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How to Teach Creative Writing | 7 Steps to Get Students Wordsmithing

how to teach a child creative writing

“I don’t have any ideas!”

“I can’t think of anything!”

While we see creative writing as a world of limitless imagination, our students often see an overwhelming desert of “no idea.”

But when you teach creative writing effectively, you’ll notice that  every  student is brimming over with ideas that just have to get out.

So what does teaching creative writing effectively look like?

We’ve outlined a  seven-step method  that will  scaffold your students through each phase of the creative process  from idea generation through to final edits.

7. Create inspiring and original prompts

Use the following formats to generate prompts that get students inspired:

  • personal memories (“Write about a person who taught you an important lesson”)
  • imaginative scenarios
  • prompts based on a familiar mentor text (e.g. “Write an alternative ending to your favorite book”). These are especially useful for giving struggling students an easy starting point.
  • lead-in sentences (“I looked in the mirror and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Somehow overnight I…”).
  • fascinating or thought-provoking images with a directive (“Who do you think lives in this mountain cabin? Tell their story”).

student writing prompts for kids

Don’t have the time or stuck for ideas? Check out our list of 100 student writing prompts

6. unpack the prompts together.

Explicitly teach your students how to dig deeper into the prompt for engaging and original ideas.

Probing questions are an effective strategy for digging into a prompt. Take this one for example:

“I looked in the mirror and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Somehow overnight I…”

Ask “What questions need answering here?” The first thing students will want to know is:

What happened overnight?

No doubt they’ll be able to come up with plenty of zany answers to that question, but there’s another one they could ask to make things much more interesting:

Who might “I” be?

In this way, you subtly push students to go beyond the obvious and into more original and thoughtful territory. It’s even more useful with a deep prompt:

“Write a story where the main character starts to question something they’ve always believed.”

Here students could ask:

  • What sorts of beliefs do people take for granted?
  • What might make us question those beliefs?
  • What happens when we question something we’ve always thought is true?
  • How do we feel when we discover that something isn’t true?

Try splitting students into groups, having each group come up with probing questions for a prompt, and then discussing potential “answers” to these questions as a class.

The most important lesson at this point should be that good ideas take time to generate. So don’t rush this step!

5. Warm-up for writing

A quick warm-up activity will:

  • allow students to see what their discussed ideas look like on paper
  • help fix the “I don’t know how to start” problem
  • warm up writing muscles quite literally (especially important for young learners who are still developing handwriting and fine motor skills).

Freewriting  is a particularly effective warm-up. Give students 5–10 minutes to “dump” all their ideas for a prompt onto the page for without worrying about structure, spelling, or grammar.

After about five minutes you’ll notice them starting to get into the groove, and when you call time, they’ll have a better idea of what captures their interest.

Did you know? The Story Factory in Reading Eggs allows your students to write and publish their own storybooks using an easy step-by-step guide.

The Story factory in Reading Eggs

4. Start planning

Now it’s time for students to piece all these raw ideas together and generate a plan. This will synthesize disjointed ideas and give them a roadmap for the writing process.

Note:  at this stage your strong writers might be more than ready to get started on a creative piece. If so, let them go for it – use planning for students who are still puzzling things out.

Here are four ideas for planning:

Graphic organisers

A graphic organiser will allow your students to plan out the overall structure of their writing. They’re also particularly useful in “chunking” the writing process, so students don’t see it as one big wall of text.

Storyboards and illustrations

These will engage your artistically-minded students and give greater depth to settings and characters. Just make sure that drawing doesn’t overshadow the writing process.

Voice recordings

If you have students who are hesitant to commit words to paper, tell them to think out loud and record it on their device. Often they’ll be surprised at how well their spoken words translate to the page.

Write a blurb

This takes a bit more explicit teaching, but it gets students to concisely summarize all their main ideas (without giving away spoilers). Look at some blurbs on the back of published books before getting them to write their own. Afterward they could test it out on a friend – based on the blurb, would they borrow it from the library?

3. Produce rough drafts

Warmed up and with a plan at the ready, your students are now ready to start wordsmithing. But before they start on a draft, remind them of what a draft is supposed to be:

  • a work in progress.

Remind them that  if they wait for the perfect words to come, they’ll end up with blank pages .

Instead, it’s time to take some writing risks and get messy. Encourage this by:

  • demonstrating the writing process to students yourself
  • taking the focus off spelling and grammar (during the drafting stage)
  • providing meaningful and in-depth feedback (using words, not ticks!).

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2. share drafts for peer feedback.

Don’t saddle yourself with 30 drafts for marking. Peer assessment is a better (and less exhausting) way to ensure everyone receives the feedback they need.

Why? Because for something as personal as creative writing, feedback often translates better when it’s in the familiar and friendly language that only a peer can produce. Looking at each other’s work will also give students more ideas about how they can improve their own.

Scaffold peer feedback to ensure it’s constructive. The following methods work well:

Student rubrics

A simple rubric allows students to deliver more in-depth feedback than “It was pretty good.” The criteria will depend on what you are ultimately looking for, but students could assess each other’s:

  • use of language.

Whatever you opt for, just make sure the language you use in the rubric is student-friendly.

Two positives and a focus area

Have students identify two things their peer did well, and one area that they could focus on further, then turn this into written feedback. Model the process for creating specific comments so you get something more constructive than “It was pretty good.” It helps to use stems such as:

I really liked this character because…

I found this idea interesting because it made me think…

I was a bit confused by…

I wonder why you… Maybe you could… instead.

1. The editing stage

Now that students have a draft and feedback, here’s where we teachers often tell them to “go over it” or “give it some final touches.”

But our students don’t always know how to edit.

Scaffold the process with questions that encourage students to think critically about their writing, such as:

  • Are there any parts that would be confusing if I wasn’t there to explain them?
  • Are there any parts that seem irrelevant to the rest?
  • Which parts am I most uncertain about?
  • Does the whole thing flow together, or are there parts that seem out of place?
  • Are there places where I could have used a better word?
  • Are there any grammatical or spelling errors I notice?

Key to this process is getting students to  read their creative writing from start to finish .

Important note:  if your students are using a word processor, show them where the spell-check is and how to use it. Sounds obvious, but in the age of autocorrect, many students simply don’t know.

A final word on teaching creative writing

Remember that the best writers write regularly.

Incorporate them into your lessons as often as possible, and soon enough, you’ll have just as much fun  marking  your students’ creative writing as they do producing it.

Need more help supporting your students’ writing?

Read up on  how to get reluctant writers writing , strategies for  supporting struggling secondary writers , or check out our huge list of writing prompts for kids .

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Watch your students get excited about writing and publishing their own storybooks in the Story Factory

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Creative Writing for Kids: A Step-By-Step Guide to Writing a Story

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Creative writing can be a real positive force for children’s lives and development, but how does a child get started with creative writing? There are many ways, but it can often be helpful to have a structure to work from, so we’ve outlined some simple steps on how your child can write a story and enjoy themselves in the process! As they brainstorm, a lot of ideas will come to mind, so we recommend they take notes throughout the process.

Getting started

Child writing.

Your child may not be quite ready to start, and that’s normal - writing can be challenging!

Instead of jumping straight in, ease your child into it with activities like free writing. This will allow them to explore any topic without pressure, acting as a way to boost your child’s imagination before they start writing stories .

If your child is a reluctant writer, you can try different methods that don’t actively require them to put pen to paper, but are linked to creativity and storytelling. These include drawing , picking out new children’s books from the local library, telling stories out loud, or dedicating time to read your child’s favorite books as a family. Generally, reading lays the foundation for your child to be able to create their own stories, improving their narrative writing skills by exposing them to different techniques, genres, and styles.

When all else fails, encourage your child to read more. The more that your child reads, the easier it will be for them to start writing.

Step 1: Character development

Creating a character is a great starting point for your child to write their own story.

This character can be whatever your child wants them to be. They can be a human, an animal, a mystical creature, or something completely made-up! Once they have a general idea of what they want this character to be, they can brainstorm different plot points, which will further inform the characters traits, behaviours, and role in the story.

Here are some questions your child should be able to answer about their character:

  • What is going on in this character’s life?
  • Do they have a problem that they need to fix?
  • Who are they interacting with in this story?
  • How do they feel about other characters, and about the issue at hand?

A story normally relies on one character to be the hero, and on another to be the villain. The villain is typically portrayed as a negative character who introduces a problem (the antagonist), and the hero is a positive character who solves the problems (the protagonist). Once your child creates their main character, they should establish their role within the story. Are they writing from the perspective of the hero, or would they prefer to give the villain of the story a voice?

From there, they can create side characters! These are typically parents, siblings, and friends of the main character, but can also be total strangers. If your child is stuck on how to build their first character, they can use writing prompts to make it a little easier. Try this prompt:

Prompt: Create a character that is half dog, and half elephant and call it a Doggophant! What does a Doggophant like to eat?

Step 2: Setting and genre

The next step in your child’s creative writing process is to choose where it takes place . They should also decide the genre of their story, as some settings won’t work for some specific genres (for example, a sunny beach wouldn’t pair well with a moody mystery).

This story’s setting could be a real location, such as London, Paris, or New York, or a fictional location, like an enchanted forest or an underwater kingdom.

A helpful way to start brainstorming is to ask your child about places they’ve been to, seen on TV, or read about in stories. This is a chance for them to imagine how their story would look like in different settings, and will help them decide on the genre they’d like to go for too.

Prompt (continued): Where does a Doggophant usually live? Is it a magical Night Zoo?

Step 3: Structure and plot

Child writing.

Before starting to plan the plot, your child should understand the basic structure of a story . All good stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end.

The beginning serves as a way to introduce characters, set the scene, and show the "calm before the storm”. This happens before a conflict is introduced.

The middle of a story is where most of the action takes place. This is where your child should introduce the main problem, and the main character’s journey of trying to solve it.

Finally, the ending or conclusion of the story is where, normally, the conflict is resolved. This can change depending on how your child wants to end their story!

Prompt (continued): Doggophants love when people visit the Night Zoo, but a new character named Lord Nulth is trying to steal all of the creativity in the Zoo! Does Lord Nulth sound like a nice person? Why would he want to steal creativity? How will Doggophant and other animals stop him?

Step 4: Begin Writing

Now that all the planning is done, let’s get writing!

As your child starts to write, they’ll probably make changes and come up with new story ideas— this is normal and an integral part of the creative process.

It’s important that you offer your support throughout this process, especially if your child is a reluctant writer. While giving them space to concentrate, you can check-in every once in a while, offering help if they encounter any hurdles. Your role mirrors that of a writing prompt, providing your child with initial ideas and nudging them to develop their story further. This collaborative approach ensures their story unfolds organically, making the blank page a canvas for unlimited story possibilities!

Step 5: Keep Going!

Child writing.

One of the best things about creative writing is that it enables children to express themselves and grow in confidence with every story they craft. It pushes children to believe in the phrase "I can", as they embark on different writing exercises without the fear of failing or being held by the “what if’s”. As your child starts their journey through the exciting world of writing, it’s important to guide them in the right direction. Encourage them to not overthink and just write whatever comes to mind at first.

To keep the momentum, you can even set different goals, like writing different descriptions, drawing their main character, or brainstorming different story endings before writing the full story. For reluctant writers, setting small, attainable targets can make the process less overwhelming and more exciting. Avoid setting strict word counts or time limits, as these can add pressure and take the fun out of the writing experience.

It’s important to remember that progress isn’t linear, and that every child is unique. If they need to, you can allow your child to build their story gradually, creating a more fluid project that enables them to work when inspiration strikes. Once they finish their first story, you’ll probably see a change in their attitude, and a new motivation to write a different piece.

Creative writing can be a rewarding experience for you and your child. Make sure you give them positive encouragement, and to soak in the experience of reading the story once it has been completed. They’ll have created something one-of-a-kind, and it will give you an exciting look into their imagination!

Step 6: Try Night Zookeeper

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Still having trouble getting your child motivated to write? You should try Night Zookeeper !

Our program makes writing fantastically fun by turning different writing activities into games, keeping children engaged, entertained, and excited to learn!

We cover all styles of writing, and boost children’s writing skills using an array of different activities, including writing lessons, short story prompts, and challenges.

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  • 25 Creative Writing Prompts For Kids
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Creative writing techniques for kids: a step-by-step guide to writing a story

Girl writing in notebook

The way literacy is taught in primary schools has changed radically in the last couple of decades; when I was at school in the 80s we copied from blackboards, had whole hours of handwriting practice and sweated over spellings without any formal teaching of phonics whatsoever. While I think the more structured approach to literacy teaching we see in classrooms today makes learning more fun and accessible, my one worry is that there’s little time left for writing creatively.

When I was at school I adored writing stories – even stories with chapters and illustrations. I know my author brother did too – we found some of his old stories a few years back, and I felt so pleased he’d had the time to write these endless pages of action, adventure, characterisation and twisting plotlines.

As a primary teacher I ensured I would have a week each term when, during literacy sessions, we would focus solely on creating stories. I wasn’t deviating from the curriculum – far from it. During this week children would be consolidating their learning of phonics and  be ‘writing for purpose’, considering carefully the aspects of story and who their audience might be.

It may very well be that your children write stories at home regardless of whether they’re required to for school, because most children have a seemingly natural urge to want to do so from time to time. This is just a little guidance on how you can support them and encourage a more structured approach to their story writing.

Plot planning

Firstly, ask your child where the story is going to take place . It could be somewhere fictional or real, it could be a planet, a country, a town or a house – anywhere! 

Then, ask when the story is taking place – now? In the future? In the past? 

Finally ask what they think is going to happen . Remember that this doesn’t have to be accurate and they don’t have to stick to what they say; many of the best writers say that their plots develop organically as they write. If they do have a firm idea of where they want to go with the plot, though, they can create an outline by completing a story planner, which could look something like this:  

  • And finally….

Download a FREE Creative Writing toolkit!

  • KS1 & KS2 workbooks
  • Bursting with fill-in prompt sheets and inspiring ideas
  • Story structure tips, style guides and editing suggestions

Characterisation

Ask your child who is going to be in the story. How do they want their readers to feel about each character? Again, they may want to jot some ideas down. You could make a table for them to help them organise their thoughts, with these headings:  

  • Name of character
  • Relationship to other characters
  • What he/she looks like

Story language

Ask your child to think of some fabulous words to use in their story writing . They might be long words or simple ones, or they might be great descriptive words or words that help create pace and tension. Encourage them to jot these down and refer to the list as they write their story.

Story starters

All writers know that you’ve got to capture the attention of your readers right from the start; you want to make them desperate to read on. Ask your child to think of some good story openers that’ll entice people to find out more. Here are a few examples:

First sentences that are mysterious… Molly had no sense of the day that lay ahead.

Story starters that use language tricks like alliteration… It was damp, dark and dreadfully dusty when Molly entered the house.

Story openers that create tension… Molly could hear her heart beating faster than ever before. Could this really be happening?

Stories that go straight into dialogue… “But I don’t want to go to school, Mummy,” groaned Molly.

Encourage your child to look at some of the books they like to read and see how they begin in order to offer inspiration.

Get writing!

Once they’ve got all of these ideas in place, they can start writing. They could do a draft in the first instance and then a neat, polished version later. They may wish to write in short chapters, use illustrations, or make their own book to write in – let them use their imagination and creativity when it comes to presentation, and make sure you show how much you value the end product by keeping it to read again with the other books in your house.

If your child finds writing a story a little daunting, start with something small from our list of 9 fun writing projects to do with your children .

We also recommend the free art and creative writing challenges on the Night Zookeeper website ; your child will be contributing to a co-created animated television show.

You could also try a great story-making app and get your child writing fiction on their tablet!

Plus, find out how to support storytelling skills for children in EYFS , KS1 , KS2 and KS3 to get them thinking about story elements, plot and character development.

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How to Teach Creative Writing

Last Updated: January 22, 2024 References

This article was co-authored by Christopher Taylor, PhD . Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. There are 15 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 116,214 times.

Creative writing is one of the most enjoyable types of writing for students. Not only does it allow students to explore their imaginations, but it helps them to structure their ideas and produce writing that they can be proud of. However, creative writing is a relatively difficult type of writing to teach and offers challenges to both new and seasoned teachers alike. Fortunately, though, with some work of their own, teachers can better develop their own abilities to teach creative writing.

Providing Students with the Fundamentals

Step 1 Introduce the important elements of storytelling.

  • Theme. The theme of a story is its message or the main idea behind it.
  • Setting. The setting of a story is the location or time it takes place in.
  • Plot. The plot is the overall story, narrative, or sequence of events.
  • Characterization. Characterization is how a character or person in a story is explained or presented to the reader.
  • Conflict and dramatic action. Conflict and dramatic action are the main events of focus in the story. These events are often tense or exciting and are used to lure the reader in. [1] X Research source

Step 2 Encourage students to engage the reader.

  • Explain how your students, as writers, can appeal to the humanity of their readers. One great way to do this is to ask them to explore character development. By developing the characters in their story, readers will become invested in the story.
  • Discuss the triggers that engage readers in an effective story. Most great stories start with a problem, which is solved with the resolution, or conclusion of the story. Encourage students to create an engaging problem that will hook the readers in the first few pages of a short story or novel. [2] X Research source

Step 3 Explain the importance of tone and atmosphere.

  • By setting the tone and atmosphere of a story, the author will establish his or her attitude to the subject and the feel of the story.
  • Tone can be positive, neutral, or negative. [3] X Research source
  • Atmosphere can be dark, happy, or neither.
  • Descriptive words like “darkness” or “sunshine” can help set both the tone and atmosphere. [4] X Research source

Step 4 Promote the use of active verbs.

  • Active verbs are used to show action in the story.
  • Active verbs are very often a better alternative to passive voice, as it keeps your writing clear and concise for your readers. [5] X Research source
  • For example, instead of writing “The cat was chased by the dog” your student can write “The dog chased the cat.” [6] X Research source

Guiding Students through the Process

Step 1 Allow students to pick their topic.

  • Tell your students to brainstorm about ideas they are truly interested in.
  • If you must restrict the general topic, make sure that your students have a good amount of wiggle room within the broad topic of the assignment.
  • Never assign specific topics and force students to write. This will undermine the entire process. [7] X Research source

Step 2 Have your students write a flexible outline.

  • Letting your students know that the outline is non-binding. They don’t have to follow it in later steps of the writing process.
  • Telling your students that the parts of their outline should be written very generally.
  • Recommending that your students create several outlines, or outlines that go in different directions (in terms of plot and other elements of storytelling). The more avenues your students explore, the better. [8] X Research source

Step 3 Avoid teaching a story “formula.”

  • Tell students that there is no “right” way to write a story.
  • Let students know that their imaginations should guide their way.
  • Show students examples of famous writing that breaks normal patterns, like the works of E.E. Cummings, William Faulkner, Charles Dickens, and William Shakespeare.
  • Ask students to forget about any expectations they think you have for how a story should be written. [9] X Research source

Step 4 Provide feedback on rough drafts.

  • Gather the first drafts and comment on the student's work. For first drafts, you want to check on the overall structure of the draft, proper word use, punctuation, spelling, and overall cohesion of the piece. [10] X Research source
  • Remind them that great writers usually wrote several drafts before they were happy with their stories.
  • Avoid grading drafts for anything other than completion.

Step 5 Organize editing groups.

  • Let students pair off to edit each others' papers.
  • Have your students join groups of 3 or 4 and ask them to go edit and provide feedback on each member’s story.
  • Provide guidance so students contribute constructively to the group discussion. [11] X Research source

Step 6 Evaluate your students based on their creativity.

  • Reward your students if they are innovative or do something unique and truly creative.
  • Avoid evaluating your students based on a formula.
  • Assess and review your own standards as often as you can. Remember that the point is to encourage your students' creativity. [12] X Research source

Spurring Creativity

Step 1 Inspire students with an appreciation of literature.

  • Teach your students about a variety of writers and genres.
  • Have your students read examples of different genres.
  • Promote a discussion within your class of the importance of studying literature.
  • Ask students to consider the many ways literature improves the world and asks individuals to think about their own lives. [13] X Research source

Step 2 Provide your students with a large number of resources.

  • Make sure your room is stocked with a wide variety of fiction stories.
  • Make sure your room is stocked with plenty of paper for your students to write on.
  • Line up other writing teachers or bring in writers from the community to talk to and encourage your students.

Step 3 Have your students write practice stories based on random photos or pictures you provide.

  • Cut out pictures and photographs from magazines, comic books, and newspapers.
  • Have your students cut out photographs and pictures and contribute them to your bank.
  • Consider having your students randomly draw a given number of photos and pictures and writing a short story based on what they draw.
  • This technique can help students overcome writer's block and inspire students who think that they're "not creative." [14] X Research source

Step 4 Arrange an audience.

  • Pair your students with students from another grade in your school.
  • Allow your students to write stories that younger students in your school would like to read.
  • Pair your students with another student in the class and have them evaluate each others' work. [15] X Research source

Step 5 Create a writing space.

  • If you just have a typical classroom to work with, make sure to put inspirational posters or other pictures on the walls.
  • Open any curtains so students can see outside.
  • If you have the luxury of having an extra classroom or subdividing your own classroom, create a comfortable space with a lot of inspirational visuals.
  • Writing spaces can help break writer's block and inspire students who think that they're "not creative." [16] X Research source

Step 6 Publish your students’ work.

  • Involve students in the printing process.
  • Publication does not have to be expensive or glossy.
  • Copies can be made in the school workroom if possible or each student might provide a copy for the others in the group.
  • A collection of the stories can be bound with a simple stapler or brads.
  • Seek out other opportunities for your students to publish their stories. [17] X Research source

Expert Q&A

Christopher Taylor, PhD

You Might Also Like

Teach Storytelling

  • ↑ https://www.writersonlineworkshops.com/courses/creative-writing-101
  • ↑ https://kobowritinglife.com/2012/10/14/six-tips-for-engaging-readers-within-two-seconds-the-hook-in-fiction-and-memoir/
  • ↑ https://www.dailywritingtips.com/in-writing-tone-is-the-author%E2%80%99s-attitude/
  • ↑ http://ourenglishclass.net/class-notes/writing/the-writing-process/craft/tone-and-mood/
  • ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/539/02/
  • ↑ https://archive.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/922
  • ↑ http://www.alfiekohn.org/article/choices-children/
  • ↑ https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-fiction/7-steps-to-creating-a-flexible-outline-for-any-story
  • ↑ http://thewritepractice.com/the-formula-to-write-a-novel/
  • ↑ https://student.unsw.edu.au/editing-your-essay
  • ↑ http://orelt.col.org/module/unit/5-promoting-creative-writing
  • ↑ http://education.seattlepi.com/grade-creative-writing-paper-3698.html
  • ↑ http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/04/educating-teenagers-emotions-through-literature/476790/
  • ↑ http://www.wrightingwords.com/for-teachers/5-tips-for-teaching-creative-writing/
  • ↑ http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/3138

About This Article

Christopher Taylor, PhD

To teach creative writing, start by introducing your students to the core elements of storytelling, like theme, setting, and plot, while reminding them that there’s no formula for combining these elements to create a story. Additionally, explain how important it is to use tone and atmosphere, along with active verbs, to write compelling stories that come alive. When your students have chosen their topics, have them create story outlines before they begin writing. Then, read their rough drafts and provide feedback to keep them on the right path to storytelling success. For tips from our English reviewer on how to spur creativity in your students, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to teach ... creative writing

Summer is the perfect time of year for a spot of creative writing. Inspire young imaginations to put pen to paper with our lesson plans and ideas

From birds chirping aloft the trees to sapphire blue lakes sparkling in the sun, the sights and sounds of summer make it the perfect time of year for a spot of creative writing. Getting students to put pen to paper is a good way to spark their imaginations, develop reading and writing skills, and teach about empathy.

To help you and your class get inventive, this week’s how to teach brings you a selection of ideas and resources to inspire the creativity of young wordsmiths.

Primary students

Author Nick Hesketh recommends that before children start writing, you should discuss what makes a good story. He shares this and other advice in his creative writing video series for the Scottish Book Trust . Get students thinking with these “badly written” exemplars , which provide a handy baseline to work from.

Next, capture young imaginations by getting students to think about the story they want to tell. Where is it set? At what time of day? What is the weather like? What can you hear, see, smell or feel? This worksheet by Creative Writing Now will help students get to know their main character, while this plot questionnaire will encourage them think about what is going to happen. Then get your class penning their masterpieces, writing just a few sentences to begin with. Stress that they shouldn’t worry about spelling, instead, just put a wavy line under any words they are unsure of. There are examples of well thought-out sentences here .

Creative writing should be fun, and playing games is good way to help students develop story ideas. Try an alternative word association game in which you think of words that are at odds with each other (such as “boat” and “rock”) instead of words that are connected (such as “boat” and “water”). The aim is to show that good story ideas often involve some sort of tension. We also have instructions for a fun game called The Invisible Book , which involves students coming up with the first three sentences of a story on the spot, which helps them find their writer’s voice.

If ideas aren’t flowing, kickstart things by stepping outside of the classroom and into the playground as suggested in this resource by WordSpace . Give students unusual things to write on, such as the back of an envelope, a leaf, or a rough piece of wallpaper. Or challenge them to write a short story in just 50 words.

A quick way to conjure up story ideas is through pictures. Use prompts such as this image of two boys sitting on the wing of an aeroplane or this one of a dinosaur in the garden , which can work really well. Another tip from writer and teacher Heather Wright is to ask students to start several stories then choose the one they want to finish. This writing checklist will help students evaluate their work when it’s finished.

Secondary students

Challenge secondary students to write a story in just six words or get them to compile a list of objects for an imaginary cabinet of curiosity. These are just some ideas offered by the Writers’ Centre Norwich , a literature development agency based in England’s only UNESCO City of Literature . They have produced an easy-to-use 20-page activity pack for the classroom, which introduces a range of genres and draws on a variety of writing stimuli including photographs and poems.

If students want to get to the heart of a character, ask them to address the audience as their favourite fictitious creations. Writing a monologue is the focus of this key stage 4 resource by the Poetry Society . A second resource encourages students to create a piece of writing based on what they can – and can’t – see out of an imaginary window. The aim is for students to make effective use of descriptive detail as they write short lines of poetry in response to a series of prompts. As a homework task, ask students to repeat the exercise while looking out of a real window.

Students doing creative writing at A-level need to work in a whole range of written forms and genres including creative non-fiction and web content. They should be prepared to share work-in-progress with others, responding to feedback and developing drafting and editing skills. They should also write regularly to deadlines and keep a journal of writing ideas. You’ll find useful advice on approaching the first term of teaching in this guide by AQA . You’ll also find additional ideas to support learning and teaching here .

For those who are eager to take creative writing even further, this resource offers useful information on how to set up a creative writing club.

Finally, remember to encourage young people to read as often and as widely as possible – this is one of the most effective ways to teach creative writing. With this in mind, be sure to set your students off on the Summer Reading Challenge . You’ll find lots of reading and writing activities in this year’s pack .

Follow us on Twitter via @GuardianTeach . Join the Guardian Teacher Network for lesson resources, comment and job opportunities , direct to your inbox.

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how to teach a child creative writing

Explore African Literature

8 Ways To Tutor Children in Creative Writing | by Chioma Iwunze-Ibiam

by Ainehi Edoro

May 22, 2017

how to teach a child creative writing

When children start writing their own stories and poems, their parents start wondering how to encourage and raise them to be better writers.

Most parents want their children to learn to express their thoughts and ideas in the most imaginative way possible. As a mother and teacher, this makes perfect sense. After all, being creative and imaginative are perfectly laudable endeavors.

Helping the child improve has to be handled with utmost care. When children are enjoying the process of creating characters and making up worlds and stories, they want to feel confident and secure. Forcing ‘helpful tips’ down their throats can be counterproductive and even, discouraging. The last thing you want is to end up frustrating the child.

Teaching or coaching a child is no easy feat. So most parents choose to find a private tutor . But any DIY-enthusiast can help a creative child. You don’t need an education degree (or an MFA) to help creative children channel their newly acquired reading experience and budding writing skills into crafting a compelling tale. When I began homeschooling two preteens in creative writing, I was still earning my post graduate diploma in education. What you need, instead, is a lot of patience, grit, love and this five-step guide.

1.   Make Reading A Habit

When I attended the Farafina Workshop, I observed that Chimamanda Adichie and all the other established writers and publishers harped on about the importance of reading. I think it was Chika Unigwe who said, ‘read, read, and read’.

Every time I read an author’s interview, the same tip pops up. Read a lot of well-written books and stories.

Reading is fundamental to the success of every writer. Read to your child and teach them to make reading a part of their lives. During my homeschooling days, I began most classes with a reading exercise. (When the kids were grumpy, classes started with a short game of scrabble.) I placed a lot of emphasis on read aloud and quietly, because I wanted their brains to be stimulated by the stories, the cadences of the words and the ideas. I noticed the children were eager to write their stories after a reading exercise.

After a reading session, discuss the story or novel chapter with the child. Guide the child through these discussions so that he/she understands the basic elements of the story. Talk about the characters, setting, plot and story goal (often the moral of the story). This will help the child understand how a story works.

Teach creative children to build word collections. I told the preteen writers to note down every new word they encountered at the back of their creative writing exercise books. After each reading exercise, I would ask them to decipher the meaning of the words using the context in which the word was used. Only when this didn’t work were they allowed to use a dictionary.

2.   Write, Write, Write

Make sure the child has time to write every day. Create a writing space where the child can write during an agreed upon ‘creative time’.

Make a list of words that aren’t allowed in a story. I chose common, weak words for instance. The children were forbidden from using words like man, woman, boy, girl, go, went, cool, fun, said (except in a dialogue tag), nice, good, bad, fine, pretty etc. This forced the children to be more creative.

For instance, instead of writing, “The man went to the hall.” The child could write, “The retired architect drove his old Mercedes to the Enugu conference hall.”

Encourage the children to write what they know. For instance, the young writers in my class wanted to write about the snowing Christmases and pies they had read about in their novels. The stories didn’t sound authentic enough because they hadn’t tasted snow or smelled it. So I encouraged them to write about harmattan. After all, they had lived in Enugu their whole lives. They grumbled about this, in the beginning. But later, they agreed that it was easier and more fun to write about their interesting lives.

The preteens came up with more descriptive stories, which brings me to my third point.

3.   Teach Your Child To Show More and Tell Less

Encourage your kids to use scenes. This is more easily done when you use picture prompts. In my class, the children learned to plan a story just from what the picture seemed to be saying. They used the 5 Ws and 1 H of journalism. In answering the who, what, where, when, why and how questions, they were able to build the skeleton of the story. I must confess that the children revolted against picture prompts when I first introduced it, but this stopped after I presented positive reinforcements.

They learned to profile their characters. They wrote about their likes, fears, strengths weaknesses and dislikes. What does each character want to accomplish? What’s standing in their way? What are they doing about it? The last question served as a guide to help them start near the point of conflict.

You can also try word prompts and other writing exercises. You can get ideas and free online resources from any reliable homeschooling website .

Another tip is to teach them to avoid adverbs. You could pin an enlarged version of this Stephen King quote on their reading shelf: “The road to hell is paved with adverbs.” But most of all, teach them to use strong and active verbs. In my classes, whenever the kids wrote, ‘she ate quickly,” I suggested, “she gobbled her meal of fried rice and plantains.”

Try playing a game of synonyms. You could write down ‘said’ and expect them to write, ‘yelled’ or ‘stuttered’ or ‘whispered’. The idea is to enrich their vocabulary and encourage them to use descriptive sentences in their scenes.

4.   Points of View

Point of view was one of the first lessons I gave the preteen writers. It is very important to teach the children about the different points of view so that their stories will come out better. Give them a few short stories told from different points of view so that the children can appreciate how the narrative perspective changes. Ask the children to rewrite an old story from a different point of view.

5.   Try Story Collaborations.

When writing solo becomes too tiring for the child, writer’s block can set in. A collaboration can come in handy.

Having two sisters in my writing class helped a lot. Sometimes, I sat in front of the empty page and asked them to agree on a topic and title. Then, one of them had to supply the opening sentence. Once I’d typed that in, the other child would furnish me with the next sentence. They were glad to discover that they had little control of the plot. Each child strove to make the most of every opportunity given to steer the plot in the direction she favoured. It’s a great way to get the children excited about the process of creating a new story.

It is perfectly okay for the adult in charge to join in the story collaboration. It will be a good way to bring a more mature perspective to the story. Whatever you do, try not to dominate the process. Children like to have a high level of control over their creative projects.

Story collaborations shouldn’t be done too often. It is important for children to learn how to write independently because much of creative writing is done solitarily.

6.   Giving and Receiving Feedback

As children complete writing drafts, make out time to give constructive and clear feedback. This will help guide the child through the storytelling process. Good feedback highlights the commendable aspects of the creative work before dishing out corrections and pointing out flaws.

In my class, I asked the children to listen carefully while the other read. I told them to point out the things they liked about the story before they pointed out the things that needed to be improved. I encouraged them to be respectful and to avoid words like ‘I didn’t like’ this or that. Instead, they were to say, your story will read a lot better if you changed this, or rewrote that part,’ or ‘this part wasn’t clear. I wasn’t sure what you were trying to say.’ My rule was simple: point out a flawed scene or subplot you can improve.

After a while, the children learned to read like writers, to listen for tone and atmosphere and excellent characterization. This helped them improve their craft. They learned a lot from each other just by giving feedback.

Parents or tutors must focus on giving comments that only encourage excellent story writing. If you must grade drafts, focus on giving scores for completion. The child should be encouraged to finish writing every story they start. Also evaluate them based on creativity. Children like to be rewarded for pushing the boundaries and generating innovative ideas.

7.   Take Them To Literary Gatherings

If your child has a favorite author, endeavor to take them to book readings or book signings when the opportunity arises. You can also seek out book events and take the child to experience other authors’ works in book readings and literary festivals. If you have a large class, you can consider inviting published writers to address your students.

Great exposure to literary events helps the child gain a certain consciousness about the literary world. In most cases, the child begins to aspire to certain literary heights. There is no better way to encourage a writer.

8.   Inspire Them With Video Interviews and Writing Podcasts

In our high tech world, we have easy access to a wide range of learning resources on any subject. For a creative writing class, there are many videos and podcasts on every genre and topic. You can find a lot on YouTube and Vimeo.

Because I am more of a podcast-person. I often recommend BBC’s From Our Own Correspondents, BBC’s World Book Club , The New Yorker Fiction Podcast, Guardian Short Story Podcast, Writing Excuses, Modern Love and so on. But before you play any episode for the young writer, make sure it is age-appropriate.

Listening to radio stories teaches the importance of tone, voice, style, atmosphere and even, point of view. These are storytelling elements creative children can appreciate after a listening experience.

**************

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COMMENTS ( 3 ) -

Zahra Abbas April 07, 2021 14:36

I really loved the article. I am in search of a teacher who can help really teach creative writing this way. If you could really teach my girls, please let me know.

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[…] BrittlePaper event was slated to hold in a cozy art house on a late afternoon in Lagos. Traffic was terrible as […]

How To Teach A Child Creative Writing – Creative Writing News June 27, 2017 05:12

[…] this months, Brittle Paper published one of my non-fiction articles. It is titled 8 Ways To Tutor Your Children in Creative […]

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  • EXPLORE Random Article

How to Improve Your Child's Creative Writing Skills

Last Updated: February 17, 2024 Approved

This article was co-authored by Kathy Slattengren, M.Ed. . Kathy Slattengren is a Parent Educator and Coach and the Founder of Priceless Parenting. With over two decades of experience, Kathy specializes in helping parents build strong, loving relationships with their children. She has helped thousands of parents around the world through Priceless Parenting's online classes, presentations, coaching, and books. Kathy holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Psychology from The University of Minnesota and a Masters degree in Education and Instructional Design from The University of Washington. Kathy is a member of the National Parenting Education Network, the US Alliance to End the Hitting of Children, the International Society for Technology in Education, and a founding member of Parent Learning Link. Priceless Parenting has been featured on ABC News, Komo News, King 5 News, National PTA, Parent Map, and Inspire Me Today. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. In this case, several readers have written to tell us that this article was helpful to them, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 254,732 times.

The ability to write well is vitally important to your child's success in life. Writing well can help your child succeed academically and professionally. Moreover, creative writing can be an important therapeutic outlet for your child to imagine new worlds and to express his or her feelings. Help your child improve their creative writing skills by supporting creativity, by playing word games, and sparking their imagination with clever writing prompts.

Encouraging Your Child to Love Writing

Step 1 Read to your child every night.

  • In addition to reading to your child, have your child read to you if they are old enough.
  • Ask your child questions about their favorite books. Why do they like some books and not others? Help them to develop their tastes as a reader and to be thoughtful about words, characters, settings, and plots. [2] X Research source
  • If your child has a favorite author or book series, you might also consider taking your child to see the author speak or to a book signing in order to inspire your child to write.

Step 2 Create time for reading and writing.

  • A notebook or journal
  • Pens, pencils, and erasers
  • A bookshelf to keep inspiration nearby
  • An age-appropriate dictionary
  • A thesaurus. A thesaurus isn't necessary for very young children, but it can be helpful for older children who wish to expand their vocabularies.

Step 4 Focus on creativity, not grammar.

  • You can also work with your child to make a special "book" out of their stories, including homemade illustrations and decorations. Stitch the book together with ribbon or yarn to create a special archive of their creativity. [12] X Trustworthy Source Reading Rockets Online resource supported by PBS providing research-based strategies for assisting children to become confident readers Go to source

Step 7 Play stenographer.

Playing Creative Writing Games

Step 1 Incorporate writing activity into imaginative play.

  • Encourage them to write a letter from the perspective of a character that they like to play
  • Suggest that they write about "a day in the life" of their imaginary friend
  • Help your child invent an imaginary country and ask them to write about what people do there
  • Ask your child to create a "mashup" story that includes their favorite characters from completely different worlds [17] X Research source

Step 2 Play word games.

  • Magnetic poetry
  • Catchphrase

Step 3 Play a collaborative story-writing game.

  • Write a story by switching after each sentence. First you write a sentence, then your child continues with the next sentence, then you take over again, etc. Try to add unexpected surprises and goofy twists to keep the story fun and exciting. [19] X Research source
  • Draw a picture and ask your child to imagine a story behind the picture. [20] X Research source
  • Make a list of words by having you and your child point to random words in a dictionary. Then brainstorm a way to use all of those words in a single story.

Step 4 Keep the games short.

Helping Your Child Find Things to Write About

Step 1 Ask questions about the world around you.

  • Ask your child to look out a car window and think about where people on the sidewalk are headed
  • Point out animals while you're walking and ask your child to think about what the lives of these animals are like
  • Ask your child to come up with a new name for their favorite park
  • Ask your child what their favorite building is and why they like it so much

Step 2 Ask your child to rewrite a famous story.

Building Essential Writing Skills

Step 1 Encourage daily writing.

  • Recognize, however, that sometimes children will be reluctant to write. Let them take some time away from writing if they need to (unless they have to complete a school assignment). [29] X Research source

Step 2 Encourage your child to keep a journal.

  • For example, you could underline the words they have misspelled without giving them the correct spelling. Ask them to look up the correct spelling in the dictionary.
  • Be sure that you provide your child with positive feedback as well as gentle suggestions for improvements.

Step 5 Provide fun opportunities for revision.

Expert Q&A

Kathy Slattengren, M.Ed.

  • Be aware of your child's writing training in school. Many schools provide excellent writing coaching. You can have a better sense of your own role in your child's writing skills if you know what your child's teachers are focusing on in class. [36] X Research source Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
  • Remember that, as a parent, you are a creative writing helper: not a coach or a teacher. Do not act as though creative writing is a chore or obligation. If your child is going to be an effective creative writer, they must be passionate about it. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
  • Stay positive. You can point out where your child has made grammatical errors, but you should keep most of your commentary positive and enthusiastic. Be honest with your compliments, but try to emphasize what your child is doing well more than where they needs to improve. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
  • Don't force a particular form of writing on your child (short story, poetry, etc) if your child shows no interest in it. Encourage your child in the areas of writing they show an interest in. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
  • Some children show little interest in writing because they happen to enjoy other activities more. However, some children are nervous about writing because of an underlying learning disability. If your child is consistently behind her peers on spelling, writing, and vocabulary, talk to your child's teachers and learning specialists to see if perhaps a learning disability is at the root of these problems. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 1

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  • ↑ http://www.readingrockets.org/article/launching-young-writers
  • ↑ http://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/pages/encouraging-writing
  • ↑ Kathy Slattengren, M.Ed.. Parent Educator & Coach. Expert Interview. 23 June 2021.
  • ↑ http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/howtohelpenglish
  • ↑ http://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/seven-ways-to-encourage-kids-writing/
  • ↑ http://www.education.com/reference/article/ways-encourage-child-creativity/
  • ↑ http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/writing-activities/prompt-your-child-to-be-better-writer
  • ↑ http://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/your-teen-and-writing/

About this article

Kathy Slattengren, M.Ed.

The ability to write well can help your child academically and professionally as well as offer an outlet for their feelings and imagination. To help improve your child’s creative writing skills, encourage them to love writing by reading to them every day so they can experience a variety of styles and subjects. Ask them about their favorite books to help them think about what kinds of writing they enjoy. You'll also want to give your child the tools to create their own stories, like a journal, pens, an age-appropriate dictionary, and a thesaurus. Encourage your child’s creativity by focusing on their ideas, not their spelling, grammar, or handwriting. If your child has a hard time starting a story, spark their imagination by asking them to write a letter from the point of view of a favorite character, or help them invent a new country and ask them to write about what people do there. To learn how to help your child revise their writing, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to Teach Writing - Resources for Creative Writing Teachers

Fiction writing course syllabus with lesson plans, fiction writing exercises and worksheets, resources for teaching introductory poetry writing, resources for teaching children.

person holding butterfly, to illustrate page on how to teach writing and resources for creative writing teachers

How to teach writing - general thoughts

  • help students to understand the elements of craft (e.g., story structure, poetic meter, etc.) so that they can recognize them in their reading and consciously experiment with them in their writing.
  • open students' eyes to the options available to them when they write a story or poem (e.g., "showing" instead of "telling", using different kinds of narrators and narrative viewpoints, using different poetic forms).
  • encourage students to become close observers of the world around them and to find creative material in their environments.
  • teach students the value of specificity, of using all five senses to discover details that may not be obvious to the casual observer.
  • help students to separate the processes of writing and editing, to avoid self-criticism while writing their rough drafts to allow ideas to flow freely (for this to work, their teachers also have to avoid criticizing rough drafts!). Teach students to treat self-editing as a separate stage in the writing process.
  • get students reading in the genre they'll be writing; e.g., if they're writing poetry, encourage them to read a lot of poems.
  • help students learn to trust their own perspectives and observations, to believe that they have something interesting to say.
  • teach students not to wait for inspiration, that they can write even when not inspired.
  • get students excited about writing!

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  • Literacy Tips

7 Innovative Creative Writing Exercises for kids to Try Out

We just have to allow kids to be and let them use their limitless imagination. The fact that we are perfect is something we would not want to push onto our kids; perfectionism is the biggest killer of creativity. For a kid to put a good creative piece they need to be guided by their teachers and parents. The main question is how best one can engage a kid’s idea and thoughts so that they can come up with a personal story with all the drama they can think of. Kids are adorable to watch because every time they read a story, they want to act the characters and they start building fictional stories. Turning this creative thinking into a written piece can be a bit challenging. That’s why I have come with these 7 innovative creative writing exercises for kids to try out.

For more fun writing ideas, check out our master list of 105 creative writing exercises to get you writing again!

7 Innovative Creative Writing Exercises for Kids

Creative writing not only improves the mindset of kids, but it also builds their self-confidence and self-esteem because they grow with the characters. Innovative creative writing tips  and offering support is meant to help a kid come up with knowledgeable and illustrative pieces of writing in the best possible way. And have them write about things they value and appreciate. Here are 7 innovative creative writing exercises for kids to try and improve their creative writing skills :

  • Teach them to describe: Children need to learn how to use their senses. Ask them to think that they are writing the story for someone who has no idea of what they are talking about. This means they need to describe everything so that the visitor understands what exactly they are talking about. The need to learn how to clearly describe without necessarily stating what they are talking about. If they are talking about a rich character, they should not need to state that the character is rich, but describe the character as one who wears designer clothes or fine looking clothes, shoes and perfume. They drive the latest vehicle and live in a huge mansion in the city. This will help them improve their senses whenever they are describing in detail a story.
  • Imagine you are invisible, what are some of the places you would love to visit? And what would you do when you get there?
  • If you are the last person on earth, what would you do?
  • Write about a dream you had?
  • Where would you like to go on vacation? Why? And what would you do with the place?
  • Write about your most memorable day.
  • What would you do if your teacher punished you for something you did? What are your feelings then and what would you do once you are out of that situation?
  • Focus on familiar things: Get children to write about things they are familiar with. If your kid loves a character in a cartoon or a pet, have them write interesting stories which include the cartoon characters they are familiar with or characters they feel connected to. Better still let them, visit a zoo and at the end of the day, let them write down what they saw then request them to turn these events into a story.
  • Use drama and role-play: Let them use drama to come up with realistic stories. Let children act as a character and have them ask questions concerning the character. The change in voice tone and dialogue will definitely spark creativity in their minds.
  • Go beyond reading books: Find innovative ways which your children can learn for different genres. Remember you can find inspiration from anywhere, so don’t just rely on reading books as a source of inspiration. You might be interested in reading this post on getting kids to read with no books involved . There are animated science fictions or comedy pieces which you can allow your kid to read and watch so they get a wide range of knowledge on different subjects. This makes them have a large playing field when it comes to creative writing.
  • Draw a picture: Drawing can be the foundation for creative writing. Almost every kid has had to draw a picture of their family, then later they can write a story of what happens in a family or what happened to their pet. From this, they will come up with a creative story on the occurrence of things. This is definitely a great start for creative writing.
  • Think about daily habits: Have them describe ways they spend their days and why. Do they play all day or take a nap in the afternoon? If taking a shower is their worst moment of the day, why? What do they think will happen if they don’t take a shower? The use of creative writing helps kids develop good habits which they stick to from an early age.

Encourage kids to involve themselves in creative writing because they will always have something to say from experience, knowledge, or observation. Their creative writing does not necessarily have to be perfect, but they can perfect it with time. If they are talking about something then they can definitely write about it. But they need to be guided on how to best organise their thoughts so that their piece is created by a flow of ideas.

Innovative Creative Writing Exercises for kids

Alice Yoon is an educator who has experience in dealing with kids. Being a Certified Early Childhood Development professional, she writes books and content about kids. She is a member of " paper writers " community which helps students with their college work.

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Encouraging Your Child’s Creativity: How to Write a Short Story with Khanmigo

posted on September 20, 2023

By  Stephanie Yamkovenko , group manager of Khan Academy’s Digital Marketing Team.

how to teach a child creative writing

Storytelling is an essential part of a child’s development. It allows them to explore their imagination, develop language skills, and improve their understanding of the world around them. However, not every parent has the confidence to write a story with their child. That’s where Khanmigo , an AI tutor from Khan Academy, comes in. In this blog post, we will look at the importance of story writing for children and how parents can use AI to write short stories with their children. We will also provide step-by-step instructions on how to use Khanmigo to piece together a short story using Khanmigo’s AI prompts as well as offer examples of stories created using Khanmigo. 

Why Story Writing is Important for Children

Storytelling is an ancient form of communication, and it has always been an essential part of human culture. It is not just a leisure activity but has a significant impact on children’s growth and development ( Bietti, 2019) . Writing stories can be an exciting and fun way for kids to explore their creativity, develop their language abilities, expand their vocabulary, practice critical thinking, and build their communication skills (National Research Council, 2015) . Not only does writing stories improve a child’s writing skills, but it can also boost their reading comprehension, critical thinking, and self-expression. Check out some of the benefits children gain from learning how to write short stories, backed by research:

  • Enhanced cognitive development: According to a study from Sook-Yi Kim (2014) , storytelling can enhance children’s cognitive development, particularly in areas such as memory and sequencing events.
  • Improved language skills: Reports from the National Literacy Trust suggest that storytelling helps children develop a wider vocabulary and a better understanding of language structure.
  • Boosted creativity: Per research in the Journal of Creative Behavior , storytelling allows children to explore different narratives and perspectives, thereby fostering creativity.
  • Developed emotional intelligence: A study published in Reading & Writing Quarterly indicates that through storytelling, children can explore diverse emotions and situations, helping them better understand and express their feelings.

Prompts to Use for a Short Story with ChatGPT

To write a story using ChatGPT, follow these prompts:

  • Start with a question: Think of an intriguing question that can capture the reader’s attention and lead them to the story’s plot. For example, “What would happen if gravity suddenly stopped working?”
  • (optional) Choose a setting (e.g., Mars, an elementary school, or a grocery store).  
  • (optional) Choose a conflict (e.g., a misunderstanding, a lost object, or a personal fear that holds back the protagonist).
  • Create your characters: Develop a protagonist, an antagonist, and secondary characters. Give the characters personalities, traits, and quirks that will make them stand out.
  • Make a plot: Craft an exciting and engaging storyline that includes a beginning, a middle, and an end. Use the question and topic as a starting point. Decide how your protagonist will overcome their conflict, and develop the story from there. 
  • Review and edit: After finishing the story, review and edit it to make sure it flows smoothly and makes sense.

Using Khanmigo for Story Writing

Khanmigo can do all of this for you via a question-and-answer format that will walk your child through the entire process of writing a story. Khan Academy released a new feature in 2023 called Khanmigo—an AI-powered tutor that assists children in their learning journey. Khanmigo offers a wide range of interactive student-focused activities that can encourage creativity and support writing development, such as creative writing prompts.

Khanmigo’s AI tutor can provide invaluable assistance to parents who want to encourage their child’s writing development. When children use Khanmigo for story writing, they receive personalized guidance and suggestions that help them improve their writing skills. 

Khanmigo will ask your child questions about the story they are writing together to draw out ideas for plot, characters, conflict, and more. Even if these concepts are unfamiliar to your child, Khanmigo will help explain each step along the way. For example, “Now, let’s start with the setting. Where does our mystery take place? A spooky old mansion? A bustling city? A quiet little town? Or somewhere else entirely? And what’s the weather like? Remember, the setting can add so much to the mood of our story!”

Khanmigo can serve as a writing partner, providing feedback and support throughout the writing journey. Children using Khanmigo will be able to practice their writing skills while developing their creativity, imagination, and critical thinking abilities.

Parents can use Khanmigo to monitor their children’s progress, provide feedback, and make sure that children are effectively developing their writing skills and creativity. Through Khanmigo, parents can keep track of their child’s writing progress, view their work, and set weekly writing goals.

Start writing stories with your child

We promise, you’ll have an adventure…

How to Start Creating a Story with Khanmigo

Here is an example of how you may start an interaction to create a story with Khanmigo.

Khanmigo: “Would you like to write an awesome story together? Let’s do it.

  • You can choose a topic from the list, or suggest another idea.
  • If I use new words like ‘theme’ or ‘plot,’ just ask me to explain.
  • At any point, you can ask me to show you what we have so far.
  • Once we’re done, you can chat with some of the characters and admire the world we’ve built!”

how to teach a child creative writing

…we don’t want to ruin the end of the story, but we hope this gives you a sense of the journey your child will go on while co-creating with Khanmigo. 

Raising Confident Story Tellers 

Encouraging your child to write stories is an excellent way to foster their creativity and imagination. By providing them with engaging prompts, you can help them develop their critical thinking and language skills while also having fun. 

With Khanmigo, parents can take their child’s creativity and writing to a whole new level. By leveraging Khan Academy’s AI tutor, parents can help their children practice their writing skills, expand their vocabulary, and develop their communication skills. Give your child a tool that will help shape their writing and help them grow into confident story writers.

Bietti LM, Lucas M., Tilston O, 1 and Bangerter A, “Storytelling as Adaptive Collective Sensemaking” Top Cogn Sci. 2019 Oct; 11(4): 710–732.

National Research Council; Institute of Medicine ; Board on Children, Youth, and Families ; Committee on the Science of Children Birth to Age 8: Deepening and Broadening the Foundation for Success ; LaRue Allen and Bridget B. Kelly, Editors, “Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8: A Unifying Foundation”, 2015

Kim, Sook-Yi, “The effects of storytelling and pretend play on cognitive processes, short-term and longterm narrative recall.” (1996). Doctoral Dissertations 1896 – February 2014. 5243. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1/5243  

Best. E, “Playful storytelling: The role of interactive audio in building children’s literacy skills and engagement”, National Literacy Trust, June 2021

Angus Fletcher, Patricia Enciso, Mike Benveniste, Narrative creativity training: A new method for increasing resilience in elementary students, Journal of Creativity, Volume 33, Issue 3 , December 2023, 100061

Catherine Z. Wright & Sandra Dunsmuir (2019) The Effect of Storytelling at School on Children’s Oral and Written Language Abilities and Self-Perception, Reading & Writing Quarterly, 35:2, 137-153, DOI: 10.1080/10573569.2018.1521757

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9 Easy Ways to Improve Your Child’s Creative Writing Skills

Improve Your Child’s Creative Writing Skills

Creative writing skills boost problem-solving, innovation, and resourcefulness. Helping our kids build these skills is important. Plus, it also gives them an outlet for all their creative ideas. How do you build those skills without making it seem like work?

Here are 9 ways to make creative writing skills fun:

1. Read Often

Books are the best precursor to writing. So get your kids reading! With repeated exposure to words, ideas, and styles, and in books, kids build the ability to mimic and adopt them.

Flood them with exposure to books and watch their skills rise. Yes, it will look a lot like what they’ve read at first. That’s ok! They’re just playing “dress up” with other people’s ideas. They’ll soon start writing like themselves.

Encourage your children to read more than one type of writing. If they gravitate toward non-fiction, maybe try historical fiction. If they only like superhero stories, introduce them to a story with a main character of a different gender or ethnicity.

2. Identify Ways to Practice

Just like anything, improving creative writing skills takes practice. Set your children up for success by making practice easy and fun.  This will only help them in future grades when they are required to write book reports . 

You can piggy-back creative writing off of other imaginative play and encourage your child to write down episodes of the games he plays. Allow the free flow of ideas – the more creative the better!

Focus on this type of activity can be tricky for kids. It’s important to give kids a dedicated writing space. Fill it with fun paper or a kids’ journal, great pencils, and few distractions.

3. Encourage Your Child to Write

Children are often predisposed to wanting to write. Even before they can form letters correctly, many children will say they are “writing.”

Nurture this desire!

When children feel writing is powerful, and their writing matters, they will want to keep trying. However, they want to start writing is how they should write.

If your child struggles with the physical act of writing, consider helping with that part. You can use talk-to-text features in apps or even agree to be their “scribe.” Then they worry less about the act of writing and pay more attention to the ideas they are forming.

4. Encourage Journaling

Journaling is a great way to encourage creative writing. It gives them a concrete way to see their “progress” writing.

A handful of kids’ journals often come preloaded with prompts and ideas, which helps kids get started. It also helps that journaling is usually a daily activity. By having smaller, but more frequent, writing sessions, it helps children develop a perspective on what writing can be.

Journaling also helps build emotional intelligence. By writing about their feelings, children work through their thoughts and emotions and are better able to recognize and accept them. It gives them the opportunity to talk about difficult things without embarrassment, advice, or recrimination.  

5. Use “Feeling” Words

Another benefit of building creative writing skills is children learn to use powerful words to draw in their readers.

You can encourage this development by helping them give their character’s feelings. When writers allow their characters to feel, they make them more relatable and interesting. But since the feelings of the characters don’t necessarily come to mind for kids, direct suggestion may help.  Help them get there by asking questions about the characters. Why was the hero doing that? What was she thinking? How was she feeling?

Additionally, use inclusive language to make readers feel part of the story as it evolves.  Educate children on the diversity of readers and encourage them to introduce characters that are from different cultures and backgrounds. 

6. Use Writing Prompts

Does your kid express an interest in writing only to freeze when they actually try to write? Writing prompts could help your child overcome it.

Writing prompts can be found in many places. Look for interesting signs, funny pictures in advertisements, or even just asking “what if” and “why” questions . You could even play a song to inspire ideas and writing.

The idea is not to make them write about something, but to give them enough of an idea to push past the fear of getting started. Once kids get past the first few sentences and are “in” their story, their ideas will come to the surface.

7. Practice Storytelling

The reason why many creative writers write is their love of story. To help your child build creative writing skills, foster that love.

The key is to focus on telling a great story, not the writing. Let your child’s imagination run free as he piece together details that can complete a tale.

You can build stories together, with each person telling a few lines of the story before passing it along to the next. Or you can “get stuck” telling your story and need their help figuring out what happens next.

Whatever twists and turns in the plot happen are magical because it shows your child is learning they are driving the story. They get to create.

8. Play Games

A robust vocabulary is another important creative writing skill. To help your child build their vocabulary, try playing word games.

Word games are great because they put the emphasis on the game, not the vocabulary learning. The competitive aspect increases their intrinsic motivation to learn the words. The games themselves are great family activities.

If your child isn’t competitive, there are plenty of team-oriented options. You could also try magnetic poetry, other game-like world builders, or even a cool journal for kids where they write down fun words they’ve heard.

9. Provide Inspiration

The best inspiration for kids to write comes from loving the work of other writers. When your child has a book or series they love, keep it going! Encouraging their love of reading – and their love of story – will help them internalize the way their favorite authors write.

Reading to your children helps too. Because you can read higher-level books while your child listens, it allows them to focus on the story. It also gives you a chance to have conversations about meaning, characters, and plot.

As children read, they build vocabulary and understanding of how good stories develop. They will eventually be able to incorporate these ideas into their creative writing.

Creative writing is sometimes seen as a hobby- something to enjoy, but not to be taken too seriously. But building creative writing skills positively impacts children because they learn to express themselves, they practice writing about emotions, and they practice making their writing compelling to their readers.

Whichever strategies you use to help your child improve their creative writing styles, make sure you keep it light-hearted. When it is fun, they’ll want to keep trying, and that’s where the growth happens.

Improve Your Child's Creative Writing Skills

About the Author:

Alexandra Eidens is the founder of Big Life Journal, an engaging resource to help kids develop a resilient growth mindset so they can face life’s challenges with confidence.

Read more about writing and why it’s important to teach your kids cursive writing .

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10 tips for cultivating creativity in your kids

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how to teach a child creative writing

Turns out, it’s less about “teaching” creativity to children — and more about creating a fertile environment in which their creativity will take root, grow and flourish. Researcher Mitch Resnick, director of the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at MIT, explains how we can do this.

There’s a common misconception that the best way to encourage children’s creativity is simply to get out of the way and let them be creative. Although it’s certainly true that children are naturally curious and inquisitive, they need support to develop their creative capacities and reach their full creative potential. Supporting children’s development is always a balancing act: how much structure, how much freedom; when to step in, when to step back; when to show, when to tell, when to ask, when to listen.

In putting together this list, I am combining tips for parents and teachers, because I think the core issues for cultivating creativity are the same, whether you’re in the home or in the classroom. The key challenge is not how to “teach” creativity to children, but rather how to create a fertile environment in which their creativity will take root, grow, and flourish.

The list is organized around the five components of what I call the Creative Learning Spiral , a process that encourages children to  imagine  what they want to do,  create  projects through  playing  with tools and materials,  share  ideas and creations with others, and  reflect  on their experiences.

For each of these five components, I’ve suggested two tips. However, these tips are just a very small subset of all of the things you might ask and do to cultivate children’s creativity. View them as a representative sample, and come up with more of your own.

1. Show examples to spark ideas

A blank page, a blank canvas, and a blank screen can be intimidating. A collection of examples can help spark the imagination. When we run Scratch workshops, we always start by showing sample projects — to give a sense of what’s possible (inspirational projects) and to provide ideas on how to get started (starter projects). We show a diverse range of projects, in hopes of connecting with the interests and passions of workshop participants.

Of course, there’s a risk that children will simply mimic or copy the examples that they see. That’s OK as a start, but only as a start. Encourage them to change or modify the examples. Suggest that they insert their own voice or add their own personal touch. What might they do differently? How can they add their own style, connect to their own interests? How can they make it their own?

2. Encourage messing around

Most people assume that imagination takes place in the head, but the hands are just as important. To help children generate ideas for projects, we often encourage them to start messing around with materials. As children play with LEGO bricks or tinker with craft materials, new ideas emerge. What started as an aimless activity becomes the beginning of an extended project.

We’ll sometimes organize mini hands-on activities to get children started. For example, we’ll ask children to put a few LEGO bricks together, then pass the structure to a friend to add a few more, then continue back and forth. After a few iterations, children often have new ideas for things they want to build.

3. Provide a wide variety of materials

Children are deeply influenced by the toys, tools and materials in the world around them. To engage children in creative activities, make sure they have access to a broad diversity of materials for drawing, building and crafting. New technologies, like robotics kits and 3-D printers, can expand the range of what children create, but don’t overlook traditional materials. A Computer Clubhouse coordinator was embarrassed to admit to me that her members were making their own dolls with “nylons, newspapers, and bird seed,” without any advanced technology, but I thought their projects were great.

Different materials are good for different things. LEGO bricks and popsicle sticks are good for making skeletons, felt and fabric are good for making skins, and Scratch is good for making things that move and interact. Pens and markers are good for drawing, and glue guns and duct tape are good for holding things together. The greater the diversity of materials, the greater the opportunity for creative projects.

4. Embrace all types of making

Different children are interested in different types of making. Some enjoy making houses and castles with LEGO bricks. Some enjoy making games and animations with Scratch. Others enjoy making jewelry or soapbox race cars or desserts—or miniature golf courses.

Writing a poem or a short story is a type of making, too. Children can learn about the creative design process through all of these activities. Help children find the type of making that resonates for them. Even better: Encourage children to engage in multiple types of making. That way, they’ll get an even deeper understanding of the creative design process.

5. Emphasize process, not product

Many of the best learning experiences happen when people are actively engaged in making things, but that doesn’t mean we should put all our attention on the things that are made. Even more important is the process through which things are made.

As children work on projects, highlight the process, not just the final product. Ask children about their strategies and their sources of inspiration. Encourage experimentation by honoring failed experiments as much as successful ones. Allocate times for children to share the intermediate stages of their projects and discuss what they plan to do next and why.

6. Extend time for projects

It takes time for children to work on creative projects, especially if they’re constantly tinkering, experimenting and exploring new ideas (as we hope they will). Trying to squeeze projects into the constraints of a standard 50-minute school period — or even a few 50-minute periods over the course of a week — undermines the whole idea of working on projects. It discourages risk taking and experimentation, and it puts a priority on efficiently getting to the “right” answer within the allotted time. For an incremental change, schedule double periods for projects. For a more dramatic change, set aside particular days or weeks (or months) when students work on nothing but projects in school.

7. Play the role of matchmaker

Many children want to share ideas and collaborate on projects, but they’re not sure how. You can play the role of matchmaker, helping children find others to work with. In the Scratch online community, we have organized month-long Collab Camps to help Scratchers find others to work with — and also to learn strategies for collaborating effectively.

8. Get involved as a collaborator

Parents and mentors sometimes get too involved in children’s creative projects, telling children what to do or grabbing the keyboard to show them how to fix a problem; other parents and mentors don’t get involved at all. There is a sweet spot in between, where adults and children form true collaborations on projects. When both sides are committed to working together, everyone has a lot to gain.

A great example is Ricarose Roque’s Family Creative Learning initiative, in which parents and children work together on projects at local community centers over five sessions. By the end of the experience, parents and children have new respect for one another’s abilities, and relationships are strengthened.

9. Ask (authentic) questions

It’s great for children to immerse themselves in projects, but it’s also important for them to step back to reflect on what’s happening. You can encourage children to reflect by asking them questions about their projects. I often start by asking: “How did you come up with the idea for this project?” It’s an authentic question: I really want to know! The question prompts them to reflect on what motivated and inspired them.

Another of my favorite questions: “What’s been most surprising to you?” This question pushes them away from just describing the project and toward reflecting on their experience. If something goes wrong with a project, I’ll often ask: “What did you want it to do?” In describing what they were trying to do, they often recognize where they went wrong, without any further input from me.

10. Share your own reflections

Most parents and teachers are reluctant to talk with children about their own thinking processes. Perhaps they don’t want to expose that they’re sometimes confused or unsure in their thinking. But talking with children about your own thinking process is the best gift you could give them.

It’s important for children to know that thinking is hard work for everyone—for adults as well as children. And it’s useful for children to hear your strategies for working on projects and thinking through problems. By hearing your reflections, children will be more open to reflecting on their own thinking, and they’ll have a better model of how to do it. Imagine the children in your life as creative thinking apprentices; you’re helping them learn to become creative thinkers by demonstrating and discussing how you do it.

This article was originally published on the MIT Press Reader site .

Watch Mitch Resnick’s TED Talk here:

About the author

Mitch Resnick is professor of learning research at the MIT Media Lab. His research group develops the Scratch programming software and online community, the world’s largest coding platform for kids. He has worked closely with the LEGO company on educational ideas and products, such as the LEGO Mindstorms robotics kits, and he co-founded the Computer Clubhouse project, an international network of after-school learning centers for youth from low-income communities. He is the author of “Lifelong Kindergarten,” from which this article is adapted.

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Teaching Creative Writing: Tips for Your High School Class

Teaching Creative Writing: Tips for Your High School Class

When I was first told that I’d be teaching creative writing, I panicked. While I had always enjoyed writing myself, I had no idea how to show others how to do it creatively. After all, all of my professional development had focused on argumentative writing and improving test scores. 

Eventually, though, I came to love my creative writing class, and I think you will too. In this post, I hope to help you with shaping your own creative writing class. 

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission, at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products that I personally use and love, or think my readers will find useful.

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The Importance of Teaching Creative Writing

Before getting into the nitty-gritty of how to teach creative writing, let’s first remind ourselves why you should teach a creative writing class.  

How often do you see students freeze in your English class, wondering if what they’re writing is “right”? How often do your students beg you to look over their work to make sure that they’re doing it “right”? 

We English teachers know that there’s no such thing as “right” when it comes to writing. But our students really struggle with the idea of there being no one correct answer. Creative writing is one solution to this problem.

By encouraging our students to explore, express themselves, and play with language, we show them how fun and exploratory writing can be. I know there have been many times in my life when writing clarified my own ideas and beliefs for me; creative writing provides this opportunity for our high school students. 

Plus, creative writing is just downright fun! And in this modern era of standardized testing, high-stakes grading, and just increased anxiety overall, isn’t more fun just what our students and us need? 

Creative writing is playful, imaginative, but also rigorous. It’s a great balance to our standard literature or composition curriculum. 

Whether you’re choosing to teach creative writing or you’re being voluntold to do so, you’re probably ready to start planning. Make it as easy as possible on yourself: grab my done-for-you Creative Writing Class here !

Otherwise, preparing for an elective creative writing class isn’t much different than preparing for any other English class .

Set your goals and choose the standards you’ll cover. Plan lessons accordingly. Then, be sure to have a way to assess student progress. 

Teaching Creative Writing Tip #1: Get Clear on Your Goals

First, what do you want to achieve with your creative writing class? In some school, Creative Writing is purely a fun elective. The goal is create a class that students enjoy with a side of learning. 

For other schools or district cultures, however, Creative Writing might be an intensely academic course. As a child, I went to an arts middle school. Creative writing was my major and it was taken very seriously. 

The amount of rigor you wish to include in your class will impact how you structure everything . So take some time to think about that . You may want to get some feedback from your administrator or other colleagues who have taught the course. 

Some schools also sequence creative writing classes, so be sure you know where in the sequence your particular elective falls. I’ve also seen schools divide creative writing classes by genre: a poetry course and a short story course. 

Know what your administrator expects and then think about what you as an instructor want to accomplish with your students.  

Teaching Creative Writing Tip #2: List Out Your Essential Skills

Regardless of your class’s level of rigor, there are some skills that every creative writing course should cover. 

Cover for It's Lit Teaching Product: Poem Writing Activities

First, you need to cover the writing process. Throughout the course, students should practice brainstorming, outlining, writing, and editing their drafts. In nearly every Poem Writing Activity that I use in my class, students follow the same process. They examine a model text, brainstorm ideas, outline or fill out a graphic organizer, put together a final draft, and then share with a peer for feedback. 

That last step–sharing and critiquing work–is an essential skill that can’t be overstated. Students are often reluctant to share their work, but it’s through that peer feedback that they often grow the most. Find short, casual, and informal ways to build in feedback throughout the class in order to normalize it for students. 

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Literary terms are another, in my opinion, must-cover topic for teaching a creative writing class. You want your students to know how to talk about their writing and others’ like an actual author. How deep into vocabulary you want to go is up to you, but by the end of the course, students should sound like writers honing their craft. 

Lastly, you should cover some basic writing skills, preferably skills that will help students in their academic writing, too. I like to cover broad topics like writing for tone or including dialogue. Lessons like these will be ones that students can use in other writing assignments, as well. 

Of course, if you’re teaching a creative writing class to students who plan on becoming creative writing majors in college, you could focus on more narrow skills. For me, most of my students are upperclassmen looking for an “easy A”. I try my best to engage them in activities and teach them skills that are widely applicable. 

Teaching Creative Writing Tip #3: Make Sure Your Materials are Age-Appropriate

Once you know what you’re teaching, you can begin to cultivate the actual lessons you’ll present. If you pick up a book on teaching creative writing or do a quick Google search, you’ll see tons of creative writing resources out there for young children . You’ll see far less for teens. 

Cover for It's Lit Teaching Resource: Haiku Poems for High School Creative Writing Activity

Really, the content and general ideas around creative writing don’t change much from elementary to high school. But the presentation of ideas should .

Every high school teacher knows that teens do not like to feel babied or talked down to; make sure your lessons and activities approach “old” ideas with an added level of rigor or maturity.

Take for example the haiku poem. I think most students are introduced to haikus at some point during their elementary years. We know that haiku is a pretty simple poem structure. 

However, in my Haiku Poem Writing Lesson , I add an extra layer of rigor. First, students analyze a poem in which each stanza is its own haiku. Students are asked not only to count syllables but to notice how the author uses punctuation to clarify ideas. They also analyze mood throughout the work.  

By incorporating a mentor text and having students examine an author’s choices, the simple lesson of writing a haiku becomes more relevant and rigorous. 

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Teaching Creative Writing Tip #4: Tell Students What They Should Not Write About

You’ll often be surprised by just how vulnerable your students are willing to be with you in their writing. But there are some experiences that we teachers don’t need to know about, or are required to act on. 

The first day of a creative writing course should always include a lecture on what it means to be a mandated reporter. Remind students that if they write about suicidal thoughts, abuse at home, or anything else that might suggest they’re in danger that you are required by law to report it. 

Depending on how strict your district, school, or your own teaching preferences, you may also want to cover your own stance on swearing, violence, or sexual encounters in student writing. One idea is to implement a “PG-13” only rule in your classroom.

Whatever your boundaries are for student work, make it clear on the first day and repeat it regularly.

how to teach a child creative writing

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Teaching Creative Writing Tip #5: Give Students Lots of Choice

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Creative writing should be creative . Yes, you want to give students parameters for their assignments and clear expectations. But you want them to feel a sense of freedom, also.  

I took a class once where the story starters we were given went on for several pages . By the time we students were able to start writing, characters had already been developed. The plot lines had already been well-established. We felt written into a corner, and we all struggled with wrapping up the loose ends that had already been created. 

Cover for It's Lit Teaching Resource: Fairy Tale Retelling Creative Writing Project

I’ve done an Author Study Project with my class in which students were able to choose a poet or short story author to study and emulate. My kids loved looking through the work of Edgar Allan Poe, Elizabeth Acevedo, Neil Gaiman, and Jason Reynolds for inspiration. They each gravitated towards a writer that resonated with them before getting to work. 

Another example is my Fairy Tale Retelling Project. In this classic assignment, students must rewrite a fairy tale from the perspective of the villain. Students immediately choose their favorite tales, giving them flexibility and choice.

I recommend determining the form and the skills that must be demonstrated for the students . Then, let students choose the topic for their assignment. 

Teaching Creative Writing Tip #6: Use Hands-On Activities

If you’re teaching a class full of students who are excited to write constantly, you can probably get away writing all class period. Many of us, however, are teaching a very different class. Your students may have just chosen an elective randomly. They might not even have known what creative writing was!

(True story–one of my creative writing students thought the class would be about making graffiti. I guess that is writing creatively!)

For students who have no long-term writing aspirations, you need to make your lessons and activities a little more engaging. 

When possible, I try to make writing “hands-on.” Adding some tactile activity to a standard lesson breaks up class, engages students, and makes the lesson more memorable.

Cover for It's Lit Teaching Resource: Show. Don't Tell Creative Writing Mini Lesson Workshop

For example, when I teach students the old adage “Show. Don’t Tell” , I could just give them a scene to write. Instead, I print simple sentences onto strips of paper and have students randomly select one from a hat. (Then they turn this simple sentence into a whole “telling” scene.)

Simply handing students a strip of paper that they can touch and feel makes the lesson more exciting. It creates more buy-in with students. 

Another one of my favorite hands-on activities is a Figurative Language Scavenger Hunt. I hang up posters of mentor poems around the room, each full of different figurative language techniques. 

Then, students must get up and explore the posters around the room in an attempt to find an example of 10 different figurative language techniques.

We could do the same lesson on a worksheet, but having students up and moving increases engagement, collaboration, and gives everyone a break from constantly sitting. 

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Teaching Creative Writing Tip #7: Incorporate Mentor Texts

One way to make sure that your creative writing class is rigorous–and valuable–enough for high school students is to use mentor texts . 

Mentor texts are essential for older students because it shows them what’s possible . Many of my students will rush through an assignment just to be done with it. If you ask them what they could do to improve their writing, they say that they think it’s fine. 

But when they’re shown mentor texts or exemplar products produced by their peers, suddenly students see a myriad of ways in which they could improve their own work. They’re quick to make edits. 

I try to always include a mentor text and several examples whenever I introduce students to new ideas or teach a new lesson. You can pull mentor texts from classic writers. However, I also recommend including writing from more modern poets and writers as well. 

Teaching Creative Writing truly is a special job. Your students trust you with writing that many adults in their lives will never see. You’ll be able to watch students grow and bloom in a totally new way.

That doesn’t mean that teaching creative writing is without challenges or difficulties, however. If you want an easy place to start, or just want to save yourself a ton of planning time, I highly recommend checking out my Complete Creative Writing Class . 

Inside this bundle, you’ll receive daily warm-ups, weekly lessons, two projects, several activities, a lesson calendar, and more! It’s truly everything you need for an engaging 9-week elective course!

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How to teach my child creative writing?

Being able to record ideas, thoughts and feelings gave us more power than any other discovery in the history of mankind. Writing, be it scientific, creative, or recording of events- all are important. But creative writing is a tad more special as it involves the active use of our imagination. Human imagination – without any bounds – has produced all the technological and scientific marvels that we see around us today as very scientific inventions or discoveries that started as a creative idea in someone’s mind.

Importance of creative writing

Creative writing is important for your children- not just for scoring marks, it also helps form different aspects of your child’s personality.

  • Helps children improve their imagination
  • Helps them better the communication skills
  • It helps them to better express themselves
  • Lets them understand language and get more knowledge
  • Improves their thought process
  • Helps develop empathy for others. Creative writing involves thinking from different perspectives and putting yourself in others’ shoes. It will naturally bring about a growth of empathy for people around them.
  • Improves problem-solving and pattern analysis skills
  • Help boost confidence
  • It can act as an outlet for their pent-up emotions and thoughts
  • Could turn out to be what they make a career out of
  • It can help children get part-time writing jobs

So, how can you help your children with that?

Encourage them to read more.

how to teach a child creative writing

Writing requires one to know about how language works, how sentences are formed, and how to best describe things, events, or people as required to convey the idea that you have in your mind. The best way to learn and get familiarised with all this is to read as much as you can. get your children to start reading. Gift them books as gifts. Discuss with them about the books they have read and ask them what they have gained from reading them.

Plan what to write

Teach your children how to plan what they are going to write. Just starting to write and noting down things as they come to your mind won’t work for most children. So, teach them to visualise and plan what they are going to write. Form an initial idea and structure of what needs to be written and follow that. It would be a great idea to note down the vital points or ideas you are going to include and arrange them before getting to the actual writing. Organising your thoughts will help you make sure you don’t miss out on anything.

Plan the characters

When you are writing a story, it is vital to plan the characters. Ask your children to think of the personality and characteristics of the characters they are going to write about. List out what makes them stand out. Ask your children to imagine different situations and the actions their characters will take in them. It can help your children gain more understanding of what they are going to write and also be more creative in the process.

Read to them

how to teach a child creative writing

From a young age itself, read to them. Tell them stories, read poems and riddles to them. All these will help them become more creative and interested in reading and writing. Instil a love for stories and the language in them.

Help them improve their vocabulary

Do exercises at home that help them improve their vocabulary. Buy them a daily vocabulary calendar, play word games, solve crosswords and anything else you can think that will help them. Another good idea is to buy them a small dictionary that they can carry around. Ask them to refer to it any time they happen to come across an unfamiliar word.

Set aside a place for them to write

Arrange a quiet corner in your house where they will be able to practice writing undisturbed. Make sure they have their writing supplies and good lighting set right. Make sure they are not disturbed when they spend time there.

Encourage journaling

how to teach a child creative writing

Buy your children a journal and ask them to write about their daily life and thoughts. Having a personal journal can help them bring out their thoughts and help them give forms to their ideas better.

Attending workshops

They can be of enormous help to any writer who is starting. Experienced teachers and eminent personalities will share their experiences and teach your children how to improve their writing skills. Choose one which is suited for your child’s age and skill level.

Find them a mentor

It is not essential, but do consider it if your child shows great potential and you think you won’t be able to draw it out fully on your own. A mentor will do more good to your child than hundreds or thousands of hours spent writing on their own.

Supply them with inspiration or writing prompts

Encourage your children to write as much as they can. Give out writing prompts as activities at home so you can nudge them in the right direction.

Children naturally have limitless imagination and insatiable curiosity. What you have to do as parents is to show them how to channelise it in the right way. We hope these pointers help you in bringing out the creative writer in your children. All the best! 🙂

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how to teach a child creative writing

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The 50 Best Things For Kids to Write About

W riting is a skill that not all children love. Some children enjoy writing. The words just seem to come to them. Other children resist it like broccoli or cauliflower, an unwelcome task that is never pleasurable. Either way is perfectly okay. Not all children will enjoy writing. However, the more a child writes, the more their creative juices will start flowing. There are many benefits of writing for kids. So, whether your child loves to write or dreads it, you can encourage them to practice their writing skills with these fun ideas! Here are the best things to write about for kids.

Benefits Of Writing For Kids

When a child writes , there are many benefits. Writing requires immense concentration. If your child struggles with concentrating, sitting down to write may help them learn how to focus more positively. Writing also teaches your child better language skills. They will be opened up to a variety of colorful phrases and words, words that may help them narrate activities, situations, or scenarios more descriptively. 

Writing also cultivates creativity in children. It is true that the more a person writes, the more their creative juices will flow. Sometimes it is hard to get started, but once a person begins to write, typically, they will find the words, thoughts, and ideas come even quicker each time. 

When a child writes, they will also practice the skills of listening. This may seem like an odd benefit. Is it true that a child becomes a better listener with writing? It’s true! They also become a better speaker. The reason is that they will be surrounded by rich language. When a child writes, they will learn to listen for new words, descriptive words, or colorful stories of another person. These stories will captivate their interest. Also, children will learn how to speak more clearly because their language selection will grow. 

What To Do If You Have A Reluctant Writer?

Do you have a reluctant writer? That is okay! Not all children enjoy writing. Trying to change them and make them love writing may only backfire. Instead, provide plenty of opportunities for your child to create their own stories.

The more a child is exposed to beautiful language, captivating stories, and interesting thoughts, the more they may desire to share their own. When this happens, you can provide perfect opportunities for your child to share their ideas, stories, and thoughts. They don’t even have to write them down themselves. If your child resists writing, you could start by letting them dictate the story to you, and then you write it for them. 

You do not even have to write their story yourself. Sharing stories is a great way to encourage language skills and the love of narratives. Eventually, your child may want to start writing the stories down themselves, and just like that, you have provided a door for your child to walk through when it comes to writing. 

How To Encourage Your Reluctant Writer

There are many ways to encourage your reluctant writer who may enjoy writing less than you think they should. For example, if your child doesn’t like writing but loves to tell stories, give them leeway and let them dictate their stories to you while you write them down. After a while, you may notice that your child is more interested in writing their own stories down.

You can also write the short story for them and encourage your child to copy it on their paper. It’s okay if they only write a sentence or two at first. Writing should be enjoyed, not forced. The more a reluctant child is forced to write, the less likely they are to love it. 

Another way to encourage your reluctant writer is to remind them they have very important and unique talents. Their talent may or may not be writing. However, they will never know what stories they have to share if they don’t give it a try. They do not have to try to be someone they aren’t. However, they may relish it if they take it slow and write about enjoyable subjects! 

Giving your children exciting topics to write about that they find interesting may be the very thing that ignites a spark they need to realize that “hey, writing is fun!” 

Below are 50 fun topics that may spark some interest in your kid. Share these topics with your child and watch them create a fantastic story they will want to share with everyone! 

50 Fun Things Your Child Can Write About Today

Your favorite day.

Write about the best day that you have ever had! What did you do? Who were you with? What made it your favorite day? 

The Perfect Trip

Have you gone on a trip lately or even a few years ago? Write what that trip was, what made it perfect, and if you could return, would you redo anything about it? 

If You Could Change The World, How Would You Do It?

This world has impressive qualities, but it also has plenty of flaws. The wonderful thing about humans is that we all have unique intellect. What would you change about this world and why? What characteristics do you think need to exist to create a more extraordinary world?

If You Could Invent Anything, What Would It Be?

Create your invention! What would it be and why? 

If Your Pet Had A Superpower, What Would It Be?

We all love our pets and think they hung the moon! So what do you love about your pet? What would their superpower be, how would they use it, and why? 

Write A Letter To Your Hero

Who is your hero? What have they done to make the world or your life better? Write a letter thanking them for their actions and who they are, or explain why they are your hero. 

Write A Letter To Someone Who Lived in the Past

We all have someone from the past that we admire, did extraordinary things, or thought was pretty cool. Whether it’s someone in your family, life, or someone famous who is no longer here, write a letter to them. Why do you admire this person? What did they do that you think was awesome? What would you say if you sat at the table across from them? 

Imagine You’re A Superhero. What Would You Do?

Describe yourself as a superhero. What would your superpower be and why? How would you benefit and help change the world? 

Write About Your Favorite Pet And Why They Are Your Favorite

How many pets have you had? Which one is your favorite and why? What was their personality like? What made you adore them? 

Imagine Your Life Was A Video Game Or Cartoon

Picture yourself in a cartoon or a video game. What type of video game or cartoon would it be? Describe the surroundings. What is the purpose of the game or cartoon? How many people are there? Use your imagination and create an awesome video game or cartoon! 

If You Were A Plant Which One Would You Pick And Why?

What is your favorite plant? There are so many to choose from! If you could be a plant, which one would you pick and why? 

Invent Your Mode Of Transportation

There are so many different ways to get around! We have so many modes of transportation, from trains, airplanes, and even horses. Invent your very own mode of transportation. How would it work, and what would you need to make it? 

Write A Letter to Your Future Self

Think about who you will be in 10 years or even 20 years. Picture your future self sitting across the table from you. What would you ask them? What would you want them to know? Write it all down in a letter! 

Make A Time Capsule And Describe What Life is Like Today

Time capsules are so fun to make! Create a time capsule, put a few things from your life into it, pictures and momentos, and then complete it with a letter describing what life is like in the year it is right now. 

Write A Letter To Your Great-Great-Grandchild Who Will Read It In 100 years. What Would You Tell Them?

Imagine your great-great-grandchild opening a letter 100 years from now. Describe what you are like as a child. What would you want your great-great-grandchild to know about your life? 

What Do You Think Your Talent Is, And Why?

Everyone has a talent. What is yours? You may have a hidden talent. What could it be, and what are you going to do to explore what your talent is? 

How Are You Going To Use Your Talent In The Future?

Think about your talent and how you will use it in the future. For example, if you have a talent as a dancer, will you take dance classes and explore a career? If you have a knack for art, how can you use it to increase your skill, love, and more? 

Design Your Pair Of Shoes

Think about the different types of shoes in the world. You have high heels, crocks, tennis shoes, and many more! Design your pair of shoes. What material would they be made out of? What would the purpose be of these shoes? Describe the shoe design. Be as creative as you can be! 

Describe Your Favorite Family Day. What Would You Do, And Why Would It Be The Best Day?

Think about your favorite things to do as a family. For example, do you love to have picnics, go on walks, or even go to an amusement park? Then, describe what would be the best family day you can imagine! 

What Is Your Fondest Memory As A Child?

Think about when you were younger. What memories do you have? What is your favorite one? It could be a day with your family, picking out your pet, or even going to a park on a crisp spring day. Whatever it was, share what it was and why! 

What Was The First Memory You Had As A Young Child?

Think back to when you were 3 or 4 or maybe even 5. What is the very first memory you can remember? Was it with your mom or dad? It could be meeting your best friend for the first time or walking through the kindergarten doors. Write down what it was! 

Write A Letter To The Person You Admire The Most, And Tell Them Why

Who do you admire? Is it your mom, grandma, or best friend? Write a letter to them and tell them why you admire them and what makes them unique! 

Write A Gratitude Letter For Someone 

Gratitude expressed helps us create positivity in our lives! Write a gratitude letter to someone who has done something for you. It could be for a friend who helped you study for a difficult test, or maybe your grandma for teaching you her delicious cheesecake recipe. Whoever it is, express gratitude in a letter that you give to them personally. 

Create Your Perfect Utopia 

Think about your perfect Utopia. What would be the characteristics of this Utopia? For example, are there a ton of people or very few? What are the rules of this Utopia, and what makes it perfect? 

Imagine You Lived 100 Years Ago, Then Write About It

How would life have been 100 years ago as a kid? What would be the same? What would be different?

Describe What You Think Your Mom Or Dad Was Like As A Kid

Think about your mom and dad and write about how they were as children. Use what you know and your imagination to create a version of your parents on paper. Then read it to them and see if you were right! 

How Do You Think School Was Like 50 Years Ago? What About 100? What Has Stayed the Same or different?

Think about school 50 years ago and 100 years ago. What did the kids do? What types of subjects did they take? Think about what was the same and what was different. Did they have recess and lunch? Do some research if you want! 

Write About A Protagonist That Lives On An Island By Themselves

Create a short story about a protagonist who has been dropped on an island alone. How does it change them? How do they survive? Do they even survive? Use your imagination and describe in detail what their life would be like! 

Create A Short Story About Your Superhero Pet

Think about the superhero pet you created earlier. Now create a short story about them where they are the hero saving a town from a terrible villain. What is their superpower, and how do they use it to save the city? 

If You Could Only Take Three Things On Vacation, What Would They Be And Why? 

You’re going on vacation, but there is a catch. You can only bring three items with you! So, what are the three items you will bring and why. Think long and hard about it! 

Describe Your Perfect Day With Your Friends

Think about your friends and what you enjoy doing with them. Then describe what your perfect day with your friends would be. What would you do and why? 

Describe What The Perfect Day With Your Parents Would Be

Think about your parents and the perfect day with them! What do you love to do with them? Is it going to a baseball game or eating at a delicious restaurant? Describe in detail what the day would look like. 

What Has Been The Coolest Invention Ever Created?

There have been so many cool inventions over human existence, from electricity to the motor car. What do you think has been the coolest invention ever created, and why? Look up some little-known inventions to get your juices flowing! 

What Would Life Be Like If One Of Our Conveniences Didn’t Exist – Electricity, Inside Bathrooms, Washers, And Dryers?

We live with many conveniences these days. What would our lives be like if we didn’t have a car to drive in whenever we wanted to go somewhere or a refrigerator to keep our food cold? Expand on many different conveniences. 

What Do You Think Has Been The Worst Invention?

Go back to all the inventions you know about and write about the worst invention. Why do you think it was not a good invention? 

Describe Your Perfect Vacation

If you are going on vacation, what would be the perfect one? Is it at the beach or a cabin in the woods? Describe what you would do and what would make it perfect. 

What Do You Think Is The Coolest Animal Alive, And Why?

Many incredible animals live in the world today. So, which one is the coolest and why?

If You Could Have Any Talent, What Would It Be And Why?

Humans are great and possess amazingly great talents! What talent would you want to possess, and what would you do with it? 

What Would Be Your Ideal Career When You Are Grown?

Think about the career you want when you grow up. There are so many incredible careers that we can have! Which one do you think is the coolest and why? 

If You Could Live 50 Years In The Past Or 50 Years In The Future, Which Would You Choose And Why?

You have to pick whether or not you want to live 50 years in the past or 50 years in the future. What would be the pros and cons of each? Which one would you pick? 

What Does It Mean To Be A Friend?

Being a friend can be challenging! So, what do you think makes a good friend? 

What Do You Look For In A Friend?

When picking who to be friends with, what do you look for? What qualities do you want them to possess, like being a good listener or making you laugh? Which ones are less desirable? 

Who Has Been Your Best Friend To You, And Why?

Think about your best friend. Why are they your best friend, and what have they done to bring joy to your life? 

What Are The Most Important Qualities A Person Should Possess, And Why?

What do you think are the most important qualities a person should have? For example, should they be honest or have integrity? You may believe a person should be humorous or helpful. Whatever you think, write it down! 

Create Your Insect

Bugs can scare people, but they can also be super cool! If you could create your insect, what would it look like? What would your insect be able to do, what would be its predators, and why?

Design Your Own Country

Countries are pretty awesome! There are so many around our world. Design your own country. How would the citizens rule themselves? What would be the laws? Be as creative as you can be. 

Write About The Laws That Are Around The World Today 

Look up a list of laws. Which one do you believe is the most important? Which law do you think is the most useless one? 

What Is The Coolest Career? Why?

There are so many extraordinary careers in the world today. Which ones are the coolest? Why? 

If Your Pet Could Talk To You, What Do You Think They Would Say?

Pretend you are having a conversation with your pet. What do you think they would say? What would you say? 

If You Could Tell Yourself Anything When You Were Younger, What Would It Be And Why?

Think back to a few years ago. What would you tell yourself when you were younger? Would you give yourself advice about a friend? Would you encourage yourself to work toward a goal? Whatever it would be, write it down! 

In Conclusion

There are so many outstanding topics that your child can write about! So, whether they love to write or are more reluctant, you can still choose one of these 50 fun topics and watch them flourish in their creativity! 

The post The 50 Best Things To Write About For Kids appeared first on Moms Who Think .

The 50 Best Things For Kids to Write About

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  1. A Teacher's Idea: How To Teach Creative Writing To Young Children

    how to teach a child creative writing

  2. The Best 8 Creative Writing Strategies For Kids

    how to teach a child creative writing

  3. How to teach a child to Write a Story| Creative Writing| Essays|Paragraph Part 2

    how to teach a child creative writing

  4. 5 Tips To Develop Creative Writing Skills for Kids, Handwriting

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  5. How to Teach Kids to Write

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  6. 55 Creative Writing Ideas for Kids • JournalBuddies.com

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  1. How to teach any child percentages!!

  2. how to teach child holding pencil or crayons

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  4. 6- Teaching Writing Activities- Unchained Story

  5. Best conversation || Child Learning #trending #shorts #childlearningvideo

  6. inspiring A creative young child is skillful at drawing on the sand. #drawing #craft #art #viral

COMMENTS

  1. How to Teach Creative Writing

    7. Create inspiring and original prompts Use the following formats to generate prompts that get students inspired: personal memories ("Write about a person who taught you an important lesson") imaginative scenarios prompts based on a familiar mentor text (e.g. "Write an alternative ending to your favorite book").

  2. Creative Writing for Kids: A Step-By-Step Guide to Writing a Story

    Creative writing can be a real positive force for children's lives and development, but how does a child get started with creative writing? There are many ways, but it can often be helpful to have a structure to work from, so we've outlined some simple steps on how your child can write a story and enjoy themselves in the process!

  3. Creative writing techniques for kids: a step-by-step guide to writing a

    Creative writing techniques for kids: a step-by-step guide to writing a story Encouraging children to write a story of their very own can give them an enormous confidence boost, as well as help them consolidate their literacy learning by putting their phonics, grammar and reading skills into practice.

  4. Teaching Creative Writing

    On this page: The necessity of creative writing Suggestions for teaching story writing Giving feedback on children's writing Assessing student writing Publishing student writing Most children enter school with a natural interest in writing, an inherent need to express themselves in words (Graves, 1983).

  5. PDF How to Teach Creative Writing

    Start with something simple such as one-verse, simple ABAB pattern rhymes where every other line ends with a rhyming word. Always write an example with your students on the board, chart or overhead so they have a model or frame of reference. Use fun poems by writers such as Dr. Seuss or Shel Silverstein to spark interest.

  6. Teaching Your Child Creative Writing

    Read Often The more you read to your child, the more words and storylines they will absorb. Hearing and seeing as many words as possible will help them form the ability to create their own sentences and stories. If your child is young and cannot read on their own, you should: Read a variety of books with them.

  7. How to Teach Creative Writing (with Pictures)

    1 Introduce the important elements of storytelling. Great works of literature share elements across the genres. In order for your students to excel at creative writing, they need to know the fundamentals of storytelling. As a result, you need to spend some time focusing on the core elements of storytelling. Focus instruction time on teaching:

  8. How to teach ... creative writing

    How to teach ... creative writing Summer is the perfect time of year for a spot of creative writing. Inspire young imaginations to put pen to paper with our lesson plans and ideas Mon 6 Jul...

  9. Teaching Creative Writing

    Creative writing for kids. Unlock the imagination of your students with the power of creative writing! Learn the many benefits of creative writing for children and get tips and strategies for teaching it. Click through to read our comprehensive guide and inspire your students' creativity! Includes hundreds of FREE writing prompts.

  10. 8 Ways To Tutor Children in Creative Writing

    Give them a few short stories told from different points of view so that the children can appreciate how the narrative perspective changes. Ask the children to rewrite an old story from a different point of view. 5. Try Story Collaborations. When writing solo becomes too tiring for the child, writer's block can set in.

  11. 11 Ways to Teach Kids How to Write

    1. Set up your child with a place to write and writing supplies It's a great idea to provide a comfortable place where children can write. Kids love to experiment so provide them with a variety of writing materials and implements. Supply colorful crayons, markers, or beginner pencils that are easy to hold for emerging writers.

  12. Mary Amato's Tips for Parents: How to Encourage Creative Writing

    By: Mary Amato Discover more than a dozen ideas for encouraging your child to write, including creative and simple ways to get the whole family involved. You'll also find out how WOW stories can help unlock story structure for young writers. Reading Topics A-Z Mary Amato's Tips for Parents: How to Encourage Creative Writing

  13. How to Improve Your Child's Creative Writing Skills

    Method 1 Encouraging Your Child to Love Writing 1 Read to your child every night. Reading and writing go hand-in-hand. [1] Good writers are well read in variety of subjects and writing styles. Your child's teacher and local librarian can help you select books that are appropriate to your child's age and interests.

  14. How to Teach Writing

    How to Teach Writing - Resources for Creative Writing Teachers Welcome, teachers! We'd love to make your lives a little easier. Below, you'll find resources for teaching fiction writing and poetry, including a complete fiction writing course syllabus that you can use.

  15. 7 Innovative Creative Writing Exercises for kids

    Here are 7 innovative creative writing exercises for kids to try and improve their creative writing skills: Teach them to describe: Children need to learn how to use their senses. Ask them to think that they are writing the story for someone who has no idea of what they are talking about. This means they need to describe everything so that the ...

  16. Encouraging Your Child's Creativity: How to Write a Short Story with

    Give the characters personalities, traits, and quirks that will make them stand out. Make a plot: Craft an exciting and engaging storyline that includes a beginning, a middle, and an end. Use the question and topic as a starting point. Decide how your protagonist will overcome their conflict, and develop the story from there.

  17. 9 Easy Ways to Improve Your Child's Creative Writing Skills

    Here are 9 ways to make creative writing skills fun: 1. Read Often. Books are the best precursor to writing. So get your kids reading! With repeated exposure to words, ideas, and styles, and in books, kids build the ability to mimic and adopt them. Flood them with exposure to books and watch their skills rise.

  18. 10 tips for cultivating creativity in your kids

    Pens and markers are good for drawing, and glue guns and duct tape are good for holding things together. The greater the diversity of materials, the greater the opportunity for creative projects. 4. Embrace all types of making. Different children are interested in different types of making.

  19. How to Teach Children Creative Writing Skills FAST

    How to Teach Children Creative Writing Skills FAST - 2020? Tips, Tricks and Strategies. Learn and explore 360 5.77K subscribers Subscribe 491 28K views 3 years ago All my videos! Do you struggle...

  20. How To Improve Writing Skills For Kids: 14 Easy Tips

    Sidewalk chalk on the driveway, finger painting, or a salt writing tray are all fun writing activities that will also help build kids' writing skills. Write Letters Today, writing letters is a bit of a lost art. Encourage your child to write letters to friends or family members.

  21. How to Teach Creative Writing to Kids

    59 students Created by Tara Heavey Last updated 4/2020 English English [Auto] What you'll learn How to teach creative writing to children, in a heart centred way, that is designed to inspire them and let their imaginations soar. Requirements An open mind and an open heart Description

  22. Teaching Creative Writing: Tips for Your High School Class

    Teaching Creative Writing Tip #3: Make Sure Your Materials are Age-Appropriate. Once you know what you're teaching, you can begin to cultivate the actual lessons you'll present. If you pick up a book on teaching creative writing or do a quick Google search, you'll see tons of creative writing resources out there for young children. You ...

  23. How to teach my child creative writing?

    Creative writing involves thinking from different perspectives and putting yourself in others' shoes. It will naturally bring about a growth of empathy for people around them. Improves problem-solving and pattern analysis skills. Help boost confidence. It can act as an outlet for their pent-up emotions and thoughts.

  24. Explore your creative side

    Whether it's painting a picture, baking a cake, writing a novel or finding a new way to solve a tricky work problem, being creative is enjoyable and productive. For some of us it comes naturally ...

  25. The 50 Best Things For Kids to Write About

    However, the more a child writes, the more their creative juices will start flowing. There are many benefits of writing for kids. So, whether your child loves to write or dreads it, you can ...