fun writing activities for 8th graders

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100 Interesting 8th Grade Writing Prompts

• DESCRIPTION Middle schoolers in class writing
• SOURCE FatCamera / iStock / Getty Images Plus

To capture the attention of older students and inspire them to write longer and more in-depth pieces, 8th grade writing prompts need to be interesting and fun. These exciting prompts will help them get started writing everything from informational essays to journals, and even reluctant writers will enjoy the process.

8th Grade Journal Writing Prompts

In 8th grade, daily or weekly journal writing can help kids stay in practice as writers. It's also a great way to provide flexibility in topic and style, which can encourage young writers to think creatively. These prompts will get them writing:

• Imagine you could go back in time and give some advice to someone. What would you say? How would it change things?
• Pick an older relative, like a grandparent. What is the most important lesson you've learned from that person? Did he or she use any unconventional methods to teach you?
• What do you regret in your life so far? Why do you regret it?
• Have you ever had a friend or family member who was struggling with a physical or mental problem? What did you think about that struggle?
• Do people need a purpose in life? How do you think that purpose changes over time?
• What do you think of the concept of vulnerability? When have you felt vulnerable? Do you think there is strength in being vulnerable?
• What do you like about your physical appearance?
• Think about what you value in life and how it relates to where you want to be in five years. Write a personal vision statement for your life and explain why this matters to you.
• If you could visit any place in the world, where would you go? Why did you choose that spot?
• How do you feel about writing? Compare your feelings about writing to something else in your life.

Informational Writing Prompts for 8th Graders

Informational writing is a major focus in 8th grade. It's important to include topics that require some research, as well as topics that kids can complete in one sitting. Either way, the subject needs to be interesting:

• Ask your teacher for some facts about his or her life. Then, write a one-page biography based on what you learn.
• What is something you know how to do really well, such as playing a musical instrument, making something creative, or helping with a household task? Write directions for someone else to do this activity.
• Interview an older relative about life when they were a child. How were things different? How did they spend a typical day? Write about three pages to describe that person's life.
• Write a news article describing something that happened at your school this month.
• Think about some place you've been. It can be anything from a national park to a pizza shop in town. Describe the place to someone who hasn't been there before.
• There are many different family structures. How is your family structured?
• Pick a topic you already know a lot about, such as a favorite sports team, a movie star, a type of music, or something else that fascinates you. Write three pages explaining the topic to someone else.
• How has technology changed during your lifetime?
• Is there a tradition that is unique to your family? Describe that tradition and why your family engages in it.
• Describe a typical day in one of your parents' lives.

8th Grade Narrative Writing Prompts

A Common Core Standard for 8th grade , narrative writing is a major focus for this age group. These fun prompts will help students work on developing story settings , offering context, perfecting dialogue, and more:

• People make small choices every day that define whether it will be a good day or a bad one. Think of a time you made a choice. Describe the choice and how it affected the rest of your day.
• Imagine a meal where no one used table manners. What would it be like?
• Have you ever had a really weird dream? What happened in it?
• Write a bedtime story for a child you know.
• A watershed event is something that happens and totally changes someone's life. Things are one way before the event, and everything is different after it happens. Describe a watershed event in your life.
• Pick a moment in history. Write a short story about someone living through that moment.
• Imagine a deathbed conversation between two people who haven't always had an easy relationship. One of the people betrayed the other years ago.
• What is one of the funniest things that has happened to you or someone in your family?
• Is there a real or fictional story one of your grandparents has told you? Write it down.
• Imagine a child is visiting a botanical garden with her family. She wanders off and gets lost in a hedge maze. What happens?

Opinion Writing Ideas for 8th Graders

Opinion writing is another part of the language arts Common Core for this age group. Prompts should inspire students to make claims, support those claims, and logically organize their work:

• Do you think it's harder to be a boy or a girl your age? Why?
• Do you think the internet brings people together or drives them apart? What makes you think this?
• Can people really fall in love at first sight? Why or why not?
• The decisions parents make can have a huge impact on the lives of their children. Is this the most important thing parents should consider when making a decision? Why or why not?
• What does it mean to be emotionally strong? How is this different than physical strength?
• Do you think bullying is always obvious? What are some solutions to less obvious types of bullying?
• What does the world need to do differently to solve the crisis of climate change? What should students do to help?
• If you could give a piece of advice to a 5th grader, what would you say? Why is it important?
• People share things online that are false. How can people tell the difference between something that is true and something that is false when they see it?
• Think of a type of self-expression, whether it's fashion, tattoos, hair color, language, or something else. Is this type of self-expression important? Why or why not?

8th Grade Counter-Argument Writing Prompts

Part of opinion writing also involves identifying or making a counter-argument. This helps students become logical thinkers and facilitates more compelling work. The following prompts will help them formulate a counter-argument:

• Some people think students should not have access to smartphones in school because they are a distraction. Write an argument in favor of allowing phone use in school.
• There are people who believe nothing is more important than fame or popularity. Why do you disagree?
• Freedom of expression means being free to share your beliefs in public. Some people think there should be no limits to freedom of expression. Explain why freedom of expression should be limited in some situations.
• Cat people think cats make the best pets. Explain why dogs might be better.
• Paranormal investigators sometimes use photographs as "proof" ghosts exist. Explain why a photo of a ghost might not be proof.
• In some schools, kids have to wear uniforms every day to minimize bullying and keep the focus on learning. Explain why you disagree with this policy.
• Sometimes, people believe that good friends need to agree on important core values like religion and politics. Tell why this might not be so important.
• An old saying goes, "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." Explain why this might not be true.
• Some people think honesty is more important than kindness. Write about why kindness is more important sometimes.
• People sometimes say that crying is a sign of weakness. Explain why you disagree.

Expository Writing Prompts for 8th Graders

General expository writing prompts help 8th graders learn to organize information, create clear and compelling descriptions, and share details in a logical way. These prompts, each designed for about one page of writing, will help them practice these important skills:

• What unique qualities does your generation have? How are people your age different than your parents or grandparents?
• What is your earliest memory?
• Think of a job you'd like to do someday. Describe a typical day in that job.
• Describe the typical school lunch and the experience of eating in the lunchroom.
• Imagine your dream home. Write a description of each room.
• There's a Christmas song about going "over the river and through the woods" to get to Grandmother's house. How do you get to your grandparents' house or the home of another relative?
• Describe your last birthday, from the moment you woke up until you went to bed that night.
• What is the weirdest place you've ever been? Describe it.
• Summarize the plot of your favorite book or movie to someone who has never read or seen it. Include a spoiler alert.
• What are three ways your family could spend a weekend and have fun together?

Precise Language Writing Prompts for 8th Graders

One element of the Common Core Standards for this age group involves the use of precise language. 8th graders have larger vocabularies and more options than younger students when it comes to word choice, but they may not have much experience choosing the perfect words . These prompts can help:

• How is being wise different from being smart?
• How are race and nationality different?
• How is something "made from natural ingredients" different from something grown in your garden?
• Is a "young person" exactly the same as an 8th grader? Why or why not?
• How is a sound different than music?
• Is a president always the same as a leader?
• Are all educators teachers? Are all teachers educators? Why or why not?
• Why would you describe something as "antique" instead of calling it "old"?
• What is the difference between baked goods, cake, and brownies?
• When is it better to say an exact number instead of "a lot"?

8th Grade Research Writing Prompts

Writing a research paper is a major goal for this age group, but research requires a kind of sustained attention students may not have practiced a lot. These prompts will inspire them to look for answers, form conclusions, and write short or long essays to describe their findings:

• Pick an invention that has changed the world. Research the person who invented it and the story of its invention. Write a paper explaining what you discover.
• Think of a colloquial phrase or idiom in your language, something people say all the time that has a different meaning. Examples might be "dead as a door nail," "raining cats and dogs," or "jump the shark." Look up the origin of this saying and explain where it came from.
• Pick a time period. Research that time to find out what a typical day was like for a person your age.
• Some people have special gifts and challenges. Do you know someone who thinks in a different way? Find out as much as you can about this way of thinking and describe it in your paper.
• Look up the sinking of the Titanic. How could it have been avoided?
• Which planets do we know that might be similar to Earth? Could humans live on them?
• Pick an author you love. Write about that author's life.
• Interview a relative about your family history. How many generations back can you go? What do you know about your ancestors?
• Are you allergic to anything? Do you know someone with allergies? Find out what doctors know about allergies.
• Think of a skill no one uses very often these days, such as navigating with a compass or repairing a sock. Find out how it was done and write instructions.

Sensory Language Writing Prompts for 8th Graders

The Common Core Standards for 8th grade also call for using sensory language in writing. Whether students are writing poetry , creating personal narratives, or just exploring a theme, these prompts will help:

• Think of your favorite food. Is it sweet? Salty? Write a page describing that food to your classmates without ever naming the food.
• Close your eyes for five minutes. Then, open them and describe what you heard.
• Some writers believe smell, touch, and taste are the most powerful senses to describe because they are less likely to be shared by more than one character. Pick one of these three senses and write about an experience you had this week using details from that sense.
• Write about a character who is angry without ever saying that person is angry or mad. How does the character act that shows his or her anger?
• Describe something that really stinks.
• Think of your favorite memory. How did you experience that time using all of your senses?
• Describe a fruit by never mentioning how it tastes.
• Imagine you have lost one of your senses. Describe your day without it.
• How does it feel to laugh? How does it feel to cry?
• When have you been speechless? Use words to describe the feeling, trying to include as many senses as you can.

Write-to-an-Audience Prompts for 8th Graders

Eighth graders are just beginning to write for an audience, rather than simply writing to fulfill a teacher's expectations. These prompts will help them identify a reader or audience and adapt their writing to fit the needs of that group:

• Describe your bedroom at home to someone who lives in a foreign country.
• Imagine your life 10 years from now. Write a letter to your older self.
• Imagine someone who has just been tripped in the hallway by a bully. Tell that person what he or she should do the next time the bully tries to do that.
• Write a letter to a friend who has just lost a pet.
• Pick one thing you'd like to change in your school. Write a letter to your principal about it.
• Imagine a new student has just joined your class. Offer lots of tips to help get through the first day.
• Write one paragraph about your morning, thinking of your best friend as the person who will read it. Then, write another paragraph about your morning that your principal will read.
• What are three things you know to be true about life? Write some advice for a younger sibling, cousin, or friend.
• Write a paragraph introducing your teacher to a new student. Now, write a paragraph introducing your teacher to the president or prime minister.
• Explain how to use a cell phone to someone who has never seen one before.

Writing Prompt Worksheets for 8th Grade

These writing prompt worksheets will help kids get started with their writing. These exercises are fun and interesting - even for reluctant writers. Download and print them for your own students.

Help Them Practice What They Learn

In addition to giving kids the skills they need to express themselves well, writing is a great way to teach other language arts concepts like spelling , vocabulary, grammar , and more. The more kids practice what they learn in 8th grade, the better prepared they are to move on to high school writing.

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8 Ideas and Activities for Making Writing Fun in Upper Elementary

Making Writing Fun Activities Written by Guest Blogger Jessica Thompson, 4th Grade Teacher

Writing. The minute the word is mentioned there is an audible, in-sync sigh from the students. Of course, there are a few super excited students who cannot get their ideas down quick enough. For every handful of excited writers, there is a large portion of the class that “has nothing to write about.”

The struggle is real, y’all. For both teachers and students.

The big question for teachers is not only how to make writing fun and engaging, but how do we get students excited about writing?

Fun Writing Activities To Try

Here are 8 Activities to try with third, fourth, and fifth grade students. These activities are to get our young writers excited about writing which will make formal writing tasks less daunting.

1. Think-Write-Pass:

This is always a favorite that gets lots of laughs. 

Put students in groups of four.  Give each student a piece of paper and have them write their name on the top. 

Have students write for 2-3 minutes.  You can give them a topic, or simply have them write about whatever they want.   

When the time is up, students pass their paper to another student in their group.   Each student in the group will have to read, continue the writing, and pass the paper again 2-3 minutes later.

When each student gets their own paper back they get a few minutes to complete the story. If time allows: let the groups choose their favorite one to share. 

2.  Sticky Note Stories:

Students want to share stories with us. There are so many stories - from their weekend, the ball game, recess, at their Aunt Barb’s birthday party 5 years ago - they have so much that they want to tell us!

It’s usually the same students ones who are constantly trying to tell us stories that, come writing time, same they have nothing to write about.   Sticky Note Stories are an easy solution.

A sticky post it note is not nearly as intimidating as a piece of notebook paper.

When a student has a story to share, tell them how much you want to hear it - but they have to write it down on the sticky note.

A holiday weekend? A school event?  A birthday party?  A football game?  Write it on a sticky note.

These Christmas Literacy Activities make this crazy time of year easier on you while still keeping your students engaged and learning! It includes:

• no prep literacy activities
• no prep reading comprehension practice using Christmas songs
• a no prep snowman descriptive writing activity
• a fun, no prep Christmas reading center
• writing activities
• ...and more

Save over 30% right now!

3.  Found Poetry

Make copies of text from a book you are reading and have them find words or groups of words throughout the text to create a poem.

They can circle these words and draw pictures or designs around everything else to make the poem pop.  See some examples of found poetry here.   

Or, check out these other ways to help students enjoy writing poetry. 

4.  Go Outside!

A change of scenery makes everything more fun.  Take the notebooks and pencils to the outdoors for 10-15 minutes. Have students sit and use their 5 senses to write observations.

You can stop there, or take this activity a little further and have students write some poetry!

Give them free rein, or add some guidelines for structure.

This free cinquain writing template is perfect for an activity like this!

Or, have students write a short haiku!  This no prep resource gives students a chance to read and write haiku, as well as answer comprehension questions!

You might also like some of these other outdoor lesson ideas.

5.  This or That

Sometimes all students need is a little bit of choice and control.  Give them that control with This or That.  

This is easy - simply provide them with 2 writing prompts and let them choose!

It can be time consuming to create choice boards with 9 options, but with This or That you only need to create two.  You can use these example discussion questions as writing prompts if you need help coming up with options!   

6.  Silly Pictures

This is an easy way to make writing fun!

There are millions of funny pictures without captions on the internet. The key is to find appropriate ones and save them for later use.

Put the picture up on a projector, mirror it to a screen, or print it out. Have students write about what is happening in that picture.

This is great to practice skills such as predicting, inferring, cause and effect, and problem and solution.

Or, inspire even more creativity by having students create their own silly drawings to write about using these Squiggle Drawing Story Starters! 

7.  Persuasive Letters

Two birds, one writing piece.  The key to making this writing activity fun is choosing a topic that is sure to of interest of students.  

What student wouldn't love to try to convince their teacher that recess should be longer?  Or that they should be able to skip homework one night?  Or that they should have a pizza party?

The list of ideas is endless.  They could write to their parents on why they should have a later bedtime or get a dog. They could write to the principal on why donuts should be served with breakfast. They could write to an author on why they should write another book in their favorite series.  You could also let students choose the topic. 

3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students have fun arguing their point and they will learn quickly the importance of supporting their claim. 

8.  Quick Writes

Quick Writes are a timed writing. The idea is not to scare the students, but for them to get their ideas on paper as quickly as possibly and to be writing or thinking the entire time.

Give students a prompt, and then tell them to write down whatever comes to mind over the next 5 - 10 minutes.  Make sure students aren't worried about spelling or a grade - the goal is to just spend some time writing.

If you are looking for a more polished piece, you can have students do this daily for 3-5 days.  Then, have them choose their favorite quick write to revise, edit, and turn in.

9.  BONUS - Secret Descriptive Writing Activity

Make writing a descriptive paper fun!  Have your students secretly draw a picture and use describe with vivid descriptive language.  Then, students read their descriptions aloud while their classmates try and figure out which drawing is theirs!

This works best if students are all drawing something similar.  This is an easy activity to create on your own, but you could also try out one of these secret descriptive writing activities for a no prep way to walk your students through the entire writing process:

• Alien Descriptive Writing Activity
• Snowman Descriptive Writing Activity
• Monster Descriptive Writing Activity

An Extra Tip for Making Writing Fun

A personalized writing notebook can be an easy way to motivate students to write. This is something that is theirs and they have more ownership over.

Composition books can easily be decorated with pictures, stickers, photographs, etc. and covered with contact paper.  Letting them take the time to decorate a notebook with things that are important to them can give them more ownership over their writing - as well as help stir up ideas for writing!

Bonus: Writing will not get lost easily! Make one yourself as a teacher and use it! Let the students see you write. Read your writing to them and make time for students to share too. 

Sometimes it's not about making writing fun - it's about your mindset as the teacher.  Check out these 7 tips for rethinking your writing instruction. 

Or, you might find these other writing tips and ideas helpful.   

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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

65 Engaging 8th Grade Writing Prompts for Creative Essays

Creative writing is a discovery process, and 8th grade is a great time to encourage your students to find their voices. It’s the final grade before high school, and it’s a time when students are really discovering themselves and their place in the world as they leave middle school.

That’s why…

It’s so important to give your 8th-grade students writing prompts that will help them explore their thoughts and opinions. These 8th-grade writing prompts for creative essays are designed to do just that.

Journal Writing Prompts

Journaling is a great way to get your students’ creative juices flowing. It’s also a great way to get them thinking about their own thoughts and experiences. Here are some journal prompts to get your eighth graders started:

1. If you had the chance to travel anywhere in the world, where would you choose? What attracted you to that location?

2. Do people require a compelling reason to live? How would you characterize the purpose’s evolution over time?

3. Imagine you could go back in time and give someone advice. What would you say?

4. When it comes to writing, how do you feel? Consider something else in your life when comparing your feelings about writing to it.

5. Create a typical day in the life of an eighth-grader with a short story.

6. Write about your favorite movie or book. Why do you love it so much?

7. What do you like about your appearance?

8. Consider what you value in life and how it relates to where you want to be in five years. Make a personal vision statement for your life.

9. What are your thoughts on the notion of vulnerability? Have you ever been anxious when you’ve felt weak or exposed?

10. What are your biggest regrets so far in life? Why do you feel the way you do about it now?

11. Choose someone older, such as a grandparent. What is the most significant lesson you’ve learned from that individual?

Creative Writing Prompts

Creative writing is all about expressing yourself in your own unique way. That’s why it’s such a great activity for eighth-grade students. By allowing young writers to flex their creative muscles, they’ll be able to explore their thoughts in a way they might not have before.

Here are some creative writing prompts to get your 8th graders started:

12. If you had one opportunity to make a difference in the world, what would it be and why?

13. What would you change if you were in charge of your school and why?

14. If you had the power to transform your city’s appearance or structure, what would you do and why?

15. Who would you invite for dinner if you could choose any famous person?

16. Write a short story about what your life would be like if you lived in the cold deserts of Mongolia.

17. Your instructor has requested that you present a lesson with the fifth-graders. What will you speak about and why?

18. Name one thing you’d want to accomplish in the future. Describe why it is so essential for you and how you intend to achieve it.

19. “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Have you ever heard that? What’s your take on it? To support your standpoint, utilize precise details and scenarios.

20. The town officials want you to create a community for the future. Share your vision using specific information and examples.

21. What would your brain be like if it were a physical location?

22. Write a scenario in which a usual family activity goes horribly wrong.

Expository Writing Prompts

Although similar to creative writing, expository writing is a different animal altogether. Here are some exciting prompts to get your middle-schoolers started:

23. What’s the most unusual location you’ve ever visited? Describe it in detail.

24. Tell us about your last birthday, from the moment you awoke until you went to bed that night.

25. Imagine your dream home. Make a list of each room and its features.

26. How do you get to your grandparents’ house or another family member home?

27. Write about your typical school lunch and your experience eating in the lunchroom.

28. Consider a career you’d like to have one day. Describe a typical working day in that position.

29. What unique characteristics do you possess as a member of this generation? How are people your parents’ or grandparents’ age different from yours?

30. What are three fun ways your family might spend a family vacation together?

31. Why do you think someone you know should be regarded as a leader?

32. Who’s your favorite teacher, and why?

33. If you had to be an animal, which one would you choose and why?

Precise Language Writing Prompts

When it comes to writing skills, precision is key. Your students need to communicate their thoughts and feelings clearly and concisely. That means they need to have a vast vocabulary and use it effectively. Here are writing prompts to help your students hone their skills:

34. Write a news article about a recent natural disaster.

35. Think about a time when you were extremely proud of yourself. Write a first-person account of your proudest moment.

36. What is your earliest memory of feeling fear? Write a brief story about that experience.

37. Are all teachers educators? Are all educators teachers? What is the difference between a teacher and an educator?

38. When should you say a specific number instead of “a lot” to avoid being mistaken?

39. What exactly makes something “made from natural components” distinct from anything grown in your backyard?

40. What is the difference between race and nationality?

41. What is the difference between music and sound?

42. What is the primary difference between being wise and being intelligent?

43. How can you tell the difference between an opinion and a fact?

44. Is it correct to refer to an 8th grader as a “young person”? Why or why not?

Counter-Argument Writing Prompts

To become better writers, students of this age group need to be able to anticipate and refute counter-arguments to their own claims. Here are some counter-argument writing prompts to get your reluctant writers thinking:

45. An old saying goes, “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” Explain why this might not be true.

46. Some individuals believe that crying is a sign of weakness. Disabuse them of this misconception.

47. Some schools enforce a dress code to discourage bullying and encourage learning. Explain why you disagree with forcing students to wear uniforms.

48. Paranormal investigators sometimes utilize photographs as “evidence” that ghosts exist. Explain why a photo of a ghost might not be considered evidence.

49. Cats are widely regarded as the greatest pets. Why might dogs be a better choice?

50. Some people think that nothing is more essential than fame or popularity. Why do you feel differently?

51. Some people believe that smartphones shouldn’t be allowed in school because they’re a distraction. In favor of allowing phone usage in class, create an argument.

52. Some people believe that there should be no restrictions placed on freedom of speech. Defend your position by explaining why freedom of speech should be limited on occasion.

53. People sometimes believe that important core principles, such as religion and politics, must be shared by good friends. Explain why this isn’t necessary.

54. Some people believe that honesty is more important than compassion. Explain why kindness is more essential at times in your essay.

55. Many individuals think it’s better to be single than in a relationship. Why might being in a relationship be preferable?

Informational Writing Prompts

Informational writing is a key skill for students to master. After all, in the real world, we need to communicate clearly, whether we’re writing an email to our boss or a letter to our elected officials. Here are informational writing prompts to keep your students busy:

56. Ask your teacher to share some insights about their life. Then, create a one-page biography based on what you learned.

57. What do you know how to do well? Write detailed instructions for someone else to perform this task.

58. Consider a destination that you’ve been to. Describe the site to someone who has never been there before.

59. There are several different family structures. What kind of family do you have?

60. Choose a subject you’re well-versed in, like a favorite sports team, movie star, musical genre, or anything that fascinates you. Explain the topic to someone else in three pages.

61. What impact has new technology had on your life?

62. Is there a familial custom that is unique to your family? Describe the custom and why your family participates in it.

63. Tell us about a typical day in one of your parents’ lives.

64. What would you do if you won the lottery?

65. How do people in your community show their support for local businesses?

Jump In : Writing essays encourage G8 students to get more creative in writing and critical in thinking. Provide them with more enthusiasm by giving them 11 Fun 8th Grade Reading Comprehension Activities & Games to stimulate their minds!

Fun Fact : There are aids available to assist your students to create correct sentences (free and paid). I researched a particular tool that I believe will improve your learners’ writing skills. Learn more about it here — Complex Sentence Generator: 7 Tools To Build Good Statements .

Get Your Middle School Students Hooked on Writing With These Engaging Prompts!

8th grade is an important time for students to focus on their writing skills. As they prepare to transition to high school and beyond, they must develop a strong foundation now.

By offering them a variety of engaging writing prompts, you can help your students build confidence and proficiency in their writing. So get those pencils and pens ready, and let’s get started!

Last Updated on July 25, 2022 by Emily

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Emily is an active mother of two and a dedicated elementary school teacher. She believes the latest technology has made a huge impact on the quality of early learning and has worked hard to upgrade her classroom and her own children’s learning experience through technology.

Follow her on Twitter , Pinterest , and Instagram for more teaching fun!

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10 Fun Classroom Writing Games to Improve Literacy Skills

The best writing games to engage students

A colleague of mine recently shared these ten great writing game ideas to improve literacy skills in the classroom.  They are simple to play and can be applied to nearly all year levels. 

These are some of the best writing games that require minimal or no setup time and are an excellent option for substitute teachers looking to quickly break the ice with students or English teachers just seeking fresh ideas to brighten up their lessons. Enjoy.

Remember that if you are looking for more excellent free resources and structured guides to teaching all aspects of English, especially writing, be sure to visit  literacyideas.com .

Sentence Stretching

Start with a short sentence or group of words.  Pass it around to about 6 people, with the rule that each person must add (a word or a group of words) or change ONE word ( to another word or a group of words) to make the sentence more specific and more enjoyable.

Rebus writing

Students write sentences or longer texts and substitute drawings for nouns.

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.

It’s in the bag

Place an object in a bag- ensure the students don’t see it. Students feel the object in the bag and use words to describe how it feels. They take it out and add /alter their adjectives.

Touch and tell

An object is passed around a group of students. Each student suggests an adjective to describe it.

Alternative

Students provide an adjectival phrase or clause to describe the object

Students randomly select from a box a picture of an animal, person or object that moves. They brainstorm action verbs for the chosen object.

The students can supply verbs and adverbs

They can supply adjectives or adjectival groups

Read a text ( this case narrative ), and at a particular point, stop and ask students to select a character and suggest, for example:

• What the character is doing, thinking, and feeling ( focus on processes)

Change the meaning- change one word

Students locate and change one word that will alter the sentence’s meaning.

They share their alterations and discuss which part of speech was the most important in changing the meaning .

Locate and classify

Read a text and ask students to write nouns on cards ( red), adjectives (blue), and articles in orange. Rearrange words to create different noun groups. Students can also locate verbs ( green card) and adverbs (yellow). Rearrange all the words to create new sentences.

Students can locate adjectival phrases, clauses, or adverbial phrases and write these on other coloured cards.

Grammar toss- Sentence making

Players must throw a 1 before they can begin. The winner is the first person to make a sentence that includes all of the following:

• A group of words that tell what or who ( singular)
• A group of words that tell when
• A verb in the past tense
• An adverb telling how
• A group of words telling where

They can then rearrange the sentence parts to see how many ways they can make another meaningful sentence. 

Other parts of speech can be used for each number thrown.

Toss and write

Before the activity, a cube is prepared. Upon each face of the cube, a task is written that requires specific grammar knowledge. For example:

Make a sentence

Make a question

Provide two adjectives

Provide two verbs

Create a noun group (e.g. article, adjective/s noun)

Provide a noun and an adverb

Students select a subject ( noun) from a tin. They throw the cube, and whichever side of the cube faces up is the task they must attempt.

OTHER GREAT ARTICLES RELATED TO WRITING GAMES

10 fun writing activities for the reluctant writer

How to Write a Scary Story

7 Fun Writing Sub Plans for Substitute 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.

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22 Writing Activities To Help Kids Hone Their Writing Skills

Written by Maria Kampen

Prodigy English is here! Get your students playing — and learning — today.

Fun writing activities

Creative writing activities, academic writing activities, at-home writing activities, daily writing activities, simple writing prompts for kids.

• How writing activities can bring reluctant writers out of their shells

Try some other educational activities

When kids start writing, they’re unlocking a whole new world of imagination to explore. It’s a great way for them to be creative, express themselves and practice key reading and writing skills. 

But as most kids — and adults — will tell you, writing is hard! It can be intimidating to put pen to paper for the first time, and sometimes the challenge of a blank page seems like too much to overcome. 

Writing shouldn’t be scary for kids. These 22 fun writing activities can help them:

• Use their imagination
• Think up new stories and ideas
• Share their writing with friends and family

Use them in your classroom or at home to get kids excited about writing!

Writing is supposed to be fun! Use these activities to help kids stretch their imagination and record their thoughts on paper in a fun, low-stress environment.

1. Try online ELA games like Prodigy English

Great for: Grades 1 to 6

Online games are a great way to engage students in the learning process — and Prodigy English is bringing the power of game-based learning to language and reading skill practice!

As students build and create, they’re always practicing key reading and language skills that help them write clearly and effectively. Every correct answer gives players more energy to gather resources, complete daily tasks and earn Wishcoins.

Plus, you can send questions about the topics you want them to practice and collect insights about their learning.

2. Poetry scavenger hunt

Great for: Middle and high school students

Words are all around us, so encourage your students to take inspiration from the real-life writing they see every day. Have students collect printed words and phrases from the world around them, including:

• Magazine ads
• Graphic novels
• Newspaper headlines
• Social media captions

Students can collect and arrange their words on a piece of paper to make a unique piece of poetry. Encourage them to find a key idea and expand on it in creative ways, then have students share their work with the class. 

3. Create your own comic strip

Great for: Grades 4 to 10

Students learn in all sorts of ways. For visual learners, creating a comic strip to accompany their story can help them express themselves in a visual medium. 

Give students a set number of panels and challenge them to come up with a quick story — just a few sentences. Then, they can illustrate their scene in the style of comic books. 

Remind students the point isn’t to be the best artist — it’s to write a story that’s short and exciting. 

4. Create your own Madlib

Great for: Elementary and middle school students

Give students vocabulary practice and help them write a silly story at the same time!

Fill a sheet with the outline of the story, then remove key words like:

For younger students, add a word bank to get them started. As students fill in words, they’ll craft a unique story filled with unexpected twists and turns.

Once students start getting in the habit of writing, these creative writing activities can pull new ideas out of their heads and encourage them to experiment with different genres. 

5. Acrostics

Great for: Grades 3 to 8

Acrostic poems are a great way to introduce your students to poetry! Start with a meaningful word or name and use it as a theme for the poem. 

Writing the word vertically, students can go down the letters and write a short word or phrase that starts with each letter. Acrostic poems help students write within a structure and theme, so it’s easier for them to get started. 

6. A letter to your future self

Great for: Middle school and high school

Where do your students see themselves in a year? Five years? Ten years?

A letter to their future selves is a great way for students to explore their own story, and brainstorm what they want to achieve. Not only can students practice their letter-writing skills, they can use their imaginations to develop a growth mindset . 

For extra nostalgia, store the letters for students and mail them out once the right amount of time has passed. 

7. Write a “Choose your own adventure” story

Great for: Grades 5 and up

Whether it’s a fairy tale, detective story or drama, chances are you’ve had a student tell you they don’t know how their story is supposed to end. 

A “Choose-your-own-adventure” story lets students brainstorm different storylines and endings. Once they’re done, encourage them to share their stories with the class so their peers can go on the adventure too.

8. Write a fake advertisement

Great for: Grades 6 and up

Good writing doesn’t just happen in books — it’s all around us!

Whether students are writing advertisements on their own or as part of a project-based learning assignment , this activity helps them build key media literacy skills and practice their snappy storytelling. 

Have students make up a new product and advertisement, or encourage them to re-imagine an ad for something they love. It’s also a great way to bring media literacy and interdisciplinary learning to your classroom. 

9. Make a story map

Great for: Grades 2 to 8

Not every student is going to be comfortable putting pen to paper right away. Story maps can help students brainstorm details like plot, characters and setting in a way that makes sense for visual learners. 

Have students use charts to set out the beginning, middle and end of their stories. Mind maps can also help them plot out details about their characters or setting. 

Encourage students to present their story map as a finished product or use it to start writing!

Writing isn’t all fairy tales and short stories — it’s also an important part of learning in middle school, high school and college. Use these academic writing activities to help students understand proper essay structure, grammar and more. 

10. Story chains

Great for: Grades 4 to 8

Stories are better when they’re enjoyed with friends and classmates. And story chains encourage every student to get involved!

Put students in small groups of three to six. Give each student a blank piece of paper and have them write the beginning of a story. Then, pass it to the next student in the group so they can write what happens next. 

For extra educational value, have students work together to summarize a story from your lesson or an important historical event. 

11. Persuasive essays

Sometimes writing is about more than just telling a story. It’s about convincing your readers of your point of view. 

Have older students practice their debate skills with persuasive essays. Start with a prompt, then let students make their case. Some of our favorite prompts for this writing assignment include:

• Is it more important to be right or to not hurt someone else’s feelings?
• What important historical figure do you think belongs on the ten-dollar bill and why?
• Do you think you’re born with your personality traits, or do you gain them as you grow up?

Most importantly, make sure students back up their opinions with solid facts and arguments that convince readers to care. 

12. Solve a real-world problem

Great for: Grade 6 and up

Climate change, litter, bullying, bad cafeteria food — no matter what students pick, there are lots of real-world problems for them to solve. 

Challenge students with a writing assignment that addresses a problem they see in their world. How would they fix it? Whether it’s a short paragraph or a longer essay, encourage them to find something they’re passionate about. After all, that’s where good writing comes from!

13. Vocabulary challenge

Great for: Elementary school students

Vocabulary challenges combine vocabulary strategies with student writing to make your next language arts lesson plan even more engaging. 

Give students a new word (or two or three). Once you’re done practicing it and they know what it means, challenge them to use it in a story as creatively as possible. 

14. Teach citations

Great for: Grades 1 to 12

Footnotes, endnotes and bibliographies are the least exciting part of writing, but they’re essential skills. As students write more complex research papers, they need to know how to give credit where credit is due. Thankfully, there are lots of online resources to help!

The Purdue Online Writing Lab offers teachers and students resources for all stages of the writing process, including citations. To practice, students can write an annotated bibliography as part of a project-based learning assignment or the first step in writing a longer research paper. 

Writing isn’t just something happening in the classroom. These at-home writing ideas can help you support your child as they experiment with prose and poetry.

15. Write letters to a pen pal

Great for: Grades 3 and up

Everyone likes getting mail! Got a friend with kids in a different part of the country, or far-away family members? A pen pal can be a great way for kids to build friendships and practice their writing skills at the same time. 

16. Bring a home object to life

“It’s as big as a mountain!”

“That’s the fluffiest thing I’ve ever felt!”

The ways kids describe things can crack us up sometimes. Full of wonder and hyperbole, it’s the perfect spark for creative writing, too.

Encourage kids to practice their figurative language skills with a description of something in your home. Let them pack as much alliteration and exaggeration into the description as they can, then do a dramatic reading out loud.  

17. Write reading reactions

If you want to boost reading comprehension and writing skills at the same time, this is the perfect activity. After your child is done reading, encourage them to write a few sentences about what they just read. 

Did they like it? What do they think happens next? Which character was their favorite and why? Learning how to express opinions in writing is a valuable skill. 

18. Document family stories

Great for: Grades 4 and up

Every family has a unique story, including yours. Make memories with your child when you share stories about important family events or your childhood. 

Kids can even interview grandparents, aunts and uncles to record their memories. When you’re done, store them in a shared space so everyone can go back and reminisce.

Writing is a muscle, and you have to flex it every day to get stronger. Use these daily writing activities to make writing part of your everyday routine. 

19. Journaling

Great for: Everyone

Sometimes, you’ve just gotta write it out. 

Whether you’re trying to make sense of life or just need a place to organize your thoughts, journaling is a great way to unwind, practice mindfulness and build social emotional skills . 

All kids need to get started is a notebook and a pen. Let them know you’re not going to read it, but they’re welcome to come to you if there’s something they want to talk about. 

20. Blog about your interests

Great for: High school and up

Everyone’s passionate about something. Whatever your students love, encourage them to share it with the world! Blogging is an accessible and fun way to express themselves, nerd out about the things that bring them joy and share their opinions with the world. 

Sites like WordPress and Wix offer free website builders to help students get started. This is a great way for kids to build computer skills and digital literacy .

21. Free writing

Write, write, write and don’t stop. That’s the premise behind free writing, a writing practice that can help unlock creativity, discover new ideas and take the pressure out of a blank page. 

Give students a five-minute timer and challenge them to write continuously, without worrying about formatting, spelling or grammar. They can write about whatever they want, but there’s only one rule: don’t stop. 

22. Answer daily writing prompts

Make time to exercise your brain with daily writing prompts! At the start of the day or as a quick brain break , set aside time for students to respond to a quick daily writing prompt. 

Students should have a dedicated journal or binder to make it a seamless part of your lessons. Whether or not you choose to read their writing is up to you, but it’s important to build good daily habits. 

A blank page can be a scary sight for a student who doesn’t know what to write about. 

Use writing prompts to:

• Kickstart a student’s imagination
• Start your lesson with a fun writing activity
• Give students a topic to debate in writing

Some of our favorite simple writing prompts include:

• Write a story about a wooden door, a can of soda and a blue shoe. 
• If you met a monster looking for new friends, what would you do?
• What’s your favorite season? What makes it the best?
• If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
• Describe your dream birthday cake. 
• Write a story about being cold without using the word “cold.”
• If you could decorate your bedroom any way you wanted, what would it look like?
• Is it better to have lots of friends or just a few really good friends?
• Write a story in 10 words or less.
• Write a story about the best surprise you’ve ever received. 

For more writing prompts you can use in and out of the classroom, check out our full list of 225 writing prompts for kids .

Writing activities can bring reluctant writers out of their shells

Writing is hard and can be intimidating for a lot of students. 

But even the quietest and most reluctant students have lots of stories to tell! You just have to encourage them to get their words out. 

Writing activities help remove some of the pressure and give students:

• A fun way to approach writing 
• A starting point for their stories
• Chances to share their writing with students

No two stories are the same, just like your students. Every story can start in a different way, and that’s the beauty of writing prompts.

Whether it’s writing activities or math problems, there are lots of ways to get reluctant learners excited about your lessons with educational activities. 

Here are some of our favorites:

• 37 Quick & Easy Brain Breaks for Kids
• 30 Virtual School Activities Students & Educators Love  
• 27 Best Educational Games for Kids to Play Sorted by Subject  
• 15 Geometry Activities to Engage Students Across Grade Levels
• 36 Fun Word Games for Kids To Help with Vocabulary & Literacy
• 15 Fun, Free & Effective Multiplication Games For Your Classroom
• 20 Exciting Math Games for Kids to Skyrocket New Math Skills On-The-Go
• 21 Classroom Games to Boost Teacher Effectiveness and Student Learning
• 25 Social Emotional Learning Activities & How They Promote Student Well-Being

Which ones can you use in your next lesson?

Prodigy English is a brand-new game-based learning platform helping students build key math skills. As students explore and build a world of their very own, they’ll answer curriculum-aligned reading and language questions that help build essential skills and encourage a love of learning. 

Sign up for your free teacher account and get access to teacher tools that help you differentiate learning and track student progress as they play.

Free Printable Writing Worksheets for 8th Grade

Discover an extensive collection of free printable Reading & Writing worksheets tailored for Grade 8 students, created by Quizizz to enhance their language skills and comprehension abilities.

Recommended Topics for you

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• Writing Organization and Structure
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• Fiction Writing
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Explore printable Writing worksheets for 8th Grade

Writing worksheets for Grade 8 are essential tools that teachers can utilize to enhance their students' reading and writing skills. These worksheets are specifically designed to cater to the unique needs and challenges faced by Grade 8 students, ensuring that they receive the appropriate level of support and guidance. By incorporating a variety of engaging activities and exercises, these worksheets help students develop their vocabulary, grammar, and comprehension skills, while also encouraging them to think critically and creatively. Furthermore, these worksheets can be easily adapted to suit different learning styles and preferences, making them an invaluable resource for teachers who are committed to providing their students with a well-rounded education. In conclusion, writing worksheets for Grade 8 are a must-have for any teacher looking to improve their students' reading and writing abilities.

Quizizz is an innovative platform that offers a wide range of resources, including worksheets, quizzes, and interactive games, which can be seamlessly integrated into any teacher's curriculum. One of its key offerings is the extensive collection of writing worksheets for Grade 8, which are designed to help students hone their reading and writing skills in an engaging and interactive manner. These worksheets cover a diverse range of topics, such as persuasive writing, narrative techniques, and grammar rules, ensuring that students receive a comprehensive and well-rounded education. Additionally, Quizizz allows teachers to track their students' progress and performance, enabling them to identify areas of improvement and tailor their teaching strategies accordingly. With its user-friendly interface and customizable features, Quizizz is an invaluable tool for teachers who are looking to enhance their students' learning experience and achieve better results in reading and writing.

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Tools to Help You Teach Middle School ELA

5 Creative Writing Activities Students Love

Need to engage your students?  Whether you are teaching a creative writing class or a traditional one, here are fun, quick writing activities you can use to any time to get your reluctant writers — writing!

They are great when:

• there are 20 minutes before the assembly starts
• one class gets ahead of another – and you need a “holding” lesson until you can get your classes aligned
• students are super-squirrelly, but still need to work
• your class is stagnant and everyone needs a boost (including you!)
• you’re looking for creative writing games
• students need a quick creative writing activity to warm them up
• you want to introduce a new writing unit

It’s great to have quick, fun creative writing exercises and lesson plans to turn to when you have extra class time to fill.

If students don’t finish, have them hold onto them for another day. There always seems to be a pocket of time you need to fill — and these quick creative writing prompts are perfect! No printed worksheets necessary!

1. Pass-back Stories

If you haven’t taught them, here is how they work:

• Every student has a blank piece of paper and pen.
• The teacher provides the story starter.  It can be something like, “Suddenly, the lights went out,” or “Our camping trip was going great until,” or “I knew it was a bad idea to…”
• The students write the story starter at the top of the page and then start writing the story.
• The teacher sets the timer (2 minutes or so); when the timer goes off, the students must pass their paper back to the person behind them.  The last person in the row, runs her paper up to the first person.  Students  must stop writing  when the teacher calls time — even if they are in the middle of a sentence!
• Continue with each student down the row adding to the story.
• After a few rounds, students will end up with their own paper again.  They then need to write a conclusion to their story.

Reasons to love this little lesson:

• It’s fast and fun
• Students love reading and adding to each other’s stories
• Students are practicing spontaneous writing – their imaginations are firing and their creative writing skills are being challenged.
• Reinforces writing skills – students know their story needs to have a beginning, middle, and end.
• Perfect to add to your back to school writing ideas.
• Provide creative writing exercises for beginners
• Review of when to start new paragraphs
• Works with middle school through high school students.
• If you’re looking for a fun end of the year activity , give this a try.

Adjustments you might want to make:

• Rearrange your classroom into even rows.
• Set some rules and restrictions.  For example, you may want to stipulate that no real people can be mentioned in the story, or that it must be rated G.
• Once students get the idea, you can have “challenge” items in each round.  For example, students have to include a groundhog, or must use the word “confetti.”  I announce this right before setting the timer.
• Play with the time limit.  The time limit makes it a fun writing game.  Try not too give them too much time; you want them to finish writing in the middle of an idea — that creates a challenge for the next writer!
• Collect all the stories at the end of the class.  Read a few of the best to the class the next day — or allow students to read their stories in small groups.  I like to collect and read to sort out any stories that might have pushed boundaries or forgotten the rules!

Once your students do this, they will beg you to write pass-back stories, but I wouldn’t recommend using them more that a few times in a school year.  That keeps them fresh and exciting!

2.  Guess-who Character Cards

If you haven’t taught it, here’s how it works:

• Provide each students with a picture of someone they are not familiar with.  It could be a picture from an ad, a “Guess Who” game card, or a photo you find online.  The important thing is that students don’t know the person.
• Have students write a quick description of the person.  Encourage them to create as clear a detailed description as possible.
• Collect descriptions, post pictures around the room, redistribute descriptions and challenge students to match the picture with the description.
• challenges students to look at details in a photo.  (If you need more descriptive writing activities, you might be interested in this post. )
• fun and fast — students love matching the description with the photo
• writing with a purpose – students know their descriptions must be accurate and specific
• encourages students to use descriptive words
• add to your beginner writing exercises to help students pay attention to details

Adjustments you may want to make:

• If you teach more than one section, swap descriptions so students need to read and match pictures and descriptions from a completely different class.
• Allow students to work with a partner
• Turn it into one of your writing games by providing points for correct matches.

3.  Guess-who Characters — with a twist!

How it works:

• Follow the directions for the Guess-who character description above  except instead of writing a description of the character, students write dialogue the character has.
• Students have the chance to see how dialogue tells us about a character.
• It provides writing with voice.
• P ractice writing dialogue .
• It’s one of those school writing prompts that really engages!
• Perfect to add to your creative writing lessons as a start of the year review of dialogue
• Allow students to work together with two different pictures.  The characters in the pictures might be having a conversation, argument, or debate.
• Extend the lesson into a full scene that involves the character.
• Challenge students to write a backstory about the character.

4. Quirky prompts

Students love learning about the oddball holidays that are so popular (you can find them in my “What to teach this month” posts ).

How to do this:

• Choose a quirky holiday. It doesn’t have to be the holiday of the day — any quirky day will work!
• Ask students to plan a celebration for the day. They can write a flyer, an ad, a commercial, or create a party plan.
• Or have students describe what happens at this celebration. They can include as much description as possible.
• students love the quirkiness of this assignment!
• creative and imaginative
• these work for extra practice for creative writing lessons for high school or middle school
• If you have more time, you can give students different holidays. They can describe the celebration without naming it. Later, students can try to match the holiday and the description.
• Allow students to include illustrations with their descriptions.
• Ask students to come up with slogans, flag, or fashion wear for the holiday. Make sure they can justify their creation.

5. Use story starters!

You can find 22 story starters in my store!

How to use them:

• Print the story starter writing prompts (you may want to use cardstock).
• Distribute them to your students & let them get started.

Reasons to love these:

• your students will want to know what story starter their classmates have, so this makes for a great opportunity for students to read their writing aloud!
• super easy to use! Print and use.
• flexible creative writing activities for elementary, middle, or high school
• you can also use these as a “fast finisher” prompt or a warm up .
• incorporate them into your creative writing class.
• perfect for the end of the school year or before a break begins
• students can trade story starters and start over.

Ready for more?

Once your students are warmed up, give them the opportunity to really stretch their writing skills by crafting a short story.

This story writing activity will take your students through the entire writing process. You can find this one and other school writing activities in my shop .

Creative writing activities can challenge and stretch your students — give one of these a try!

With gratitude,

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Home » Blog » Writing » 50+ 8th-grade writing prompts : Creative & Persuasive

50+ 8th-grade writing prompts : Creative & Persuasive

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We all know that students start to mature and see things from a different perspective in their teenage years, which begins with their eighth grade. They get creative and imaginative. They present their own opinions and argue about things. We have compiled a list of creative 8th-grade writing prompts to spark their imagination.

Giving 8th-grade children fun writing prompts is essential because it will help them improve their writing skills.

If students fail to acquire good writing skills, they cannot correctly satisfy the reader, resulting in poor grades. Thus, more effort should be put into students’ writing skills by giving them a variety of topics to write on. Here are some 8th-grade writing prompts that will surely help 8th graders

● Creative writing prompts for 8th grade

● Argumentative writing prompts 8th grade

● Descriptive writing prompts for 8th grade

● Persuasive writing prompts for 8th grade

● Journal writing prompts for 8th grade

● Opinion writing prompts for 8th grade

Creative 8th-grade writing prompts

The eighth-grade teacher must consider creative writing prompts to boost students’ imaginative power and creativity. We are here with some creative writing prompts as follows.

⮚ Write a short story about a princess who fled her palace to live in a forest.

⮚ What would be if you were given the authority to change three things about your city?

⮚ Write about going to your dream place and why you think it is the best place.

⮚ Write a short passage on what you aim to achieve in your future.

⮚ What would it be if you had a chance to change the dress code of eighth graders?

⮚ If you had an opportunity to move to the most beautiful place in the world, but the area had no internet facility, what would you choose to do and why?

⮚ Who would you choose if you could have a trip with any superhero?

⮚ If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

⮚ What would life be like if there were no mobile phones?

⮚ If you could change three things about your life, what would be them?

⮚ If you had a time machine, which era would you choose?

⮚ Write a story on “How a fairy and a witch became friends?”

⮚ How would you live if you were a lion with a clever mind?

⮚ If you were the prime minister of your country for three days, what would you do?

⮚ How would you like your dream bedroom to be?

Argumentative 8th-grade writing prompts

Argumentative writing prompts significantly improve students’ writing skills because students get in-depth knowledge about the things they argue by collecting evidence and proper reasoning about the topics. Presenting some argumentative 8th-grade writing prompts below

⮚ Are mobile phones bad for teenagers?

⮚ Should bullying someone on social media be banned?

⮚ Should the current educational system be changed or not?

⮚ Does playing video games distract the students?

⮚ Many people prefer living alone while some prefer to live in a joint family system. What do you think is better?

⮚ Why is your favorite movie better than any other movie?

⮚ Are online classes better or physical classes?

⮚ Is bookish knowledge sufficient to learn or practical work?

⮚ Are abandoned houses haunted, or is it just a myth?

⮚ Are men and women treated equally in your region?

⮚ Are electric vehicles eco-friendly, or is it just a scam?

⮚ Is technology a blessing or a bane?

⮚ Are people of the age group 65-80 more depressed than the young generation?

⮚ Which activities are the best, indoor activities or outdoor activities?

⮚ Do affiliate links pay you, or is it just a fraud?

Descriptive 8th-grade writing prompts

Descriptive writing helps students to enhance their power to describe something. Without descriptive writing skills, students can only become reluctant writers, facing issues every time they write something. Example of the descriptive writing prompts for 8th grade are as follows.

⮚ Describe the good qualities of your best friend

⮚ Describe the personality of a family member who inspires you the most

⮚ Describe how it feels when you are ill.

⮚ How did you spend your last night? Could you describe it?

⮚ Describe the qualities of good friends.

⮚ Describe the best way to get good grades in exams.

⮚ Describe the feeling when you find your favorite thing lost long ago.

⮚ Describe the view from the terrace of your home.

⮚ Describe how it feels when you are alone at your home.

⮚ Describe something you love about your favorite food.

Related : Middle School writing prompts

⮚ Describe the current climate condition of your region.

⮚ Describe the sportsmanship attitude

⮚ Describe the appearance of your pet

⮚ How do you spend your summer vacation? Describe it.

⮚ Describe your favorite season using random words from your collection of vocabulary.

Persuasive prompts for 8th grade.

Persuasive writing is an excellent skill because students learn to convince the reader. Here are some persuasive writing prompts for 8th grade.

⮚ Social media is not a bad thing

⮚ The burden of homework makes the students run away from study

⮚ Aliens do not exist

⮚ Mobile phones must not be allowed in classrooms

⮚ Pets should not be allowed in public transport

⮚ Junk food items must be banned in the canteen of schools

⮚ Dogs are better pets than cats

⮚ Village life is healthier than city life

⮚ Daily exercise improves mental health

⮚ The wooden floor can easily be cleaned as compared to the marble floor

⮚ Eating a lot of bakery items a day can cause skin acne.

⮚ Descriptive writing is more effective than narrative writing.

⮚ If you don’t work hard during adulthood, you’ll spend the rest of your life in a miserable condition.

⮚ Knowing about the central idea of a story is more important than cramming the whole story.

⮚ Students should meet the school counselors in case of any issues.

⮚ Daily Journal writing improves writing skills.

Journal prompts for 8th grade.

Journal writing prompts are the most exciting prompts that help students to share their experiences and explain the situation. Have a look at some thought-provoking journal prompts for 8th grade.

⮚ Write an article about your favorite memory of childhood.

⮚ Share your experience on the first day at school.

⮚ What was your saddest moment?

⮚ Write about a horrible incident that happened to you and your friends

⮚ Write about a typical day in the life of a student in 8th grade

⮚ Write a passage on how did you manage to make a sad person happy?

⮚ How did you rag the juniors on their first day at school?

⮚ Write about the most terrible dream you ever had.

⮚ Write about your biggest fear.

⮚ Write about the most important lessons you would like to give all middle school students.

⮚ Share your thoughts about the last movie you watched.

⮚ Write a note expressing your feelings about someone you always wanted to tell but never get the chance to express.

⮚ Write different questions which you want to ask directly from your favorite celebrity.

⮚ Write about California’s state standards.

Opinion writing prompts for 8th grade.

Opinion writing is a great way to polish the writing skills of students. Here are some opinion writing prompts for 8th-grade students.

⮚ What do you say about “love at first sight.”

⮚ Is social media harming relationships?

⮚ According to you, what is the definition of success?

⮚ How can we control the increasing rate of inflation in our country? What steps should be taken?

⮚ When a student participates in extra-curricular activities, does it distract him from his studies, or is it a good practice?

⮚ What do you think is complex, having a job or starting a new business?

⮚ What do you think about an average day of a third-grade student?

⮚ Do you believe that seventh graders be provided with cell phones or not?

⮚ Do you think that acrostic poems must be in the syllabus for older kids or not?

⮚ What do you think is more important, fame or respect?

⮚ Is green tea beneficial for health or not? 

⮚ What do you think about affiliate programs?

⮚ How do you feel being a part of a community that helps the poor?

⮚ Is diary entry a good habit, according to you?

⮚ An old saying is, “As you sow, so shall you reap.” What do you think about it?

⮚ What do you think about bringing the right balance in life? How can it be achieved?

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Parven founded Kids N Clicks after obtaining her MSc in Corporate Governance from the London School of Economics. She worked as a business studies and digital marketing lecturer. Internet Matters recognizes her profound knowledge of online safety, dubbing her an Internet safety expert. At Kids N Clicks, Parven keeps abreast of the newest apps. Drawing from her teaching background, she fervently promotes screen-free activities for students and encourages introspective thinking through journaling, games and writing prompts.

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Free tools to make your students better writers and readers .

Quill.org, a non-profit, provides free literacy activities that build reading comprehension, writing, and language skills for elementary, middle, and high school students.

New for 2022-2023 School Year: Quill's nonprofit mission is to now build both reading and writing skills through free, OER content across the curriculum. Over the coming years, we will be building a library of free ELA, social studies, and science activities that engage students in deeper thinking through writing prompts that provide immediate feedback.

8 million students have written 2 billion sentences on Quill.

Quill Reading for Evidence

Provide your students with nonfiction texts paired with AI-powered writing prompts, instead of multiple-choice questions, to enable deeper thinking.

Students read a nonfiction text and build their comprehension through writing prompts, supporting a series of claims with evidence sourced from the text. Quill challenges students to write responses that are precise, logical, and based on textual evidence, with Quill coaching the student through custom, targeted feedback on each revision so that students strengthen their reading comprehension and hone their writing skills.

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"Should Schools Have Grade Requirements for Student Athletes?"

Science Topics

"How Does Eating Meat Impact Global Warming?"

Social Studies Topics

U.S. History

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Quill Connect

Help your students advance from fragmented and run-on sentences to complex and well structured ones.

Using the evidence-based strategy of sentence combining, students combine multiple ideas into a single sentence. They then receive instant feedback designed to help them improve their clarity and precision.

Quill Lessons

The Quill Lessons tool enables teachers to lead whole-class and small-group writing instruction.

Teachers control interactive slides that contain writing prompts, and the entire class responds to each prompt. Each Quill Lessons activity provides a lesson plan, writing prompts, discussion topics, and a follow up independent practice activity.

Quill Diagnostic

Quickly determine which skills your students need to work on with our diagnostics.

The diagnostics cover vital sentence construction skills and generate personalized learning plans based on the student’s performance.

Quill Proofreader

Proofreader teaches your students editing skills by having them proofread passages.

Students edit passages and receive personalized exercises based on their results. With over 100 expository passages, Proofreader gives students the practice they need to spot common grammatical errors.

Quill Grammar

Students practice basic grammar skills, from comma placement to parallel structure.

Quill Grammar has over 150 sentence writing activities to help your students. Our activities are designed to be completed in 10 minutes so you have the freedom to use them in the way that works best for your classroom.

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Choose activities

Decide if you want your students to proofread passages, combine sentences, or complete a diagnostic. Use our ten minute activities as building blocks during your classroom instruction.

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Use our reporting to spot trends and identify growth opportunities. Monitor comprehension on specific writing standards.

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Save time grading and watch your students correct their mistakes instantly.

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• Writing Activities

18+ Creative Writing Activities To Make Writing Fun

Make writing less boring with these 12 fun creative writing activities for kids. 

When most children think of writing, they think of lined paper with thousands of words written on it, line by line with the occasional spacing for paragraphs. But writing doesn’t need to be that boring and gloomy. Today we bring you12 creative writing activities to make writing fun and colourful!

How to Make Writing Fun

It is important to show your kids that there’s more to writing than just homework and long essays. Writing can be fun and it doesn’t always involve writing thousands of words in a formal structure. It’s time to stop worrying about sentence structure, grammar and spelling mistakes. Instead, encourage your kids to explore their creativity and write down their thoughts as they come in any format they like. Here are 12 fun creative writing activities that will boost your child’s creativity, imagination and encourage them to write for fun.

18+ Fun Creative Writing Activities

Use story maps.

Story maps are a great way to unleash your child’s imagination. You can either create your own or print out one of these free story map templates . To create your own story map, you’ll first need a location. This could be anywhere, a planet , an island , the woods or even your hometown. Don’t worry, you don’t actually need to leave your home to enjoy this activity. 

Next draw out a simple map of the location. The map must have a starting point and an endpoint. Here is an example of our treasure island story map:

You can see that we marked the starting point with a star. And the end point with a red cross. Once this is done, you need to put loads of obstacles, challenges and interesting things on the map for your child to explore and engage with in their imagination. This could be a giant octopus monster, a lava lake, a cunning princess or even some secret symbols or lettering. 

Once you have completed creating your action-packed story map (or printed out one of our free templates) – It’s time for the real adventure to begin. Give the map to your child and together you can pretend that you have landed in a whole new location. 

Start from your bedroom (or your imaginary pirate ship) and make your way through the obstacles to find the secret treasure located in a mysterious cave (or the shed in your backyard). As you go through the map, think about the characters you might encounter, items you might find and even challenges you could face.

After your little adventure, your child will be inspired and ready to write about the adventure they just experienced! Go ahead and check out these free story map templates to get you started:

• Forest Story Map
• Island Story map

Create Some Paper Finger Puppets

Puppets and toys are a great way to stimulate imaginative play. In particular, creating your own paper finger puppets is a brilliant creative activity to boost your child’s imagination and make story-telling more fun. When creating your own finger puppets, your child can create any character they like. If they love football , try creating some famous football players, and if they love Harry Potter , get them to create some wizard themed characters. Whatever your child’s interest, combine it with story-telling, and make storytime extra fun.

To get you started, you can download our free paper finger puppet templates by signing up to Imagine Forest:

Create your own paper characters, props and background. Then let the role-playing begin!

Would You Rather Game

Kids love playing games. The Would You Rather game is a great way to boost logical thinking and communication skills. Print out our free Would You Rather game cards pack, to get a mix of funny, gross and Disney themed questions. Then get at least three players in a team to begin the game. The purpose of the game is to convince the whole team that your answer to the question is the best one and to get other players to agree with you. This game is guaranteed to get your kids laughing and thinking logically about the answers they pick. 

Telephone Pictionary Game

Another brilliant creative writing activity is the Telephone Pictionary Game . The basic idea behind this game is to write a story collaboratively with your team using drawings and phrases. Together as team members take turns to write/draw something down. They’ll be improving skills such as creativity, teamwork and communication skills. And when the game is over, they’ll have a really funny story to read!

Create Some Shape Poetry

Poetry is a quick and short writing activity to get kids engaged in creative writing. But writing a typical haiku or limerick can get boring over time. To add a little more excitement gets your kids to write poems in the shape of something. For example, your child could write a poem about cats , in the shape of a cat:

Not only are these poems great to read, but they also make wonderful pieces of artwork. For more inspirations, check out our Alice in Wonderland inspired shape poetry .

Finish The Story Game

The finish the story game is the simplest creative writing activity in our list. In a team of at least 2 players, each player takes turns completing a story. Start off with a random story starter and then each player takes turns to continue this story. Which way will the story go? No-one knows. And that’s the real beauty of this game. Let your child explore their imagination and come up with wild ideas to keep the story interesting. And by the end of the game, you’ll have a really unique and funny story to read. 

Use Image Prompts

Image prompts are a great source of inspiration. And can be used in a number of ways to encourage your child to write. For instance, you can ask your child to write a quick snappy slogan for a random image or photograph. Alternatively, you could play a whole game centred around a single image, such as the Round Robin Tournament game explained in our post on storytelling games using image prompts .

Story Cubes To Inspire

Inspiration is key in making writing fun for kids. That’s where story cubes come in handy. You either buy ready-made story cubes or make your own story cubes at home. If you’re interested in making your own story cubes, check out these 9 free story cube templates for ideas. Once you have a bunch of story cubes, you can simply roll them like dice and then challenge your kids to write a story based on the images they get. For game ideas using story cubes, check out this post on how to use story cubes . 

Create A Comic Strip

If your kids hate writing but love drawing, then comic strips are a great creative activity to sneak in some minor writing with huge levels of imagination. Pick a topic, any topic you like. This could be related to your child’s interest and then ask them to create a short comic strip about that topic. For example, if you child loves dinosaurs, ask them to create their own comic strip about dinosaurs. For more inspiration and ideas, check out this post on how to create your own comic strip and comic books at home. 

Make Your Own Pop-up Book

Another fun way to get your kids to write more is by creating your own pop-book books. Pop-up books seem really complicated to create, but in reality, they are really easy to make at home. All you need is some paper, scissors and glue. Check out this super easy tutorial on how to create your own pop-book at home for quick step-by-step instructions. Similar to comic strips, pop-up books are a great way of combining drawing with writing to get your kids writing more in a quick and fun way. 

Create Mini Booklets

Turn your child’s story into a real book! You can buy blank books from Amazon or create your own mini paper book, using this easy mini notebook tutorial . With this tutorial you can create a fully customisable book, with your own cover, back page and you can even draw your own illustrations inside! This is a really fun and cute way to gets your kids writing in their spare time.

Write A Letter With a Fun Twist

Forgot ordinary boring letters! Check out our Paper craft animal envelopes to encourage your kids to write letters to their friends, family, heroes, aliens, anyone they like! Inside the child can write any message they like, such as “how were your holidays…” or “We’re having a party this weekend…” And on the outside they can create any animal or creature they like as envelopes. 

Describe a Monster

Ask your child to draw their own monster or character and describe it. – What are its strengths, and weaknesses, where does it live, what does it like doing and so on? This creative writing activity is quick, simple and full of imagination! And you could even take this a step further by creating your own monster flip books !

Use Story Starters

Use story starters to inspire reluctant writers. These can be simple sentences, such as “It was Timmy’s first day at school and he was excited…” and your child can continue writing the rest of the story. Or you could use photos and your child’s drawings to inspire story-writing by asking the child to describe what’s happening in this image. Take a look at this post on 60+ first-line prompts to inspire you or you could view our mega list of over 300 writing prompts for kids .

Create Your Own Greeting Cards

Get your child to create their own Christmas cards , greeting cards or get well cards to send to someone they know. They can write their own personal message inside and draw a picture on the outside. Quick activities like this are a great way to sneak in some writing with some arts and crafts. 

Create Your Own Newspaper

Ask your child to write their own newspaper article or create their own newspaper about the daily events that happen at home or at school. Remember the use of the 5 W’s and 1 H when writing newspaper articles. Our newspaper challenge online activity is great for creating fun newspaper articles.

Make A Shopping List

Get the kids involved in the weekly grocery shopping! Ask them to write the shopping list with drawings. If the grocery shopping list is too boring, then get them to create a wish list of items they dream of owning or even a list of goals they want to accomplish. You can buy some really pretty shopping list pads from Amazon , which could be a great way to encourage your kids to get writing!

Re-tell some fairytales

Fairytales have been around for centuries and by now they need a modern twist. Challenge your child to update an old classic. And you could even use this free ‘Retell a fairy tale pack ’ to help you. Re-telling a fairytale is a lot easier than creating a whole new one – Simply ask your child to change one or two key elements in the story and see how it changes the entire fairytale. For example, what if Cinderella was the villain? Alternatively, you could go wacky and add a whole new character to a classic fairytale, such as Spiderman making an appearance in Jack and the Beanstalk. The possibilities really are endless!

Write Your Own Movie Script

Ask your child to write their own short movie script, they can create a cast list and give all the different characters different things to say. You can find a free script and cast list template here ! Think about the conversation between the characters, what problems would they encounter, who is the villain in this story? We also think these free finger puppets printable could be great for story-telling.

Hand-written Blogs

Ask your child to keep a simple hand-written blog about their hobbies and interests. This can be done in a journal or notebook. Ask them the following questions: What do they like doing in their spare time and why do they enjoy this. Maybe ask them to provide instructions on how someone else can also be good at this hobby. They can update their hand-written blog everyday with new tips and interesting pieces of information on their hobby.

Wanted Posters

Create a ‘Wanted’ poster for famous villains in storybooks, such as Miss Trunchbull from Matilda or Cinderella’s Stepmother. You can find a free blank template here . Alternatively try out the Most Wanted online activity on Imagine Forest, to create your own wanted posters online:

Storyboarding

Writing a whole story down can be cumbersome. That’s why storyboarding can make a really good creative writing activity. Instead of asking a child to write a whole story down, get them to think about the key events in the story and plan it out using a storyboard template . Planning their story out beforehand could even encourage your child to write a complete story down afterwards. The first step is always planning out what you are going to write, and this could give your child the confidence to keep going. 

Know anymore fun writing activities for kids? Tell us your ideas below.

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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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.

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1. SplashLearn

2. abcmouse.com, 3. endless alphabet, 4. iwritewords, 5. grammaropolis, 6. toontastic 3d, 7. storybird, 8. little writer – the tracing app for kids, 9. mad libs, 10. writing wizard – kids learn to write letters & words.

Writing isn’t just about using a pencil and paper anymore. Today, there are lots of writing apps for kids that can help them write better. According to Reading Rockets , in literacy and education, writing tools have traditionally been “low-tech,” with simple aids like pencil grips and graph paper being staples in the educational toolkit.

SplashLearn: Most Comprehensive Learning Program for PreK-5

SplashLearn inspires lifelong curiosity with its game-based PreK-5 learning program loved by over 40 million children. With over 4,000 fun games and activities, it’s the perfect balance of learning and play for your little one.

However, the landscape of writing assistance is rapidly changing. The integration of AT in writing extends to computer platforms as well, with desktops, laptops, and mobile devices offering various interfaces, such as keyboards and touchscreens, to accommodate different preferences and requirements. This versatility in writing technology caters to children’s diverse needs and opens up new avenues for learning and creativity. In this blog, we’ll dive into the best ​​writing apps for kids designed to make writing engaging and accessible for kids of all ages.

Curious about high-tech writing tools?

Here are our top picks of writing apps for kids:

SplashLearn is not just about numbers; it also offers a kids writing app section where children can engage in story-based learning, which helps them practice writing through interactive games and worksheets . It covers topics like letter tracing and sight words , which are crucial for early literacy. What makes SplashLearn a standout as one of the best writing apps for kids is its interactive and playful approach to learning. The app encourages children to practice writing through games that capture their attention, making it a great tool for young learners to develop their writing skills in an enjoyable and stress-free way.

Grade: Pre-K to 5th Grade

Features: Over 8000 games and worksheets, adaptive learning, personalized for each child’s pace, with a strong focus on math and reading and writing comprehension

Why We Love It: It integrates writing into a broader educational context, reinforcing literacy through a variety of subjects

Price: Free with in-app purchases

Availability: Available on iOS, Android, and web

ABCmouse.com offers a rich, interactive curriculum that includes a wide range of activities from tracing letters to writing full sentences. It’s designed to help children grasp the mechanics of writing and understand the context behind their writing. The app’s colorful animations and rewards system motivate kids to progress through levels, reinforcing their writing skills with each step.

Grade: Pre-K to 2nd Grade

Features: Includes a comprehensive step-by-step learning path with over 850 lessons across 10 levels

Why We Love It: It’s a thorough educational tool that covers all the bases of early writing skills in an engaging and systematic way

Price: Subscription-based with a free trial

Endless Alphabet is one of the best writing apps for kids that introduces children to the alphabet in a world of playful monsters and unique puzzles. Each word features an interactive puzzle with talking letters and a short animation illustrating the definition. This approach not only teaches letter recognition and vocabulary but also enhances kids’ understanding of word usage in writing.

Grade: Pre-K to 1st Grade

Features: Over 100 words to play with, each with interactive puzzles and animations

Why We Love It: The app makes learning new words and their spellings a delightful experience, which is crucial for developing writing skills

Price: One-time purchase

Availability: Available on iOS, Android, and Amazon Appstore

iWriteWords is a handwriting app that teaches the fundamentals of letter and number formation through guided tracing. Its playful interface, complete with a friendly crab guide, encourages kids to practice writing while they drag a character to follow the tracing lines. This method helps improve hand-eye coordination and prepares children for traditional writing.

Grade: Pre-K to Kindergarten

Features: Handwriting practice with a focus on proper stroke order and letter shapes

Why We Love It: It’s a tactile experience that translates digital interactions into real-world writing skills

Availability: Available on iOS

Grammaropolis uses animated characters representing parts of speech to teach grammar engagingly. Each character’s personality and role in the grammar world helps children remember the functions of parts of speech and how to use them effectively in their writing. The app includes various educational content, from music videos to quizzes, ensuring comprehensive grammar instruction.

Grade: 1st to 7th Grade

Features: Animated lessons, quizzes, music videos, and an integrated book series

Why We Love It: It turns the often challenging subject of grammar into a fun and memorable experience, laying a strong foundation for good writing

Toontastic 3D is a storytelling app that allows kids to create their own animated stories. By moving characters around on the screen and narrating the tale in real time, children learn the structure of stories, character development, and the expressive power of language. The app’s 3D drawing tools also enable them to design their characters, further personalizing their writing and storytelling experience.

Grade: K to 12th Grade

Features: A fully customizable 3D animation tool, complete with a variety of settings, characters, and story arcs

Why We Love It: It encourages kids to think critically about the storytelling process, which is a fundamental aspect of writing

Price: Free

Availability: Available on iOS and Android

Storybird stands out as one of the best English writing apps for kids that inspires children to write their own stories using an array of stunning illustrations. It provides a platform for kids to become authors, encouraging them to construct narratives around professionally drawn artwork , which can then be digitally published into books.

Grade: 1st to 12th Grade

Features: A vast library of images, collaborative writing options, and the ability to publish stories

Why We Love It: It fosters creativity and the love of writing by blending visual art with storytelling

Price: Free with premium features available for purchase

Availability: Available on web

Little Writer is a tactile kids writing app that serves as the best letter writing app for young children learning to write the alphabet. It includes fun tracing games that teach kids how to write letters, numbers , words, and shapes .

Grade: Toddler to Kindergarten

Features: Customizable for names and words, fun animations and sounds to keep kids engaged

Why We Love It: It’s a hands-on app that makes learning to write letters and numbers exciting and interactive

Availability: Available on iOS.

Mad Libs brings the classic word game to digital life, offering an app for writing letters and creating stories that can be hilariously unpredictable. It’s a great tool for teaching parts of speech and sentence structure in a way that’s full of laughs and learning.

Grade: 2nd to 8th Grade

Features: Thousands of stories, new ones added regularly, and the ability to play solo or with friends

Why We Love It: It turns grammar and sentence construction into a fun game, which is a clever way to practice writing

Writing Wizard is an app designed to help kids learn how to write letters, numbers, and words through a fun and interactive interface. It offers a range of customizable writing activities that make learning to write engaging and enjoyable. The app uses animated stickers and sound effects to provide feedback , encouraging kids to improve their writing skills.

Features: Customizable word lists, ability to create your own worksheets, fun animations and sound effects, and a system that teaches proper stroke order

Why We Love It: Writing Wizard stands out for its highly interactive approach, which transforms writing practice into a game-like experience. The app’s engaging and intuitive design ensures that children are not only practicing their writing skills but are also having a great time doing it.

11. SentenceBuilder

SentenceBuilder aims to help elementary-aged children learn how to build grammatically correct sentences with an emphasis on connectors. By using this app, kids can enhance their writing fluency and complexity, making it a valuable tool for young writers.

Grade: 1st to 5th Grade

Features: Over 100 pictures to build sentences around, with three levels of play and a progress tracker

Why We Love It: It specifically targets sentence construction, which is a critical skill in writing development

How to Choose the Most Suitable Writing Apps & Websites

1. user experience.

• Assessment of the app’s interface: Is it kid-friendly and intuitive?
• Consideration of the app’s design: Does it engage children without being overly distracting?

2. Age Appropriateness

• Breakdown of the app’s content and complexity relative to different age groups.
• Analysis of how the app grows with the child, offering more advanced levels as the child’s skills improve.

3. Features and Functionality

• Overview of key features such as interactive games, progress tracking, and customizable settings.
• Evaluation of the app’s unique offerings that set it apart from other writing apps.

4. Feedback and Reinforcement

• Examination of how the app provides feedback to the user: Is it constructive and encouraging?
• Insight into the reward systems or achievements that motivate continued practice.

5. Accessibility and Inclusivity

• Consideration of how accessible the app is to children with different learning abilities and needs.
• Discussion on the inclusivity of content, ensuring it is culturally and linguistically diverse.

6. Safety and Privacy

• Analysis of the app’s safety features: Are children’s interactions secure?
• Review of the app’s privacy policy: How does it handle personal data?

7. Cost-Effectiveness

• Comparison of the app’s price relative to its features and benefits.
• Consideration of free versus premium offerings and the value each provides.

8. Parental and Educator Reviews

• Compilation of feedback from parents and educators regarding the app’s effectiveness and engagement.
• Discussion of any accolades or endorsements from educational institutions.

9. Regular Updates and Support

• Information on how frequently the app is updated with new content or features.
• Availability and responsiveness of customer support for troubleshooting issues.

By addressing these criteria, you can provide a comprehensive overview of why these particular apps were chosen and how they stand out in helping children develop their writing skills.

Finding the right app to support your child’s writing journey can be a game-changer in their educational development. The apps we’ve explored offer a variety of interactive and engaging ways to build writing skills, from mastering the basics of grammar to enhancing creative storytelling skills. Each app has been carefully selected based on its educational value, ease of use, and ability to make learning fun . Whether your child is just starting to trace letters or is ready to craft their own stories, there’s an app on this list that can meet them where they are. Remember, the best learning happens when kids have fun, so encourage them to try these tools and watch their writing flourish.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What age group are these writing apps suitable for.

The writing apps cover a broad range of ages, from toddlers who are just starting to learn the alphabet to teenagers looking to enhance their storytelling skills.

Are these writing apps for kids safe and secure for my child?

These apps have been chosen for their strong safety features and privacy policies, ensuring a secure environment for your child to learn and create.

Do I need to supervise my child while they use these writing apps for kids?

While these apps are designed to be kid-friendly and intuitive, supervision is recommended to help guide your child’s learning and to ensure they get the most out of the experience.

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