RESOURCES FOR WARMUP EXERCISES:

Don't Forget to Write by Dave Eggers (Elementary and Secondary levels available). Does your student hate to write? This book includes 50 writing exercises that are fun! The activities involve physical movement (perfect for your kinesthetic learners), breaking codes, wacky science lessons, fairy tale do-overs, and other fun prewriting experiences that get your kids talking and then writing. Highly recommended!

Another thing I like to do with my students is to pull out a weird fact using books such as 100 Weirdest Facts and Ripley's Believe it or Not! and have them write about it. For example, we discovered that the author, Margaret Wise Brown, wrote 70 books that were unpublished before her death. She left her books to a nine-year old child who lived next door. I had the students write about the child inheriting the books and what they did with the multi-million dollars royalty they received. Then, I told them what actually happened (had to do some research to find out but it's an interesting story!) You could also do an online search for "weird facts."

American History Writing Prompts. Here is a good way to integrate composition with history. Each daily prompt contains a short informative paragraph about some event in history along with an idea for a composition assignment related to it. For example: In the Revolutionary War section, the paragraph reads, “In the Declaration of Independence, John Hancock listed the inalienable rights of humankind as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Inalienable rights are rights that can't be surrendered or taken away. Do you believe people have certain inalienable rights? If so, what do you think they are?” Written for Grades 4-8. ISBN 0439040949.

642 Things to Write About is a good way to get your student interested in journal writing. The prompts included in this book are fun, interesting, and perfect for young writers.

Games for Writing by Peggy Kaye. Another must-have-on-the-shelf resource for writing class. This book explains a variety of games that you can play to get your child interested in writing. Kids need something to write about. Why not play first, then write about it? Example: Pop popcorn, then spell words using the popcorn to form letters. Strange sentences involves creating sentences by rolling dice. I've used the ideas in this book for all ages, however, it was written for K-3.

Do a search for “writing prompts.” They are all over the Internet.

100 Things to Do With Books.

Follow my Pinterest Boards for more ideas: Cindy Downes on Pinterest.

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