Description | Exposition | Narration | Opinion | Persuasion | All
Give your middle school students something intriguing to write about, whether they are reluctant, eager, or somewhere inbetween.
Free printables for how to create a paragraph, free tutorials on proofreading or in-text citations, current events, asking what they would read to a dog {and other important opinions}, story writing, and much more—you’ll find it all here.
Looking for engaging prompts for your teens? You’ll find those here. >>
Interested in writing prompts for the whole family? Could you use an assortment of prompts bundled together for certain topics or for varying grade levels? Free tutorials and printables included. Find them all here. >>
Thanks for visiting the Middle School Prompts page. If you have a prompt you would like to submit, please contact Sharon Watson.
5 Prompts for Independence Day
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}. (more…)
How to Fall Asleep. No, Really.
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 (more…)
5 Prompts on Quotations
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. (more…)
5 Prompts about Food
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. (more…)
Word Choices: From Boring to Glowing
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 . . . (more…)
Do Monsters Exist?
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
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? (more…)
