Journaling (and writing in general) doesn’t come easy for every kid (or everyone). Strategies and journal prompts for home and school journals for writing.
I’ve probably always been a writer. It came naturally for me. Others, though, have a lot more difficulty finding the right words and placing them on paper. Some find it difficult, frustrating, and intimidating. Either way, even when it’s difficult, writing can be one of the most rewarding areas of learning for children, and encouraging writing practice on a consistent basis will help children to become stronger, more confident writers. Below are writing prompts to help inspire children to write with details.
As you prompt children to write, it’s important to use the same techniques for conversation with children: ask questions, discuss feelings and give them time. Children should be encouraged to go back and reread what they’ve written, adding, deleting, and making changes. It also helps to put it down for a little while and come back to writing later.
7 writing prompts to inspire writing with details
Your school or neighborhood is going to host a carnival, and you’re going to be in charge of one of the games. Describe your game. What supplies will you need? How will you decorate the area? What will participants need to do? How will you challenge them?
It’s Create a Monster Day! Write about a monster that no one has ever seen before using describing words that will scare anyone who reads it. Don’t forget to include how the monster affects all 5 senses.
Strategies to help kids journal better
Describe today through the eyes of your pet (or the pet you wish you had.) Think about how things are different from where your pet is. Does he call your mom “Mom”? Would does he smell the same things you smell? What does the world look like to him, and what does he do all day? How does he feel?
You just found a large brown box with a big red bow wrapped around it. You opened it and inside was another box and bow. Then another… and another. Describe all the boxes’ shapes, sizes, colors, and wrappings as they get smaller and smaller until you finally open the last box. Then describe what was inside as you open the last one.
Go back to the box activity and describe your feelings as you open the boxes. Is it fun? Do your feelings and anticipation change as you open more? Are some more difficult to open than others? Don’t forget to explore your senses, too.
More journal prompts: inspire higher-level thinking
What was the last thing you ate? Write a description of it as if you’re telling someone who has never tasted it before. What did it look like? How did you eat it? How did it feel in your mouth and belly? Remember to include all of your senses.
Enter your bike in the annual Decorate Your Bike Parade. Write detailed plans of how you will decorate your bike.
See what journals we recommend for kids.
