Switch Roles with Your Teacher

Have you ever taught your parents or other adults how to do something?

Most likely, you’ve helped them learn how to work their mobile devices because you find it easier to deal with the features of technology than they do.

In a University of Maine study, researchers found that when laptops were introduced into the classroom,

Let’s Eat! Choose from a Menu of Writing Prompts

MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS

This writing prompt is all about eating, so it makes sense to have a menu of choices for you to write about.

Choose one item from the menu below to write about. Here goes:

The Loch Ness Monster: Is She Real?

MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS

Bigfoot. Sasquatch. Kraken. Yeti. Extraterrestrials (ETs). The Loch Ness Monster.

Do they exist?

Many photos have been taken of these supposed monsters, and occasional sightings only add to the excitement.

Click here to see a satellite image of Loch Ness in Scotland taken by Apple Maps. Some people believe they see an image of the Loch Ness Monster, or Nessie, in it, including her flippers. Nessie is believed by some to be a plesiosaur, a long-necked dinosaur that lives in water.

What do you think? Is it she? Could it be?

Opinion: Strange Baby Names

MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS

Audio Science. Fifi. Coco. Hopper. Apple.

What do these words have in common?

They are names that celebrities have given their children.

Celebrities aren’t the only ones giving their children weird or unusual names. There are a lot of strange names out there: Jedi, Google, and

Do We Spend Too Much on Our Pets?

MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS

pets You see this sweet puppy in the window of the pet store, and you can’t resist. You want to buy him. When you do, he leaps into your arms and licks your face. This little fellow is so happy—and so are you.

Now he’s a friend for life. You do everything together. He’s even considered a member of your family. But what happens if he becomes ill?

We All Have a Disney Side?

MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS

Perhaps you didn’t know you have a Disney side. In this Disney Parks television commercial, you’ll find an older man who shows his Disney side by becoming a Disney character—but at an awkward moment!

Which Disney princess, hero, or character are you most like?

Okay, maybe you don’t have a Disney side, but you most likely share characteristics of

What Treasure Do You Want to Find?

MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS

So you’re out walking your dog one day, and you look down and see a rusty can partially buried under an old tree you’ve walked by hundreds of times. “Hmmm,” you say. “What’s up with that?”

When you investigate, you find not one but eight rusted cans filled with mint-condition coins from 1847-1894, neatly piled in each can according to their dates. Turns out, even though the coins themselves are only worth about $28,000, the value of the coins today is over $10 million. Eureka!

This scenario is exactly what happened to

Advertise Your Product

MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS

Advertise A garbage bag that deters rats? A taco with the spices on the outside? Luggage you can ride on?

It seems we humans have a great amount of imagination when it comes to cooking up new products. But are those real or just someone’s dream?

How Do You Make Friends?

MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS

how to make a friend You have friends. What did you do to make them? You are a friend, but how did you become one?

Have you ever thought of how to make friends? It is as simple as smiling when someone is sad, giving a genuine compliment, or being a good listener?

Or making a friend could be a process with many steps, beginning with step one and ending with step five (or as many steps as you like).

The Enumerative Essay: Parking Spaces and Baseball

SHARON’S BLOG

My husband Terry gave me the idea for this writing prompt though he didn’t know it at the time.

A love of lists

Last summer we drove to our local grocery store, and as Terry pulled into a spot, he said, “I like to park here because . . . ,” and he listed four reasons why he likes to park in that particular place. Now that you know how exciting our lives are, you’ll be happy to know that his love of lists surfaced yet again—at the ball park.

We were watching the Indianapolis Indians play the Rochester Redwings when one of the Indians smacked a ball and headed toward first. Terry leaned over to me and said, “There are nine ways to get to first safely.” Or was it seven?

Terry was halfway to writing an enumerative essay because he began with a number (four or nine) and had a secure idea of a list.