The Character-O-Matic is a writing tool that helps students to create new characters. In this lesson, students will use it to create a character profile that reflects their own identies.

Students pose questions to the magic 8 ball in this activity centered on character motivation.

Using a place with personal meaning, students will learn a strategy for getting over the hurdle of beginning the writing process.

In this Spark, students put on their detective hats and sleuth out places to add more details into their writing.

In this Spark, students will learn more about voice: what it is exactly, and how to name the elements of it.

This Spark provides students with the opportunity to get to know their classmates by sharing personal stories about a specific topic.

To jumpstart their own poems, students take inspiration from the poetry of the others.

Students revisit powerful memories to generate personal stories filled with heart.

Engage young writers of any age at home with this collection of 826 Digital writing prompts and activities.

Students discuss the 2021 inaugural poem by Amanda Gorman and write their own poems in response to "The Hill We Climb."

Students will write a personal narrative where they describe themselves as a place. Not a specific place, but all the things a "place" consists of.

Usually, an ode is written in celebration, but this Spark asks students to write an anti-ode—a poem about something they can’t stand!

This activity reinforces the role of dialogue in a story, with students creating realistic conversation in A-Z fashion.

This poetry prompt from Ada Limón invites students to consider a personal connection to an animal.

Author and activist P. Carl asks students to write dialogue that captures two distinct and opposing voices, crafting a scene of action and discord.

This activity explores the way emotions change how we perceive settings. Students work in groups to create descriptions of apartments based on an emotion they draw from a hat.

This Spark introduces students to the fantastical world of Flood City and prompts them to write a journal entry from the perspective of a Flood City resident.

A hauntingly good pair of prompts! Students will reconsider the purpose of ghosts by either describing a haunted setting or writing from the perspective of a misunderstood ghost.

In this lesson, students tackle the art of writing authentic dialogue that reveals information about the characters, plot, and conflict.

This writing prompt from author Lisa Ko invites students to explore the impact of social movements by envisioning and writing from an ideal future.

This Spark uses students’ favorite things to support their persuasive writing practice.

In this activity, students work as budding archeologists and creatively reimagine ways for archaeologists and historians to use artifacts to tell stories.

Students learn to incorporate setting as a key element of a story, starting with inspiration from collages.

In this activity, students draw upon inspiration from existing text and the world around them to launch stories of their own.

Make space for creativity in nonfiction! Students will play with traditional nonfiction formats with these two writing prompts from Kelly Jensen, writer and editor.

Students will interview each other in order to create an interesting written portrait. This is a great exercise in journalistic writing and the ability to work together with classmates.

In this activity, students practice analyzing a character’s internal motivations and fears and develop their own original characters.

In this activity, students explore Instagram as a form of public rhetoric and practice using hashtags as a way to engage with larger communities.

A pair of prompts that invites students to consider how time, location, and dialogue can be used to construct a scene and build meaning.

In this activity, students create original monsters in archetypal protagonist and antagonistic roles by focusing on internal and external characteristics.

Students play a spin-off version of Balderdash in this activity, working as budding archeologists who must use the power of observation to solve a few artifact mysteries.

This activity encourages young writers to identify the rules in their own poems and to then experience the joy of either smashing the rules outright or finding a graceful way to reimagine them.

An effective writing prompt about a significant threshold.

Author bios offer students another opportunity to express themselves through writing and to feel like a real author. This Spark walks students through the process of writing one.

Students will collectively create a running list of golden details—details and descriptions that are singular, completely original, and make one's subject unforgettable.

Students will anthropomorphize an inanimate object to produce interview questions and answers.

With a little folding and loads of creativity, students make their own zines that feature abstract recipes.

Daniel Ehrenhaft asks students to consider perspective in a piece of their writing with this reflective spark.

In this writing prompt, students are asked to reflect on the choices they make when deciding whether or not to help someone.

In this Spark, students will play a game of bingo to improve their poems!

Students identify the power of imagery in poetry, then practice putting this power to use in a poem about their neighborhood.

This activity prompts students to write words unspoken, in letters undelivered.

Writing can be a powerful tool when working through feelings of grief, sadness, or anger. This Spark creates an intentional opportunity for youth to write and speak about what is on their minds.

Students consider the influence that labels hold and write poetry to become empowered to describe themselves however they want.

Students consider perspectives of activists speaking up against racism and police brutality following the death of George Floyd and use imagery to capture protest scenes in writing.

Students recall “last times” in their lives and revisit the depth of their experience through writing.

Students plot significant memories on a timeline in this reflective writing activity.

In this activity, students write about a cause they are passionate about and imagine how they can create change in the world.

Students draw inspiration from powerful change-makers to write celebratory, haiku poetry.

What lives inside a word? Find out how to trace connections between two dissimilar words with this playful Spark from award-winning poet Aracelis Girmay.

With this pair of prompts, students look to the past and future for writing inspiration.

In this Spark, students will mine their home and their habits for story and personal essay ideas.

In this fun, interactive game, students will build an understanding of the concept of synonyms. A strong grasp on how to use synonyms will improve students’ overall writing skills.

Through a series of short drawing activities, students will explore the ways observable details can have a major impact on their writing.

Students will use their knowledge of popular music to learn basic computer programming concepts.

In this session, students will write haikus that includes two perspectives, one of a hero and one of an engineer, to design a secret lair for a superhero.

By combining two classic games, students will learn how storytelling and art can build community or help them break through writer’s block.

Students enter a Writing Laboratory, no lab coats required, and use methods of observation to embark on their writing process.

Leslie Margolis invites students to consider their own personhood and what determines or defines it with two short prompts.

In this activity, students illustrate a favorite word and explore what makes words meaningful through illustration, research, and discussion.

In this Spark, students will explore two taboo emotions, desire and fear, by mapping where these feelings dwell in their bodies and using tactile language to describe their impact.

In this Spark, students will explore the many ways you can connect to a poem.

Candy hearts are a Valentine’s Day staple, with their funny—even punny—sayings about love. In this Spark, students will lean into the world of youth slang to write some “sweet” sayings of their own.

This poetry prompt from Rachel Eliza Griffiths asks students to consider the ordinary in their lives—then write a poem that celebrates those ordinary objects and figures.

In this Spark, students will play a game of bingo to improve their narrative writing.

At a time of rising book bans, The New York Public Library invites all teens to reflect on the essential freedom to read.

Students draw inspiration from a real or fictional location and use this sense of place to develop an in-setting document.

This spark activity is designed to get your students on their feet while reinforcing the need for strong dialogue in narratives.

These 10 prompts ask students to browse the 826 Digital Student Writing Gallery for writing inspiration.

A fun, free-writing task which challenges students to take cheesy pop lyrics and make them into their own original poems.