Writing Prompts
Elementary, Middle School and High School
       
Descriptive Prompts Narrative Prompts
     
Descriptive Prompts  Top á
 
  1. Describe a place you always wanted to visit.
  2. Describe the most beautiful scene in nature that you can imagine.
  3. Describe a kitchen that you have seen or would love to see.
  4. Describe the ocean.  Think about what it looks like on and below the surface.
  5. Describe a storm.  This could be a thunder storm, a snow storm, a hurricane, a tornado, a hail storm, a rain storm, or any type of storm.
  6. Describe a place where you feel safe and protected.
  7. Describe a toy you love(d).  Think of all its good points.
  8. Describe your ideal playground.
  9. Describe the perfect shopping mall.
  10. Describe a place where people congregate (like a zoo, a church, a circus, etc.)
  11. Describe your bedroom the way you want it to be.
  12. Describe your favorite dessert (or food).
  13. Describe a beach (a desert, a mountain, a city, or a plain).
  14. Think of your favorite animal and describe that animal.
  15. Describe your best friend so that the reader can picture him or her.
  16. Think of your favorite place.  What do you like about this place?  What do you do there?  How does it like, smell, and feel?  Now write an essay describing your favorite place so that your reader will be able to picture it.
  17. Some people prefer dogs as pets, some like cats, and others prefer birds, snakes, fish, rabbits, pigs, horses, and other animals.  What is your perfect pet?  What does it look like?  Is it soft or hard:  Does it make any sounds?  Now describe your idea of a perfect pet so that your reader can picture it.
  18. Different teachers decorate their classes in different manners.  Think of your idea of the perfect classroom.  Is it colorful?  Does it have desks or tables?  What does it look like?  How does it smell?  Are there any sounds in it?  Write an essay describing your idea of the perfect classroom.
  19. Each season of the year is beautiful in some way.  Think of which season is your favorite:  winter, summer, spring, or fall.  Think of what your town looks like during that season.  What does it feel like?  Is there a smell or taste to it?  Now write an essay describing an outdoor scene during your favorite season of the year.
  20. Everyone has a favorite object that they treasure.  Think of some object in your room that you really like.  It could be a toy, or a doll, a game, a stuffed animal, or a book, but whatever it is, it is special to you.  What does it look, feel, smell, and sound like?  Now, describe this object to your reader so that he or she will be able to picture it clearly.
  21. Every person has a favorite place to play.  Think of your favorite place to play.  It may be your backyard, or a playground, or a nearby woods, or an open field.  What does this place look like?  What are the sounds you hear there?  What does it feel and smell like?  Describe your favorite place to play so that your reader can see it without being there.
  22. Almost all houses have kitchens.  Some are big and some are tiny.  Think of the kitchen at your home.  Think of how you might change it to make it even better.  What is in it?  What does it smell like?  Now, describe this perfect kitchen to your reader so that he or she can see it clearly.
  23. There are trees everywhere, even in the middle of big cities.  Think of a tree you have seen.  What does it look, feel, and sound like?  Describe that tree so that your reader can picture it, too.
  24. People gather at places like malls, fairgrounds, schools, gymnasiums, sports fields and swimming pools.  Think of a place in your town where there are lots of people.  How does it look, sound, smell, and feel to be there:  Now, describe that crowded place so that your reader can feel as if he or she is there.
  25. Every child enjoys playing on a playground.  Think of the playgrounds you have played in.  Think of what makes them better.  Maybe you've already seen it, but think of what makes the perfect playground.  Think of how it looks, sounds, feels, and smells.  Now, describe your idea of a perfect playground so that your reader can see it clearly.
  26. Even in the desert it rains sometimes.  Think of what the world looks like outside your window when it rains.  Think about how it looks, smells, and feels.  What sounds do you hear?  What does rain taste like?  Describe what the world looks like outside a window when it rains.
  27. Flowers always make a yard or a room look very pretty.  Think of a garden or a bunch of flowers you have seen.  Make it even better and prettier in your minds.  What does it look and feel like?  Does it smell?  Describe the garden or a bunch of flowers so that your reader can see it and smell it in his or her mind.
  28. Cities and towns have lots of things going on in them, lots of stores, traffic, people, churches, schools, parks, and maybe even a zoo.  Think of your city or a city you have visited.  As you walk down the sidewalk in the middle of that city, what do you see, hear, smell, taste, and feel?  Describe that city for your reader and what it is like to be there.
  29. Even in big cities, there are parks where there are woods.  There are woods everywhere in this big country of ours.  Think of woods you have been in or played in.  What does it look like?  Now describe this woods so that the reader can see it.
  30. Alice visits Wonderland in Alice in Wonderland.  Wonderland is the land of her dreams.  What is the ideal place for you?  What place do you dream about?  What does it look like?  Des it have a smell?  How does it feel?  Do you hear sounds there?  Describe the ideal place of your dreams in such a way that the reader can picture it, too.
  31. We all eat to stay alive, but everyone has a favorite food.  What is your favorite food in the world?  What does it look like?  How does it smell and taste in your mouth?  Describe your favorite food so that your reader can see it and almost taste it as well.
  32. Many people love the beach and others love the mountains for a vacation.  Which do you like better; the beach or the mountains?  Even if you have never been to either, you have seen pictures.  Choose one--either a beach or the mountains.  What does the place look like?  Does the place have feel to it?  What smells are there?  What sounds do you hear?  Describe your beach or mountains so that your reader can picture the scene you see in your mind.
  33. Everyone has a favorite game, dominoes, checkers, cards, Clue, Chutes and Ladders, Monopoly, and so on.  What is your favorite game?  What does it look like when you play?  What sounds do you hear as you play?  Describe your favorite game so that the reader can see it and hear the action as you play.
       
Narrative Prompts    Top á
 
  1. Suppose you had invented a time machine.  write a story about what you did with it.
  2. Write to tell of a day when you were the teacher.  What did you do?
  3. write a story about trading places with your favorite TV, movie, or rock star.
  4. One day a spaceship lands on the playground of your school...
  5. Your shoe must have a story to tell.  Tell it.
  6. Your class grew plants as a science project.  One day you looked at your plant and saw something really strange had grown there.
  7. Write a story about what it would be like if you woke up one morning with wings.
  8. On your birthday, a strange-looking lady came to your door and handed you a wrapped present.  You rattled it.  It made a noise.  Write a story about this present.
  9. Your teacher one day announced that your class was going on a wonderful field trip.  Write a story about this field trip.  In your story, you can have your class go anywhere you wish.
  10. One day, as you were petting and talking to your friend's dog, it answered back!  Tell your story.
  11. Write a story about yourself as a hero.  What did you do to become a hero?  Tell your story.
  12. As you walked down the hallway at school, you heard some strange music coming from the custodian's closet.  What was it?  Write a story about it.
  13. Tell a story about children who live in a world where there is no such thing as television, computers, or electronic games.
  14. A distant relative bequeathed you a strange ring.  As you put this ring on, you discover that it has strange powers.  What does it look like?  What does it do?  Tell a story about this ring.
  15. Tell a story about your ideal place to live.  What would it be like to live there?
  16. (Used Twice!)  The teacher comes into the room and places a bog on her desk then leaves.  The bag moves and wriggles.  Write a story about what is in the paper bag?
  17. Every day you pass a door.  It's always closed and locked.  One day, as you pass, you notice that the door is open.  You step inside.  Write a story about what was on the other side of that door.
  18. Tell a story about what happened when you traveled on a wagon pulled by horses.
  19. Tell a story about what happened when you traveled on a wagon pulled by horses.
  20. Tell a story about a day in which everything went wrong.
  21. Imagine you could travel to the future and live there.  Think of what you think the future would be like.  How different would it be from today?  Now, write a story about living in the future.
  22. Imagine you could go to any place you wanted for a long as you wanted, any time you wanted.  What place would you visit?  Think about what you would do there.  Write a story about a visit to a really neat place.
  23. Pretend that you lived in colonial times.  Think about what your life would  be like, how it would be different living more than 200 years ago.  Now, write a story about a young person (like yourself) living in George Washington's day.
  24. Novels are fun to read because the action keeps you interested, and the characters almost become your friends.  Think of a book you really liked.  Imagine that you were a new character in this book.  Write a story about what happened.
  25. Imagine you woke up one morning and found that you had switched places with a dog or a cat.  Think what it would be like.  What would you do?  Write a story of your day as a dog or a cat.
  26. What if you had a personal genie who would grant your every wish?  What would your life be like?  Think of some of the details.  Write a story about having a personal genie.
  27. Imagine you had a car that would take you anywhere you wanted to go for one day.  Think of where you went in that car and what you did.  Write a story about that day.
  28. Everyone has a favorite season of the year.  What is your favorite season?  What do you like to do?  Write a story about your favorite season.
  29. Imagine one morning there's a knock at your front door.  You open the door, and to your great surprise, you find an alien standing there.  What do you do? What does it look like?  Write a story about your encounter with this alien.
  30. On your way to school one morning you see a huge truck speeding down the road.  Suddenly, the back door of the truck opens and a large, mysterious box falls off the back of the truck.  It sits there in the road.  What is the box?  What do you do?  Write a story about this mysterious box.
  31. One spring day a skunk wanders into your classroom.  What are the results?  Write a story about the skunk that visited school.
  32. Imagine you had a time machine that you could take only to the past.  Where would you choose to go?  Think of what you would do there.  What it would be like.  Write a story of your adventure in the past.
  33. One day you are sitting under a large tree.  An acorn hits you on the head, and you look up.  There, on the branch above you sits a squirrel, laughing at you.  The squirrel then looks you squirrel in the eye, begins to talk to you, and asks you to return its acorn.  What would you do?  What would happen if you encounter a talking squirrel?  Write a story about the experience.
  34. Imagine a world where there was no money.  What would people do?  What would life be like?  Write a story about living in a world without any money.
  35. There are times when we all wish, even for just a moment, that we could be someone else for a day.  Who would you choose to be for that day?  What would you do?  Think of some details of your day.  Now, write a story about what your day was like as that person.