Creative Writing, Page 3

Make Beliefs Comix
Students create comic strips online. This tool is great for prewriting, responding to reading, creative writing, vocabulary words, ESL, and tickets out. Very easy to learn and use, it is appropriate for almost every age level.

Pixar's 22 Rules for Storytelling
Good guidelines for creative writers.

Pizzaz! Creative Writing and Storytelling Ideas
A variety of links to ideas and handouts for all grade levels.

Plotting the Story
Students examine plot as a significant element of fiction. They distinguish plot from narrative to gain a firm understanding of a plot’s function within a story. They identify plot’s supplemental elements—conflict, climax, and resolution—and use each in stories of their own. They heighten comprehension by studying plot patterns. Students are expected to identify a story’s plot, to create detailed plot summaries of their own, and to use plot in their own stories. Designed for high school students.

Poetry Express
Write 15 different kinds of poems, suggestions for poetry workshop, tips for revision, suggestions for publishing.

Reading Paintings, Drawing Words: Creating Original Artwork Based on Written Stories
In this lesson, students grade 6 and older will consider an art exhibit comprised of works that tell stories, then create their own original pieces of art based on a specific work of literature.

Recklessly Creative Writing Ideas
Scroll down for "Serendipitous Writing Prompts & Word Games."

'Retale' Value: Exploring Plot Similarities in Fiction and Nonfiction Stories
Students explore 7 basic plot lines. They compare them with newspaper articles and with fiction they are familiar with.

Rewrite, Revise, Recycle: Updating Classic Literary Storylines for Today's Television Audience
Students "explore classic themes and storylines, and create modern versions to cater to a contemporary audience. They then compose backstories to develop characters for current television shows." This lesson plan is based on an article from the New York Times (included).

Sacred Cows for High School Creative Writing Students
This unit uses stories and information about animals to discuss various themes that deal with human behavior. It includes a wide variety of mentor texts, writing tasks, and a rubric.

Setting the Story
Students examine setting as a significant element of fiction. They learn devices for creating a realistic setting, identify and critique these methods in well-known works of fiction, and use the methods in works of their own. Students also identify, examine, evaluate, and use the elements mood and spatial order as methods of creating realistic settings.

Short and Sweet: Reading and Writing Flash Fiction
Students consider the nature of stories and learn to write more concisely by reading and writing flash fiction. Includes nonfiction support article, model, discussion questions, activities. Scroll to the bottom for Common Core anchor standards.

Single Limited Viewpoint
Writer Scott Westerfeld discusses the impact of various points of view on a narrative.

Slowing Down Time (in writing and in film)
Certain moments in our lives seem to last forever. Whether it is a first kiss or a car crash, time can seem to stretch…or even stop. In this TED-ed video (5:59), Aaron Sitze explains how this sensation is conveyed in cinema and how the same conventions can be used to slow down time in your writing. Includes post-viewing questions and related links.

Story It
Printable picture prompts for younger students.

Story Starters
An interactive site for elementary students. It comes with a Teacher Guide and a button that turns off the audio.

Tabloid Tales
Using the 5 W's, students create stories to accompany actual tabloid headlines. Headlines are provided.

Teaching Creative Writing
Links to teacher-tested ideas for both poetry and narrative writing.

Tell It Like It Isn't: Exploring Creative Ways to Revise Well-Known Stories
Students examine the elements that comprise a good story, and then, after reading about various performances for children taking place in New York City, envision their own performances in similar styles.

Three anti-social skills to improve your writing
This TED-ED video (3:45) suggests habits that help writers develop dialogue. Captioned, includes follow-up questions and other support.

Top 10 Questions for Creating Believable Characters
Questions to help beginning writers create more rounded characters.

Types of Conflict Worksheets
Discussion of 6 types of conflict, with worksheets and slide presentations for each.

Using Favorite Songs as Prompts
Students draw ideas for fiction from the themes of popular music. This lesson is part of the National Writing Project.

Wacky Web Tables
Students review parts of speech and write a story using a variation on the MadLibs stories. Designed for grade 3 and above.

What's in a Name?: Exploring The History of Names Through Creative Writing
Students examine their own first, middle, and last names and consider how they originated. They then write a creative piece using the information they discovered.

Writing Bug
A new creative writing topic every week! Elementary teachers can download a handout with a colorful graphic; teachers of older students will still find the ideas useful.

Writing Portfolio
These 55 outstanding reflective writing prompts are designed for high school sophomores. They are presented in 3 formats: Web page, MS-Word document, and PDF file (requires Adobe Reader for access).

Writing Prompts / Journal Topics
An extensive collection of topics.

Writing Prompts
From Writers Digest, 52 story starters. Many of these are appropriate for a wide range of grade levels, but not all are appropriate for all grades.

Writing Prompts
Scroll down to find creative writing prompts appropriate for a range of grade levels.

Writing Prompts
Select a grade level at the top and click "go" to receive a list of appropriate prompts.

Writing Prompts
A generous assortment of topics from Writers Digest. Most prompts are designed for high school and older and call for creative writing.

Writings on a River: Creating Composite Characters, Like Those of Mark Twain
In this lesson, students read the first chapter in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer . They then identify adjectives that help to define a character's personality, such as those of the title character in that book. Finally, students write an original story or scene for a play, based on a composite character of their own creation, after selecting three or more specific character traits.

Additional creative writing lesson plans >> | 1 | 2 | 3 |