BJU Press Blog

teaching writing

And Then . . . Story Prompts and How to Use Them

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Some people are writers; some people aren’t. And some people learn to be writers. If you have a budding writer in your home but aren’t a natural or learned writer yourself, you may find it difficult to help your child cultivate this skill. One tool you might consider using is story prompts.

What Is a Story Prompt?

Story prompts can be short or long, funny or serious, based on fact or on fiction. There are scene prompts, first-line prompts, last-line prompts, character prompts, picture prompts, and—my favorite—dialogue prompts. But most importantly, prompts are always specific and centered on details that can capture the imagination.

A prompt doesn’t lay out the whole story. It just gives a slice of an idea that can become a whole story. For example, here’s one of my favorite dialogue prompts: “Is it a requirement for supervillains to go to lame pun school?” One writer could take this prompt and write a scene with a hero criticizing a villain’s monologue. Another might take it in a completely different direction.

The right story prompt lets ideas bloom like flowers in a garden.

How Do You Use a Story Prompt?

Writers need to be writing all the time. Published authors don’t disagree about that. And for your young writer to grow his skill, he may need more opportunities to write than a regular homeschool day may provide. Orson Scott Card once said, “Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day.” But even a writer may not always see them. Keeping a healthy batch of story prompts allows you to give your young writer a place to go to for ideas and a chance to use his imagination outside of regular school assignments.

The story prompts you choose for your child should call for him to write a scene, a short story, or a description of a character or setting. The response should be short but can be longer if your child wants to expand it into a well-developed story.

Possible Creative Writing Story Prompts

  • Write a short story that ends with “And that’s what happens when you’re raised by pirates.”
  • Start a short story with “This time, it was the princess’s turn to rescue the dragon.”
  • Write a scene in which two characters say this to each other: “So what’s your plan?” “My plan was to follow your plan!”
  • The government has developed an intelligence-boosting drug, and one of the testers’ pets has been eating it. Describe what happens to the pet.
  • Write a short story that starts with the first line of a hymn.

If you would like to print out visuals for these story prompts, download a printable version.

You could put your collection of prompts into a story-prompt jar for your child to pick from once or twice a week. What kind of stories will your young writer create? We’d love to hear about them!

 

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3 Reasons Why You Should Teach Your Child Writing Skills

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homeschool writing skills
Last week I met a homeschool mom who asked me what I thought about the importance of writing skills. Her son is getting to the end of his homeschool years, and he’s not sure if he’s going to go to college. She and her husband think that he may be well-suited for a career in engineering or technology. Does he need a course in writing skills?

You may have wondered the same thing. In this age of texting, podcasts, video chats, and instant messaging, is it still important to teach composition skills? I believe that it is. Here are three important ways our children will benefit from learning how to write well.

Writing Skills Allow Us to Reflect the Image of God

Because we were created in the image of God, we can exhibit (although imperfectly) some of the characteristics of God. God is the perfect communicator, and He chose to communicate to mankind through written communication. He gave us the Bible. When we write well—when we can organize and express ideas in a way that communicates a message to our audience—we are reflecting God’s image.

Writing Skills Develop Needed Thinking Skills

Good writing is not something that just happens. It is not a special talent that some people have and others don’t. It is a skill that is developed over time by using a process.

I’m glad that BJU Press curriculum doesn’t wait until the upper grades to develop the skill of writing; it introduces the writing process in first grade and continues to develop it through all twelve grades. Recently my first-grade daughter completed her very first composition project. She had to choose an animal, research where it lives and what it eats, and create a poster communicating that information. My third-grade daughter has completed several writing projects already—a paper describing a process and a personal letter in English, essays for heritage studies and science, and a few short projects for spelling. Both girls are gaining skills in brainstorming, organizing, and communicating ideas.

As my daughters’ writing skills develop, they will learn how to express complex, abstract ideas in writing. They will learn how to use logic to skillfully craft arguments. They will learn how to think, and most importantly, they will learn how to answer the questions of those who are seeking after salvation (1 Peter 3:15).

Writing Skills Develop Needed Social Skills

Sometimes when we think of writing, we think about the stereotypical author, holed up in a secluded place for weeks or months, feverishly cranking out the manuscript for his or her next big project. We often forget that the goal of writing is interpersonal communication. It is a social skill.

Good writing meets the needs of the reader. My third-grader’s first big writing assignment this year was a process paper. She had to write out the instructions for how to play a game. She chose to write about kickball. To be successful, she had to think about her potential audience. She had to imagine that her reader had no idea how to play kickball. She had to think about what her reader needed to play the game, and she had to organize her ideas in a way that her reader could understand.

Your child may never become a novelist, a journalist, a blogger, or a copywriter. But no matter what career your child chooses, he or she will benefit from composition skills. Find out how BJU Press curriculum can help you develop those skills through its English Writing & Grammar programs.