Creative writing is one of my favorite subjects to teach and is often a writing activity that students enjoy. However, creative writing can be a very challenging activity for some students. Providing engaging topics and images can help reluctant writers generate the ideas, vocabulary, and enthusiasm needed in order to begin a writing prompt.
Inspire reluctant writers with these sequencing strategies using fun picture writing prompts. These creative writing prompts incorporate visuals from cartoons, comics, and drawing activities to inspire all students to write.
Creative Writing Comics
Suggested grades: 2–4
Kids love cartoons. Incorporating silly images with room to write is a fun way to capture your students’ interest in writing. There are many free templates online to help students get started in writing a comic strip. Here’s one resource with a Comic Creator tool from ReadWriteThink. Comic strips provide students the perfect picture writing prompt to practice sequencing!
For a fun activity to introduce writing through comics, print this free Penguin Comics creative writing activity (from Evan-Moor’s Creative Writing Ideas for grades 2–4.)
- Show the cartoon images of penguins to students and use discussion questions to stimulate story ideas.
- Discuss possible story lines, dialogue, and characters that could be created from these images.
- Stories can be scary, funny, or hard to believe. This is a great opportunity for students to express their witty side within their writing.
Encourage creative thinking with these questions:
- What kinds of problems might penguins have?
- Think about how each penguin looks.
- What could be causing these expressions and actions? What could each penguin be saying?
Create your own penguin comic strip with the free printable above.
What Happened Next: Picture Writing Prompts for Story Sequencing
Suggested grades: 2–4
Stir up students’ originality with funny and silly ideas for creative story writing.
1. Cut out funny or interesting pictures from magazines.
2. Show students a picture and ask them to describe what should happen next.
Prompt them with:
- Pretend you are…
- How does it make you feel?
- Why are you in that situation?
3. Have students brainstorm:
- Who is (are) the character(s)?
- Where is (are) the character(s)?
- When did the event happen?
- Why
- Why is (are) the character(s) there?
- Why did this happen?
- What is happing (details)?
- How
- How did this happen?
- How does (do) the character(s) get out of the situation?
4. Complete a sequencing graphic organizer to build a story around the picture.
5. Using their organizer, students write a creative story about the picture writing prompt.
Map and Direction Writing: From Here to There
Suggested grades: 2–4
Develop students’ spatial thinking and map skills with direction writing. Giving students practice writing directions is a great way to tackle your geography and sequencing lessons together.
Directions: (This works well if you complete as a class first.)
1. Students draw a map of your classroom, highlighting key areas such as the teacher’s desk, print projector, pencil sharpener, drinking fountain, and door.
2. Students write out the directions from the teacher’s desk to the pencil sharpener.
Before beginning this activity, review key words and geography concepts such as:
- north, south, east, west
- left, right
- first, next, then, last
3. Pair students with a partner and have them use their partner’s directions to get to the pencil sharpener. (They cannot use the picture maps.)
You may create other direction activities such as:
- How can you get from the classroom to the cafeteria?
- How can you get from the playground to the school office?
Treasure Hunt
Purchase this treasure hunt writing activity, Creative Writing-Writing Directions: How to Get There, from Teachers Pay Teachers. It introduces how to write directions and is only $1.99. Each map-writing activity is accompanied by a picture prompt to help students visualize and analyze the spaces within the picture.
Draw: Sequence: Write
Suggested grades: 2–4
This sequencing activity is a fun way to get students motivated and working together in partners to create their own sequencing lessons.
Directions:
1. Provide four white index notecards per student.
2. Students draw (on the white side) four or more images in the order in which they happen. Explain that the images need to be clear and happen in consecutive order (first, then, next, last). The viewer needs to understand how the story happened just by looking at the images.
For example:
- Making a sandwich
- Brushing your teeth
- A boat (that sinks)
3. On the lined back of each notecard, students write a sentence explaining what happened in each series of pictures. For example:
- First, take two pieces of bread.
- Then, spread peanut butter on one slice.
- Next, spread jelly on the other slice.
- Then, put the two pieces of bread together.
- Finally, take a bite of your sandwich.
4. Partner students in pairs and ask them to write a sequence of events based on their partner’s pictures.
5. Students can check their work by turning over the cards.
Resources:
These lesson ideas were taken from Creative Writing Ideas for grades 2–4.
For more creative writing ideas, check out: Writers’ Workshop: Writing Activities and Free Writing Prompt Task Cards.
Heather Foudy is a certified elementary teacher with over 7 years’ experience as an educator and volunteer in the classroom. She enjoys creating lessons that are meaningful and creative for students. She is currently working for Evan-Moor’s marketing and communications team and enjoys building learning opportunities that are both meaningful and creative for students and teachers alike.