30 Excellent Informational Writing Prompts

30 Informational Writing Prompts to Help Students Learn About the World Around Us — A journal isn’t only just a safe place for a student to reflect on their thoughts and feelings – it can also be a powerful tool that enables a student to learn more about what’s happening in the world around them.

Whether a student has already learned about a given topic or has to research it to find the answer to a question, journaling encourages kids to pay attention to important details and explore the “why” behind the facts they’ve been taught.

In these informational writing prompts, students are encouraged to research the topics presented and to form their own thoughts and reflections based on the facts they’ve learned.

And…

As they consider everything from what it would be like to experience an earthquake to the issues that parents must deal with to run functional households, kids will learn that seemingly simple experiences in life are always a little more complex than they may look from the outside—and that it’s important to examine each experience from all sides before deciding how you feel about it.

Use these informational writing prompts in your lesson plans with middle school grades and beyond to expose your students to new ideas and new ways of thinking.

These ideas are a fun way to get your learners in all grade levels looking at and writing about the everyday events going on around them. Take a look now and enjoy!

30 Informational Writing Prompts for Students

In autumn, the green leaves on the trees change to a variety of different colors. What causes this to happen?
Think about the fact that newspapers are becoming less popular these days and write about what places people get their current events news from instead.
If you could meet any famous person in the world, who would it be and what would you want to talk to them about?
What would it be like to live in one of the coldest cities in the world?
What would it be like to experience an earthquake?
Why are firefighters and police officers often called heroes?
What are some measures that kids can take to be safe on the Internet?
What hobby can you think of that would make a good occupation when you grow up?
Think about all the steps that might be involved in getting a bag of shiny, red apples into a produce display at the grocery store. Write about the process from the point the apples become ripe on the tree, through the processing of the apples (How do they get so shiny? How do they get in the bag?), through to the grocery display.
What do you think it would be like to be the head of a family? What kinds of issues must you deal with as a parent?
What do you think the most enjoyable part of being a parent would be? Do you think your parents would agree with your answer?
Talk about some ways that you could make your own diet healthier.
Think about one small business and one large corporation and write about their differences and similarities.
Write about the responsibilities that a store manager might have.
Write about why it is important to take care of and preserve the environment around us.
Write about the steps that you, personally, can take to preserve the environment.
What causes the clouds to become gray and drop rain down upon us?
Reflect on why it’s important to be kind to animals and write about the reasons you come up with.
Think about how your life would be different without computers and write about it.
Think of one major problem that is facing our world today. What steps could be taken to solve it? How long do you think it would take to solve the problem?
Write about a time when you noticed two people arguing about something and were able to understand where both people were coming from. Why couldn’t the people in the argument see the other person’s side? What could have been done to make them understand one another better?
Why is it important for people to learn more than one language? If you could learn any other language, what would it be and when would you use it?
In our part of the country, sometimes we have to worry about [earthquakes/tornadoes/hurricanes/etc.]. What do you think it would be like to live in an area of the country where there were [earthquakes/tornadoes/hurricanes/etc.]?
Some people are currently working on a way for regular tourists to be able to visit space. Would you ever want to visit space? Why or why not?
Write about one type of technology that didn’t exist 15 years ago. What do you think life would have been like then?
Imagine a new technology that you think we will have 15 years from now. How would that new innovation change our lives?
Why is it so important for kids to go to elementary school and high school? Do you think that school should be required by law?
Do you think that it’s important for people to go to college? Why or why not? Do you want to go to college?
People often feel very strongly about their political views and the political candidates they support. Why do you think this is?
Write about a current event that’s going on in your city. What is the significance of this event? Write about the effects it will have on people in your community.

I hope you enjoyed these informational writing prompts and use them to help your writers — in fourth grade, 5th grade, and up — explore the writing process and improve their writing skills!

Use these informational writing prompts and topics in the blog post shown below to inspire your writers to write a journal entry, create a composition, or simply practice their informational essay skills. However you use them, be sure to encourage your kids to have fun!

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Until next time, write on…

Sincerely,
Jill
journalbuddies.com
creator and curator