Fun Writing Activities for Kids

Children are free to express their unchecked thoughts on paper to create whimsical, humorous stories.

Writing activities are excellent ways to exercise students' creative writing voice. Constraints on the writing in essays and research papers can make children feel constricted and bored. Creative writing exercises allow them to free their writing voice and enjoy spontaneous ideas that rise from their imagination. Fun English exercises are encouraging and make writing enjoyable for children of all ages.

Script

Have students write a script for a movie or play. Start the play with a list of characters and their descriptions. Then write the script using stage directions and lines of dialogue to take the reader on a journey with the characters. Anything is possible. Make sure the story has a beginning, middle and end. Scripts allow for dramatic conflict, arc and resolution while giving the writer creative freedom.

Newspaper Article

Ask children to find and cut out their favorite headline from the daily newspaper. Have them stick it on the top of a page and ask them to write their own newspaper article based on the headline. In newspaper articles, children use the authoritative voice. Let them write about amazing, weird, wild and astonishing events that happened or that they imagine.

Five Senses Descriptive Writing

Have the children pretend that they are aliens from outer space who have just landed on Earth. They have never seen any of the objects on this planet. Present an object to the children and label it "Object X." It could be a piece of fruit or candy. Tell them that as aliens they must send news back to their home planet about the object they have encountered. Using their five senses, they must describe what it looks, feels, smells, sounds and tastes like.

Autobiography

Ask the students to write an autobiography. Tell them to begin at birth and tell the story of their childhood. Ask them to include dates, places, names and specific memories to make the narrative rich and meaningful. When they reach the present, ask them to use their imagination to write about their future as if it has already happened. Tell them to end the autobiography as if they were 50 years old. Autobiographies give students a new perspective on their lives and their future.

Word Jumble Story

Brainstorm with the class to come up with 20 objects, ideas, phrases, places, people and events. Write them down on a chalkboard or bulletin board. Ask students to use at least 10 of the listed objects in a story. Their story should make sense and have a beginning, middle and end. Encourage them to use as many ideas as possible. The word jumble story gives students a framework around which to work and develop a story.

References

• Homeschooling Ideas: Creative Writing Activities for Kids
• Pro Teacher Directory: Writing Activities