Quick Writing Activities
Here are some quick and easy writing activities you might want to try with your child. Why not have a
go at doing the task with your son/daughter too.
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Write a summary of a TV show .
Write a short paragraph about a good day at work.
Write sentences using new words..
Keep a journal; write letters, notes on greeting cards, valentines, posters, trip diaries, grocery
lists, other lists (eg.: "What can you find in your kitchen?" "What are your favourite foods?"),
etc.
Write about the World's Greatest Invention and/or the World's Worst Invention.
Keep a "Distraction Journal" to list distractions and discuss strategies for refocusing.
Sit in your garden (or anywhere else) and write about what you see and hear. Describe it so
that someone who wasn't there can form a clear image of the scene.
Look at a photo or picture, then write a paragraph describing the sounds you might be hearing
in the scene.
Write song lyrics.
Write out vacation plans and keep a trip journal during the vacation.
Keep a notebook in which our son/daughter copies a paragraph each day from a book which
interests them. Try it twice-- first fast, then slowly and neatly.
For an experience story, write about a time you were afraid!
Write a plan for a road trip or vacation they might think about taking after they have their
driving licence.
Write an article for our newsletter, Bridge to Literacy.
Write a paragraph about something good/bad/funny that happened yesterday.
Write recipes.
Write a movie review.
Copy a sentence a day that you think is worth saving.
Write about a pleasant/unpleasant location.
Write out a shopping list.
Write letters to a family member.
Practice writing your home address or a family member's address.
When giving a writing topic, have students draw a picture first.
Have a word-for-the-day for vocabulary building.
Have students select a favourite animal, plant, or other object and write through its voice (“I
am the wind blowing through all the cracks and crevices of life.”)
Use nature pictures to create captions, poetry, stories, or essays.
Create a chain story: parent starts with a sentence, then students add another and another,
etc..
Some prompts to stimulate writing:
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Tell about a time you said no.
Tell about a time you said yes.
Tell about a time you stood up for yourself.
Tell about a time you stood up for someone else..
Tell about a time you travelled somewhere memorable.
Tell about a time something happened in the dark.
Tell about a time you were lost.
Tell about a time when someone else made a difference in your life.
Tell about a time when you made a difference in someone else's life.
Tell about a time someone old had an impact on you.
Tell about a time someone very young had an impact on you.
Tell about a time you met someone amazing.
Tell about something that happened outdoors.
Tell about something you treasured as a young child.
Tell about something that shows what's important to your family.
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Tell about someone you want to be like as you get older.
Tell about a place that makes you feel calm and peaceful.
Tell about a time when something happened when you were doing something you love to do.
Tell the story of your life by making a list of places you have lived.
Tell the story of your life by making a list of things you liked to do at each age.
Tell the story of your life by making a list of people who have been close to you. Write a line
or two about each one.
Tell the story of your life by making a list of the things that were most important to you at each
age.
Tell the story of your life by making a list of movies that characterise your life at each age.
Tell about your worst experience in school.
Tell about the best thing that has ever happened to you in school.
Tell about something you know how to do really well.
Tell about a cultural tradition in your family that you want to pass onto your children.
Tell about an animal who was/is a big influence on you.