develop their skills of explanation, improve their writing, and solve problems in interesting ways.
Plus…
As your kids write this school year, they’ll learn things about themselves they never knew before, and they just might even become fascinated by the way the words and ideas come together on paper.
So get to it and…
Use the following writing ideas prompt list with your middle school students as a fun way to get your class interested in writing and to help them develop their language skills.
31 Fun Writing Prompts for Middle School Students
These middle school writing prompts are wonderful for in-class use or for a homework assignment. However, you use them… we hope you and your writers enjoy them to the max!
Create your own holiday. What would you celebrate? How could you get others to join in the fun?
Would you rather hang out by yourself after school or with friends?
If you could end any one problem in the world, what would it be? Why?
What does it feel like to be wrong?
Write about three values that are important to your family.
Could you ever be a vegetarian? Why or why not?
If someone wrote a book about you, what would it be about?
What does it mean to be a feminist?
Write a poem about your favorite activity or hobby.
Write about the best vacation you ever took.
Write about a time when someone helped you. How did you feel afterward?
Do you prefer to read books that are parts of series or standalone books? Why?
Would you rather jump out of a plane or go scuba diving? Why?
Write a poem about love—what does it mean?
What is your favorite TV show? What do you like about it?
What is your favorite way to be creative?
Are you the last person to speak up in a group or the first to have an idea? Why do you think that is?
Why do we give respect to senior citizens and people who are our elders?
Write a poem about your classroom.
Would you rather paint or sculpt? Why?
How would you like to help in our community?
If you could throw a party for all your friends, what would it be like? Where would you hold it? What would you do? Who would come?
What is your favorite thing to do at recess on a nice day?
Write about the most important thing in your life.
Write a poem about spring flowers.
If you could live inside any video game, which would you choose? Why?
What is your favorite thing about yourself?
Write about a goal you accomplished recently. How did you feel when you finished it?
Write about a rule at school or at home that you don’t like. How would you replace it?
Write about something your parents always tell you.
I hope you enjoyed this list of writing topics and used it to inspire creativity and fun in your students. If, however, you need even more ideas, we’ve got you covered! The writing composition adventures that await them are so exciting. I hope they find loads of inspiration that blows your socks off!
A Quick and Easy Go-To List of Questions…
Sometimes a writer just needs a quick, simple prompt to prime their creative juices.
In this case, we suggest using topics that easily get a writer… well… writing. 🙂 To do so, use these quick and easy questions:
The Favorites List
Have students write about their:
- Favorite foods
- Favorite place
- Favorite book
- Favorite toy
- Favorite season
- Favorite movie
- Favorite animal
- Favorite pet
14 More Quick Writing Prompt Ideas
- Write about your childhood memories and explain why they mean so much to you.
- Create a recipe and include step-by-step instructions on how to make it.
- What do you dream of doing during your next summer vacation?
- I like writing short stories because…
- I do not like writing short stories because…
- Social media is…
- Fiction writing is…
- What I want to do for the rest of my life is…
- Cell phones are…
- I do/do not keep secrets because…
- My favorite chore is… My least favorite is…
- If I had a time machine, I would…
- If I could create a brand new holiday, it would be…
- The greatest treasure in my life is…
Journal Writing Prompts
- Write a short story with a dramatized version of your first day of school.
- Think of something bad that happened to you recently—and then try to find and write about a silver lining from the situation.
- Write about one thing you learned last week.
- List a color, a number, and your favorite food. Then, write a short story that uses each of these items in the plot.
- Write about something you need to accomplish today. Will it be easy to do or is it something you’ve been putting off? How will you get it done? Be specific.
- Write about something you’re looking forward to in the near future—a special treat waiting at home, a day off, a visit with a friend, etc. Describe why you are excited about it and imagine what the experience will be like.
(See the full list of Journal Ideas for Beginners )
Internet Essay Topics
- What is the hardest part of using the Internet as a child/teen in today’s world? Why?
- Have you or someone you know ever gotten in trouble for something done on the Internet? Explain what happened and how it could have been avoided.
- Do you believe things on the Internet are really there forever? Why or why not?
- Should lawmakers regulate Internet behavior and practices? Why or why not?
- Should individuals and organizations be held to different standards of behavior when they use the Internet? Why or why not? And if so, what types of differences might be appropriate?
- Unfortunately, the Internet can lead to the formation and spread of radicalization and hate groups. What are some ways people can work against this?
- How do you feel knowing that colleges and future employers may view your social media accounts and Google you? Does this knowledge impact what you choose to post? Why or why not?
See the full list—> 35 Internet Essay Topics
Links & Resources
Now, check out these Middle School Writing resources.
- Middle School free prompts and printable writing resources
- Middle school writing curriculum
- Writing Prompts for Middle School
- 59 Creative Writing Prompts for Tweens
Ok, have your writers grab their pens, pencils, and notebooks and get to writing now. You’ll be glad they did.
Until next time, write on…
If you enjoyed these Fun Writing Prompts for Middle School, please share them on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Pinterest. I appreciate it!
Sincerely, Jill journalbuddies.com creator and curator
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16 Meaningful Writing Activities that Engage Students
Looking for writing assignments middle and high school students actually enjoy? Yes! You’re in the right place for exploring relevant, integrated, and visually engaging writing activities.
When most teachers announce a new writing activity, students typically reply with moans, groans, or a sudden onset of stomach flu that requires a pass to the nurse's office right now . Which is your favorite response when you announce your middle or high school students will have the privilege to do some writing in your class? No teacher wants to bore or overwhelm students. Of course, we want to engage them, but writing is….well…an essential skill.
“Maybe essays are an antiquated practice,” someone recently commented in an online community. As I continued to read, I felt my brows furrow, my heart squeeze.
Effective communication in formal settings is extremely important. Students need to be prepared to identify their opinions, support them with solid evidence, identify counterclaims, synthesize ideas, and do it all in both formal and informal contexts.
While it would certainly be the easy thing to do, we can’t just throw essays out like bell bottom pants. Sometimes, students need to develop some grit. Essays? They help them to develop confidence, to think deeply, to take charge of their learning.
Literary analysis responses and argumentative essays are pillars of the secondary ELA curriculum.
Yet, part of the trick to helping students learn to enjoy writing is to build their confidence and stamina with smaller writing assignments that allow for more flexibility. After all, writing should also be a creative buzz that tugs at students’ emotions and provides them with an authentic audience.
Teachers should never feel like they have to sacrifice helping to cultivate a love for writing because of the demanding nature of more formal, academic writing. We really can live in the best of both worlds.
So, what types of writing activities do most middle and high school students actually enjoy? I’ll share my top 5 categories ( and 16 specific activities! ) of writing lessons that make students smile.
1. REAL-WORLD WRITING
Make writing relevant by connecting it to the real world.
WHY DID YOU GIVE ME A ZERO? I TURNED IN MY PAPER TODAY. PUT IN A GRADE PLEASE. MY PARENTS ARE GROUNDING ME. ALSO, WHAT IS THE EXTRA CREDIT?
Totally over rude, unaddressed student emails? I used to be offended, and then it dawned on me: They just don’t know. Students generally aren’t aware of their tone, let alone how to fix it.
So, I made a fun email etiquette unit to help give students a taste of real-world writing. Here’s what Sarah had to say about this lesson:
“Engaging, but more importantly: this resulted in much better emails from my students.”
2. RELEVANT WRITING
Picture this. Energetic lyrics fill the air as students listen, think critically, and analyze them. Or, students snap a photo of a page from an independent reading book, grinning as they annotate it with gifs, text, emojis, and more.
Spotify and Snapchat are extremely popular apps for students. So, let them channel those passions by creating booksnaps to make connections with a text or or playlists to capture the overarching theme of their year .
Moncada validates the power of tapping into social media for engagement with her review:
“Just what I was looking for to get my students fully engaged. In this era of instagram and snapchat, this tool is going to be a great addition to my lessons! Thanks!”
3. GRAMMAR THAT TRANSFERS TO WRITING
Students: When are we ever going to use this?!
You: Now, we are going to use this now. Because…grammar transfers to writing. That’s why we study it!
Grammar is most meaningful when students can both see and apply grammar lessons in their daily writing. A few of my favorite grammar lessons to teach (because they are interactive and provide multiple, scaffolded learning angles) are commas , prepositional phrases , and sentence types .
And, if you want students to go back and apply grammar to writing they’ve already completed, this free grammar in writing game is perfect for revision sessions!
There’s just something rewarding about working your patootie off, knowing you have learned a challenging skill, and then observing the growth as you apply the skill to something that matters.
4. POETRY Visuals
Reading poetry with students allows us to address several standards. For example, we can analyze complex texts, determine theme, evaluate mood and tone, and assess figurative language.
Unfortunately, the fact that we can address standards doesn’t impress students. So, what can we do to help them enjoy writing poetry or writing in response to it?
One way we can lure them in is by incorporating music and color. Think about tone and mood as being symbolic. What if we put them through a musical equalizer? I use a graphic organizer to help them visualize the mood and tone at different points throughout the text. Because of the color and the visual nature of the organizer, students can see how mood and tone change. Next? They write in response. What causes these fluctuations? How do the literary elements work together and influence one another?
Students DO enjoy poetry-related writing assignments. Try texting couplets (great for practicing rhythm and rhyme!), picture-inspired poetry (visuals are the best), and nonfiction-inspired poetry (because bringing a little creativity to informational texts changes everything).
5. VOCABULARY IN WRITING
The source said the health effects are good. [Sigh]
Tired of reading trite sentences? Helping students to bring life to their word choice in writing is inspiring for all. When I teach word choice lessons using class vocabulary, students experience one of the main reasons we study language. Plus, developing an appreciation for words results in a more curious life that connects to reading and writing.
One of my favorite word choice mini lessons involves bell ringers, word walls, and replacing cliches and colloquialisms with more formal, academic vocabulary.
Plus, you can have students use their vocabulary words in a variety of short creative and informative writing assignments that are not overwhelming for students or teachers but that allow for integration of vocabulary study with writing.
I can 100% relate to what this teacher shared after using these vocabulary in writing activities:
“I love how these activities get the students writing, and isn't that the whole purpose of teaching vocabulary…to ultimately get the students to use the words in their writing? Great activities and my students are enjoying using them.”
Out with the moans, groans, frustration, and suddenly urgent trips to the moon or anywhere outside of the classroom. Meaningful and engaging writing assignments include a dash of real-world, relevant writing opportunities, a pinch of skill transfer, and a sprinkling of creative freedom.
Let’s elevate students’ writing experiences while meeting standards. But, don’t forget to balance tough, academic-style writing with some more flexible options that will engage students and keep them thinking outside the box.
RELATED ARTICLES:
20 ways to engage middle and high school students, 3 high-interest writing assignments, 9 writing activities to use with any shakespeare play , spotlight resource:.
Teach students how to integrate all four sentence structures purposefully in writing with these engaging grammar and writing lessons . Perfect for scaffolding!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Melissa is the author of Reading and Writing Haven and a collaborative blogger on Teachwriting.org .
A middle and high school English teacher for over a decade now turned instructional coach, Melissa is an avid reader and writer, and she loves sharing ideas and collaborating with fellow educators. Melissa use her degrees in English, Curriculum & Instruction, and Reading as well as her Reading Specialist certification to ponder today’s educational issues while developing resources to help teachers, students, and parents make learning more relevant, meaningful, and engaging.
Visit Melissa on Instagram , Facebook , or Twitter for English teacher camaraderie and practical, engaging teaching ideas.
7 fun writing activities for the reluctant writer
7 FUN WRITING ACTIVITIES FOR THE RELUCTANT WRITER
No doubt about it – writing isn’t easy. It is no wonder that many of our students could be described as ‘reluctant writers’ at best. It has been estimated by the National Association of Educational Progress that only about 27% of 8th and 12th Grade students can write proficiently.
As educators, we know that regular practice would go a long way to helping our students correct this underachievement, and sometimes, writing prompts just aren’t enough to light the fire.
But how do we get students, who have long since been turned off writing, to put pen to paper and log in the requisite time to develop their writing chops?
The answer is to make writing fun! In this article, we will look at some creative writing activities where we can inject a little enjoyment into the writing game.
1. Poetry Scavenger Hunt
The Purpose: This activity encourages students to see the poetry in the everyday language around them while helpfully reinforcing their understanding of some of the conventions of the genre.
The Process: Encourage students to ‘scavenge’ their school, home, and outside the community for snippets of language they can compile into a piece of poetry or a poetic collage. They may copy down or photograph words, phrases, and sentences from signs, magazines, leaflets or even snippets of conversations they overhear while out and about.
Examples of language they collect may range from the Keep Out sign on private property to the destination on the front of a local bus.
Once students have gathered their language together, they can work to build a poem out of the scraps, usually choosing a central theme to give the piece cohesion. They can even include corresponding artwork to enhance the visual appeal of their work, too, if they wish.
The Prize: If poetry serves one purpose, it is to encourage us to look at the world anew with the fresh eyes of a young child. This activity challenges our students to read new meanings into familiar things and to put their own spin on the language they encounter in the world around them, all while reinforcing the student’s grasp on poetic conventions.
2. Story Chains
The Purpose: Writing is often thought of as a solitary pursuit, and for this reason alone, it can be seen as a particularly unattractive activity by many of our more gregarious students. This fun activity exercises students’ understanding of writing structures and engages them in some fun, creative collaboration.
The Process: Each student starts with a blank piece of paper and pen. The teacher writes a story prompt on the whiteboard. You’ll find some excellent narrative writing prompts here . For example, each student spends two minutes using the writing prompt to kick start their writing.
When they have completed this part of the task, they will then pass their piece of paper to the student next to them. Students then continue the story from where the previous student left off for a given number of words, paragraphs, or length of time.
If organized correctly, you can ensure students receive their own initial story back at the end for the writing of the story’s conclusion .
The Prize: This fun writing activity can be used effectively to reinforce student understanding of narrative writing structures, but it can also be fun to try with other writing genres too.
Working collaboratively can really motivate students to engage with the task as no one wants to be the ‘weak link’ in the finished piece. But, more than that, this activity encourages students to see writing as a communicative and creative task where there needn’t be a ‘right’ answer. This encourages students to be more willing to take on creative risks in their work.
COMPLETE DIGITAL AND PRINT FUN WRITING UNIT
25 FUN and ENGAGING writing tasks your students can complete INDEPENDENTLY with NO PREP REQUIRED that they will absolutely love.
Fully EDITABLE and works as with all DIGITAL PLATFORMS such as Google Classroom, or you can PRINT them for traditional writing tasks.
3. Acrostic Associations
The Purpose: This is another great way to get students to try writing poetry – a genre that many students find the most daunting.
The Process: Acrostics are simple poems whereby each letter of a word or phrase begins a new line in the poem. Younger students can start off with something very simple, like their own name or their favorite pet and write this vertically down the page.
Older students can take a word or phrase related to a topic they have been working on or that they have a particular interest in and write this down on the page before beginning to write.
The Prize: This activity has much in common with the old psychiatrist’s word association technique. Students should be encouraged to riff on ideas and themes generated by the focus word or phrase. They needn’t worry about rhyme and meter and such here, but the preset letter for each line will give them some structure to their meanderings and require them to impose some discipline on their wordsmithery, albeit in a fun and loose manner.
4. The What If Challenge
The Purpose: This challenge helps encourage students to see the link between posing interesting hypothetical questions and creating an entertaining piece of writing.
The Process: To begin this exercise, have the students come up with a single What If question, which they can then write down on a piece of paper. The more off-the-wall, the better!
For example, ‘What if everyone in the world knew what you were thinking?’ or ‘What if your pet dog could talk?’ Students fold up their questions and drop them into a hat. Each student picks one out of the hat before writing on that question for a suitable set amount of time.
The Prize: Students are most likely to face the terror of the dreaded Writer’s Block when they are faced with open-ended creative writing tasks.
This activity encourages the students to see the usefulness of posing hypothetical What If questions, even random off-the-wall ones, for kick-starting their writing motors.
Though students begin by answering the questions set for them by others, encourage them to see how they can set these questions for themselves the next time they suffer from a stalled writing engine.
5. The Most Disgusting Sandwich in the World
The Purpose: Up until now, we have looked at activities encouraging our students to have fun with genres such as fiction and poetry. These genres being imaginative in nature, more easily lend themselves to being enjoyable than some of the nonfiction genres.
But what about descriptive writing activities? In this activity, we endeavor to bring that same level of enjoyment to instruction writing while also cleverly reinforcing the criteria of this genre.
The Process: Undoubtedly, when teaching instruction writing, you will at some point cover the specific criteria of the genre with your students.
These will include things like the use of a title, numbered or bulleted points, time connectives, imperatives, diagrams with captions etc. You will then want the students to produce their own piece of instruction writing or procedural text to display their understanding of how the genre works.
But, why not try a fun topic such as How to Make the Most Disgusting Sandwich in the World rather than more obvious (and drier!) topics such as How to Tie Your Shoelaces or How to Make a Paper Airplane when choosing a topic for your students to practice their instruction writing chops?
The Prize: As mentioned, with nonfiction genres, in particular, we tend to suggest more banal topics for our students to work on while internalizing the genre’s criteria. Enjoyment and acquiring practical writing skills need not be mutually exclusive.
Our students can just as quickly, if not more easily, absorb and internalize the necessary writing conventions while engaged in writing about whimsical and even nonsensical topics.
if your sandwich is entering the realm of horror, be sure to check our complete guide to writing a scary story here as well.
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6. Diary Entry of a Future Self
The Purpose: This activity allows students to practice personal writing within the conventions of diary/journal writing. It also challenges them to consider what their world will be like in the future, perhaps stepping a foot into the realm of science fiction.
The Process: Straightforwardly, after working through some examples of diary or journal writing, and reviewing the various criteria of the genre, challenge the students to write an entry at a given milestone in the future.
This may be when they leave school, begin work, go to university, get married, have kids, retire etc. You may even wish to get the students to write an entry for a series of future milestones as part of a more extended project.
The Prize: Students will get a chance here to exercise their understanding of this type of writing , but, more than that, they will also get an opportunity to exercise their imaginative muscles too. They will get to consider what shape their future world will take in this engaging thought experiment that will afford opportunities for them to improve their writing too.
7. Comic Strip Script
The Purpose: Give your students the chance to improve their dialogue writing skills and to work on their understanding of character development in this fun activity which combines writing with the use of a series of visual elements.
The Process: There are two ways to do this activity. The first requires you to source, or create, a comic strip minus the dialogue the characters are speaking. This may be as straightforward as using whiteout to erase the words in speech bubbles and making copies for your students to complete.
Alternatively, provide the students with photographs/pictures and strips of cards for them to form their own action sequences . When students have their ‘mute’ strips, they can begin to write the dialogue/script to link the panels together.
The Prize: When it comes to writing, comic strips are probably one of the easier sells to reluctant students! This activity also allows students to write for speech. This will stand to them later when they come to produce sections of dialogue in their narrative writing or when producing play or film scripts.
They will also develop their visual literacy skills as they scan the pictures for clues of tone and context before they begin their writing.
Keep It Fun
Just as we should encourage our students to read for fun and wider educational benefits, we should also work to instil similar attitudes towards writing. To do this means we must work to avoid always framing writing in the context of a chore, that bitter pill that must be swallowed for the good of our health.
There is no getting away from the fact that writing can, at times, be laborious. It is time-consuming and, for most of us, difficult at the best of times. There is a certain, inescapable amount of work involved in becoming a competent writer.
That said, as we have seen in the activities above, with a bit of creative thought, we can inject fun into even the most practical of writing activities . All that is required is a dash of imagination and a sprinkling of effort.
MORE FUN WRITING ACTIVITIES FOR YOU
7 Fun Writing Sub Plans for Substitute Teachers
25 Fun Christmas Writing Tasks for Students
5 Fun Seasonal Writing Activities Students and Teachers Love
10 Fun Classroom Writing Games to Improve Literacy Skills
The Writing Process
7 Evergreen Writing Activities for Elementary Students
9 Fun First Day at School Writing Activities
Short Story Writing for Students and Teachers
The content for this page has been written by Shane Mac Donnchaidh. A former principal of an international school and English university lecturer with 15 years of teaching and administration experience. Shane’s latest Book, The Complete Guide to Nonfiction Writing , can be found here. Editing and support for this article have been provided by the literacyideas team.
AN ENTIRE YEAR of engaging writing tasks awaits you.
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Descriptive writing activities are another way for middle school students to practice their creative writing skills. They can give their descriptions their own unique twists by using their different writing styles to describe common objects.
Writing Activities for Middle School The six types of writing are descriptive, expository, persuasive, technical, and poetic. (I know, I know, your middle schooler is nodding off already.) The truth is these writing types can be enjoyable if you have some fun topic ideas. Read on for some writing activities that are fun and (ssh!
2. RELEVANT WRITING. Picture this. Energetic lyrics fill the air as students listen, think critically, and analyze them. Or, students snap a photo of a page from an independent reading book, grinning as they annotate it with gifs, text, emojis, and more.
This fun activity exercises students’ understanding of writing structures and engages them in some fun, creative collaboration. The Process: Each student starts with a blank piece of paper and pen. The teacher writes a story prompt on the whiteboard. You’ll find some excellent narrative writing prompts here.