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.
How to Complain Constructively
True story: I was eating dinner in a restaurant recently when I heard a woman in the booth behind me state, “This is an abomination!”
My ears perked up. My curiosity was piqued. I rarely hear the word “abomination” any more and wondered what could be so horrific as to need that word. I imagined she and her dining partner were reading a magazine article on human trafficking or perhaps watching a YouTube video about persecution in Indonesia.
I strained my ears to learn what she was referring to. (more…)
What Would You Read to a Dog?
Dogs and cats are going places they’ve never gone before. They’re visiting children in daycare, older people in assisted-living facilities, and patients in hospitals.
Love on a Leash is an organization that is filled with therapy pets—pets that are specially trained by their owners to make people happy, reduce stress, and help educate people about the benefits of owning pets.
One fun thing these dogs and cats do is go to school so children can read to them. Children who have trouble reading out loud or who are shy enjoy reading to a dog or cat that will sit there and listen to them. (more…)
Show, Don’t Tell: Emotions in Stories
One of the first rules story writers learn is this: Show, don’t tell.
What does that mean? Check out the following examples to see what I mean.
Show It
When you write a story, try not to tell your readers what your character is feeling, like this:
Jeremy was angry.
Instead, show your character in action, like this: (more…)
Dialog Does Not Have to Be Boring
Have you ever read really boring dialog in a book? You know, like this:
“Jane,” said Tarzan, “have you ever noticed how much the monkeys love me?”
“Yes, Tarzan, I noticed it,” said Jane. “In fact, one is climbing on you right now.”
Tarzan scratched his head. “He’s pulling on my ear. Isn’t that cute?”
Jane smiled up at the little scamp. She raised her hand to pet his furry back. “You know, Tarzan, I think he’s my favorite one. What should we call him?”
“I know!” said Tarzan. “Let’s call him Scamp!”
“Why, Tarzan! That’s just the name I was thinking of!” said Jane.
Yuk! How boring. But why? Why is that dialog boring? (more…)
Advertising Jingles
Allan G. Odell saved his company from ruin and made it quite popular.
How did he do it?
In the 1920s, a new shaving product was born called Burma-Shave. It was different from other shaving creams because, now, men didn’t have to lather up some cream or soap with a brush and apply it to their faces for a shave. They simply used this new cream that came in a tube. But the product did not catch on. The company was in trouble.
Then along came Allan Odell with a brilliant marketing scheme. (more…)
Trees: Be Specific When You Describe
Let’s talk about trees.
Something interesting just happened to you. Right now. This moment.
When you read “trees,” an image of a tree or trees popped into your head. What was it?
When you write to describe something, you want to be specific. You DON’T want to write like this: (more…)
Fun with Morse Code
In the mid-1800s, Samuel Morse helped create a code that was used in his new system of communication: telegraphs.
You may be familiar with the Morse code for “SOS”:
· · · ― ― ― · · ·
(or “dot dot dot, dash dash dash, dot dot dot”).
The three dots stand for “S” and the three dashes stand for “O.”
In Frank Gilbreth and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey’s memoir Cheaper by the Dozen, (more…)
