Description | Exposition | Narration | Opinion | Persuasion | All

middle school writing promptsGive 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.

Intro to Writing, Part 5: Point Orders

Posted by on Oct 8, 2017 in High School Prompts, High School Tutorial, Middle School Prompts, Middle School Tutorial, Sharon's Blog, teaching aids, tutorial | Comments Off on Intro to Writing, Part 5: Point Orders

Intro to Writing, Part 5: Point Orders

SHARON’S BLOG

Problems with Point Orders?

One of my students handed in an interesting essay on volcanic activity. She included lots of facts, dates, and anecdotes, but there was one big problem.

There was no rhyme or reason for the order in which she put her facts. Each major or historic volcanic eruption was in its own paragraph, but the paragraphs were in no particular order. It felt jumbled and incoherent.

How could she have arranged her paragraphs to have the most impact on her reader? Check below for two possible answers to this conundrum. (more…)

Intro to Writing, Part 4: Paragraphs

Posted by on Oct 1, 2017 in High School Prompts, High School Tutorial, Middle School Prompts, Middle School Tutorial, Sharon's Blog, teaching aids, tutorial | Comments Off on Intro to Writing, Part 4: Paragraphs

Intro to Writing, Part 4: Paragraphs

SHARON’S BLOG

Can a chart rescue poorly written paragraphs?

Do your students have trouble coming up with ideas to put in their paragraphs? Are their paragraphs only one or two sentences long?

Are they a jumbled mess of ideas?

A paragraph is all about one idea. In it, your student will teach something about that idea, explain it, or prove why it is the right one.

In Intro to Writing, Part 4, you’ll find a practical chart to help your student formulate ideas and put them into a credible paragraph. (more…)

Intro to Writing, Part 3: Outlines

Posted by on Sep 24, 2017 in High School Prompts, High School Tutorial, Middle School Prompts, Middle School Tutorial, Sharon's Blog, teaching aids, tutorial | Comments Off on Intro to Writing, Part 3: Outlines

Intro to Writing, Part 3: Outlines

SHARON’S BLOG

Outlines.

Did I lose you already?

The idea of outlines and actually creating them can be confusing and frustrating to our students.

But what if we could make organizing material a little easier for them? 

Intro to Writing, Part 3 takes some of the pain out of learning about outline. It uses material your students are already very familiar with: restaurant categories and the way grocery stores are organized. (more…)

Photo-Inspired Prompts

Posted by on Jun 6, 2017 in High School Prompts, Middle School Prompts, Sharon's Blog, Writing Prompts | Comments Off on Photo-Inspired Prompts

Photo-Inspired Prompts

SHARON’S BLOG

“A writer is simply a photographer of thoughts.” -Brandon A. Trean

Oftentimes our writing spills forth from an experience we’ve had or memory we’ve made. We keep a picture or image in our mind’s eye about that event, and it becomes the inspiration that prompts our writing. Have you experienced that?

Using someone else’s image or photo as a writing prompt can develop empathy and enable you to imagine the world from their perspective. That’s a valuable skill for a writer.

Grab these five fun photos here!

(more…)

Go to the Ant—A Picnic Prompt

Posted by on May 30, 2017 in High School Prompts, Middle School Prompts, Sharon's Blog, Writing Prompts | Comments Off on Go to the Ant—A Picnic Prompt

Go to the Ant—A Picnic Prompt

SHARON’S BLOG
Summer is almost here, and that means picnics! When you think of picnics, what comes to mind? It might be fried chicken, sweet tea, or potato salad. You might think of your mom, siblings, or other family members at a park. Maybe you think of Frisbees, Nerf balls, or a blanket to sit on.

But you and your family aren’t the only ones at the picnic! You might see (more…)

Dear Future Me

Posted by on Apr 30, 2017 in High School Prompts, Middle School Prompts, Sharon's Blog, Writing Prompts | Comments Off on Dear Future Me

Dear Future Me

SHARON’S BLOG
Life is about making decisions, and you’ve got some large ones in your future.

Big ones include your future education or training: Should you pursue a college or technical degree. If you do, which one? Will you make the best choice? Will you change your mind several times?

What about marriage? Starting a family? Will that be in your future? Will you travel?

I’m sure you’ve heard your parents say, “If I knew then what I know now!” and understood them to mean that they wished they had some of their current wisdom to help them make decisions when they were younger.

What if, instead of looking backwards, we encouraged our future selves? You may not have all the wisdom you’d like to have now to inform yourself twenty years from now, but you know you better than anyone.
(more…)

Celebrate National Poetry Month with Joyce Kilmer’s “Trees”

Posted by on Apr 23, 2017 in High School Prompts, Literature, Middle School Prompts, Sharon's Blog, Writing Prompts | Comments Off on Celebrate National Poetry Month with Joyce Kilmer’s “Trees”

Celebrate National Poetry Month with Joyce Kilmer’s “Trees”

SHARON’S BLOG
All this month we’re celebrating National Poetry Month with famous poems worth knowing. Be sure to check out the many links at the end of this post for more poetry appreciation and practice!

What is today’s poem? Joyce Kilmer’s “Trees.” Here are the first two lines:

I think that I shall never see
A poem as lovely as a tree

(more…)