Oh yeah. Below we give you 31 writing warm ups for writers listed by grade level. These can help your writers start their day, be more creative, and help them write better stories. Take a look and enjoy!
Writing warm-ups remain crucial even as you become an experienced writer. Sometimes motivation doesn’t strike or the words don’t flow well together. That’s precisely when some great writing warm-ups can help.
And now…
Our 31 simple and creative writing warm-ups are well-suited to writers of various age groups — from Elementary and Middle School to High Schoolers. Our ideas will help your writers hone their writing skills and spark their imagination. You see…
Writing skills require development. You might have better writing skills than your peers, but you’ll still need to refine them to develop as a writer. That’s why many teachers and writers recommend writing warm-ups and exercises. So grab those writing journals and get to writing now. I think you’ll be glad you did.
10 Straightforward Writing Warm Ups for Elementary School Children
- Find an interesting picture around you. Write a story based on that picture.
- Create a funny comic strip about your daily life.
- Rewrite an episode of your favorite cartoon as a story.
- Use a single word as a writing prompt for a funny story. (see 100 One Word Prompts here)
- Write a short essay about your favorite movie and why you love it.
- Write a short review of a book you thoroughly enjoyed.
- Do you have a pet? Write a line account of their day.
- Write the first thoughts that come to mind after seeing a picture of an apple.
- Improve your letter-writing skills by penning a letter to your favorite person on Earth.
- If you could change one thing about school, what would it be?
10 Creative and Straightforward Writing Warm Ups for Middle School Children
- Write a short fantasy story with a new twist on an old-school cliche.
- The new year has recently started. Write an essay, poem, or short story with the words “Dear new me”.
- Write a short Sci-Fi story about the near future.
- Read the dictionary and learn an entirely new word. Incorporate this word correctly in your poem, story, letter, or journal.
- List what makes the world’s ocean such a frightening place.
- Pass judgment on the most popular food dishes by alphabetical order.
- Write about something that you are really good at and what it means to you.
- Explain how and why the English language became the official language for most of the world.
- Write a short story about what your perfect day will look like.
- Write a few paragraphs on your best friend and what makes them so special.
11 Great Writing Warm Ups for High School Students
- Write short stories in different genres with a single prompt: Did I make the right choice by pushing the button?
- Harsh critics often help improve art by voicing their opinion. Write a scathing review about a bad film.
- You’ve recently learned your favorite local park is being closed by the City government. Write a letter as a type of response to vent your frustration.
- Conduct a plot analysis about your least favorite video game.
- Write a story about an eccentric billionaire trying to build a rocket to go to Mars as a fun challenge.
- Write an extended assignment piece about the public education setting.
- Your father recently bought a robot to clean the house. However, the robot has suddenly forgotten how to do its work. Continue with this premise.
- Write a story about a keyboard warrior being confronted by someone they’ve relentlessly trolled on the internet.
- Pen an editorial to your local newspaper stating the importance of critical thinking activities in high schools as a fun little exercise.
- Write a story about how a detective must solve a murder mystery using little visual information.
- Write a short paragraph about how to have a more focused mindset.
It is my hope that the ideas found here will inspire your writers. These are just a few ideas of topics for your writers to write about. I hope they enjoy them!
More Writing Resources
- 35 Free Write Topics for Kids
- 36 Easy to Write About Topics for Essays
- 128 Fun and Fabulous Creative Writing Prompts
- 7 Excellent Creative Writing Exercises
- See our poetry prompts collection
- Timed Writing Exercises
A Few Closing Thoughts on Using Writing Warm Ups
Our fun exercises can be particularly beneficial for several reasons.
First…
They’re especially useful if you have a strong case of writer’s block and cannot get the words down when you sit down to type on your keyboard.
Plus…
These warm-ups are also great because they’ll help you improve your command of the language, especially since you’ll be writing poems, stories, letters, journals, etc. It’ll give your writing more versatility and diversity.
Moreover, writing warm-ups are also great because it can help spark creativity within children. These exercises are similar to the free-writing practices developed by Peter Elbow in 1973, except more structured. Their structured approach makes them more widely applicable and beneficial for writers across all grades and age groups.
We’ve created a list of over 30 prompts for children in different age groups. Use these prompts to become more creative and write better stories, poems, essays, journals and more.
Until next time, write on…
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Sincerely,
Jill
journalbuddies.com
creator and curator
