Middle School Prompts Archives - Page 7 of 18 - Writing with Sharon Watson-Easy-to-use Homeschool Writing and Literature Curriculum

Equip Your Students with These 11 Essential Writing Tools

Could your students use some writing tools?

Your students have to come up with a paragraph or an essay, but they do not know where to begin. They do not know where to get ideas, how to formulate a plan, how to narrow down their topic, how to organize their ideas, how to write a credible paragraph, and so on.

Does this sound familiar?

Then you’ve come to the right place! Use the links below to equip your students with the writing tools they need to be successful this year. Many of these links contain tutorials and free worksheets to download. I hope you like #s 10 and 11. Thousands of moms and teachers have already downloaded them and found happiness.

Ready? Let’s go . . .

What Skill Do You Want to Learn from a Pro?

SHARON’S BLOG

What could Serena Williams teach you about smashing serves in the tennis court? Or maybe you’d like to learn from actor Dustin Hoffman about acting and “how to create memorable characters, rehearse a script and develop [a] comic instinct,” according to Parade.

Serena and Dustin are part of an online school called MasterClass in which masters of their craft teach online lessons on how to be successful in the areas of their expertise. For instance, best-selling author James Patterson teaches how to write, and Usher has online classes on how to perform on stage.

7 Prompts about God

SHARON’S BLOG

Can your children and teens clearly express their ideas about God?

Students in my classes always have the hardest time when asked to write about God. They simply cannot share their thoughts, experiences, definitions of religious terms, or what God means to them. These are difficult concepts to grasp and communicate, and they are very personal.

These prompts about God are for 5th – 12th graders and are designed to give them a chance to explore concepts about God and express their ideas on this most important topic.

Ready? Let’s go . . .

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1. Describe

Describe God as completely as possible in exactly 50 words.

5 Prompts for Independence Day

SHARON’S BLOG

Picnics. Parades. Fireworks.

Looking for ways to help your middle school and high school students focus on America’s Independence Day? Look no further! Enjoy this variety of prompts {and your Independence Day celebrations}.

How to Fall Asleep. No, Really.

MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS

You might think this writing prompt is super boring, but hold on. It’s about to get really gross.

You can’t get to sleep, so you drink some warm milk. Or maybe you count sheep. No? What about read a boring book or listen to music until you fall into unconsciousness?

According to mental_floss magazine (August 2014), some people at the end of the 1800s believed so strongly in

5 Prompts on Quotations

MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS

Enjoy this variety of writing prompts drawn from quotations by famous characters and people!

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1. Star Wars

“Your eyes can deceive you. Don’t trust them.”

That quote is from the Star Wars character Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Have you ever looked at something and been confused or tricked by what you saw? When have your eyes deceived you? Write your story.

5 Prompts about Food

SHARON’S BLOG

Who says you can’t play with your food?

Here is a bundle of five prompts on food-related topics that will get your middle school and high school students writing. Whether they’re telling personal stories, trying to persuade readers, or expressing an opinion, your students will enjoy sinking their teeth into these prompts.

Word Choices: From Boring to Glowing

SHARON’S BLOG

Our word choices can have a huge impact on our readers. Or the words can muddle them. Let me give you an example.

If I write that a toddler is a good eater, I suddenly have a communication problem. The word “good” is not specific enough. Does “good” mean that the toddler is neat while eating? Does it mean that the child eats a large quantity of food or perhaps a variety of food without complaining? My readers will not have a clear idea of my meaning.

Your middle school students will learn this in the first writing prompt. I’ve written a very boring paragraph about something that seemed exciting to the student, but the words I selected were flat, overused, and not specific enough.

Teens will have fun with the second writing prompt as they practice using specific words and phrases to get a point across or create a focused mood.

Ready? Let’s go . . .

Do Monsters Exist?

MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS

Hundreds of thousands of tourists visit a particular site in Scotland each year, hoping to see a monster. What are they looking for?

It turns out that tourists are not the only ones looking for something. Operation Groundtruth has begun a search for the Loch Ness Monster (“Nessie”), a monster some claim they have seen. They are using a marine robot equipped with sonar to search the depths of the loch.

Nessie, if she exists, is thought to be a marine reptile, perhaps a plesiosaur, left over from the age of dinosaurs.

What has Operation Groundtruth found so far? The steep sides of the loch, the deep trench of the loch, and even a World War II airplane lying on the bottom of the loch. No Nessie. Yet.

Prompts about the Grand Canyon

SHARON’S BLOG

Burros, tall tales, and fears: You can find them all in the Grand Canyon.

In 1893, the Grand Canyon was made a Forest Reserve and then later a National Monument. It became a national park in 1919, just three years after the National Park Service was formed.

Which prompt about this amazing formation will your students enjoy?