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Grades 1–5
Poetry
Sparks

If Poems

826 New Orleans
Students will imagine what they would do if they were someone or something else.
What Your Students Will Learn

Students will imagine themselves as someone or something else and write a short “If Poem” that captures what they would do.

What Your Students Will Produce

See more Sparks at this level

Grades 5–6
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Amazing Stories

by Nathalie Lagerfield, 826CHI

Fantasy/SciFi
Narrative

Students will imagine (and write about) their own fantastical worlds, using the cover illustrations of magazines as inspiration.

Grades 1–5
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Nature Writing

by 826 National

Poetry

Students will write a poem about nature using sensory details to capture the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and feeling of the subject.

Grades 1–12
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A Good Time to Write: Remote Learning Kit

by 826 National

Informational
Media
Memoir
Narrative
Persuasive
Poetry

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

Grades 1–5
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Backward Storytelling

by 826 National

Narrative
STEM

In this Spark, students will use backward thinking to create a four-panel comic strip story using the backward problem-solving skills of software developers.

Grades 5–12
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Telephone Pictionary

by 826 National

Narrative

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

Grades 4–5
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Alternative Universe Nursery Rhymes

by Liz Levine, 826NYC

Fantasy/SciFi
Poetry

Challenge students to rewrite a classic nursery rhyme with a twist.

Grades 5–8
Sparks
Hero’s Secret Lair Haikus

by Mariama J. Lockington and Peter Calhoun Hall, 826NYC

Fantasy/SciFi
Poetry
STEM

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.

Grades 3–5
Sparks
Include Someone BINGO
by Cartoon Network

by 826 National and Cartoon Network

Narrative

In this twist on a classic game, students will practice intentional inclusivity with their classmates, as well as brainstorm other ways to continue building community throughout the school year.

Grades 4–12
Sparks
Tell Me a Story

by 826 National

Narrative

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

Grades 1–5
Sparks
On the Inside
by Cartoon Network

by 826 National and Cartoon Network

Narrative

Students are inspired to write about a time that they felt accepted and appreciated for who they are.

Grades 4–7
Sparks
Character-O-Matic Protagonist & Antagonist

by the Team at 826CHI

Fantasy/SciFi
Narrative

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

Grades 3–5
Sparks
Diary of a Tasty Food

by 826 National, inspired by student authors of 826 New Orleans

Poetry

In this Spark, students will pretend to be their favorite food and write about what that food would do on an average day.

Grades 2–5
Sparks
An Ode to Pieces

by Lauren Rudewicz and David Hutcheson, 826michigan

Poetry

Students will define the word “ode” for themselves and identify the people and moments in their lives they’d like to celebrate in a poem.

Grades 1–5
Sparks
Feelings to Action
by Cartoon Network

by 826 National and Cartoon Network

Narrative

Students write similes to express what their emotions feel like and build plans to treat others with kindness and empathy.

Grades 3–5
Sparks
Mystery Food Poems

by 826 National, inspired by student authors of 826 New Orleans

Poetry

In this Spark, students will write a poem that engages the reader in answering the question: Can you guess this food?

Grades 1–5
Sparks
Super Sentences: Verbs

by Naomi Solomon, 826NYC

Narrative

Nouns, adjectives, adverbs—and in this case—verbs are the building blocks of super sentences. In this Spark, students share action words that bring them joy and incorporate those verbs into a story.

Grades 5–12
Sparks
Exploring Connections
by Academy of American Poets

by 826 National, in partnership with Academy of American Poets

Narrative
Poetry

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

Grades 1–3
Sparks
Make Me Laugh

by Molly Sprayregen, 826CHI

Poetry

In this social-emotional learning writing prompt, students write a poem describing the silliest creature they can imagine.

Grades 1–5
Sparks
Friends Help Friends, Always
by Cartoon Network

by Sarah Kokernot, 826CHI

Media
Narrative

Students use illustrations as entry points to write stories about friendship from a new perspective.

Grades 2–6
Sparks
Poetry Hunters: Finding Poems Where You Never Thought to Look

by Kiley McLaughlin & Dana Belott, 826 Valencia

Students experiment with alternative ways of writing poetry by reordering and rearranging pre-existing text.

Grades 4–7
Sparks
The Dialogue Alphabet Game

by 826 National

Media
Narrative

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

Grades 3–5
Sparks
If I Were a Pizza

by 826 National, inspired by student authors of 826 New Orleans

Poetry

We are all parts of a whole, just like a pizza! In this Spark, students will think about all the things that make them who they are and then write a poem in the shape of a pizza.

Grades 1–5
Sparks
Summer Writing Bingo

by 826 National

Fantasy/SciFi
Informational
Narrative
Poetry

Students engage in a variety of writing prompts to keep their skills sharp over the summer break. They can also revise their writing and send it in for publication on 826 Digital!

Grades 1–3
Sparks
Spooky, Silly Stories

by 826 National, with inspiration from Naomi Soloman, 826NYC

Narrative

Calling all ghostbusters! In this Spark, students will learn more about what makes a spooky story and then develop their own creepy characters, with a silly twist.

Grades 5–6
Sparks
Monster Scattergories

by Lindsay Stinson, 826LA

Fantasy/SciFi
Narrative

Students will learn to be empathetic towards those who are different by brainstorming scary characteristics of specific monsters and then developing more positive aspects to their nature.

Grades 1–5
Sparks
My Name Is

by 826 National

Poetry

In this Spark, students will write a poem that can be used as a tool to introduce themselves to their classmates.

Grades 4–8
Sparks
Setting the Tone

by Aarti Monteiro, 826NYC

Narrative

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.

Grades 5–6
Sparks
Superhero Traits

by Jane Roschen, 826LA

Fantasy/SciFi
Informational
Media
Persuasive

In this activity, students will explore superhero traits or superpowers that they know or admire. What kind of jobs do they do? How do their powers help them achieve this?

Grades 4–7
Sparks
Setting-O-Matic

by the Team at 826CHI

Narrative

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

Grades 1–5
Sparks
Super Sentences: Adverbs

by Naomi Solomon, 826NYC

Narrative

Nouns, adjectives, verbs—and in this case—adverbs are the building blocks of super sentences. In this Spark, students will practice identifying and using adverbs in their writing.

Grades 1–3
Sparks
Kindness Counts
by Cartoon Network

by Nicolien Buholzer, 826LA

Informational
Narrative
Persuasive

Why does kindness count? Students consider acts of kindness that they’ve experienced and reflect on the difference that kindness makes in the world.

Grades 5–12
Sparks
Exploring Voice
by Academy of American Poets

by 826 National, in partnership with Academy of American Poets

Poetry

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

Grades 4–7
Sparks
Character-O-Matic

by the Team at 826CHI, with inspiration from Ryan Harty, 826michigan

Fantasy/SciFi
Narrative

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

Grades 5–8
Sparks
Loop-y Lyrics

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STEM

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Grades 4–6
Sparks
The Human Comic Strip

by Bryan Wilson, Educator Leader, Bureau of Fearless Ideas

Narrative

In this lesson students will work together to revise a scene from a first draft by adding descriptive details.

Grades 5–6
Sparks
Invent a Miracle Elixir

by Paris Hyun, 826LA

Fantasy/SciFi
Persuasive

Students will use creative thinking to innovate an imaginary elixir that targets a problem they see in the world.

Grades 1–6
Sparks
Creative Recipes

by Jillian Wasick, 826 Valencia

Narrative
Poetry

What are students made of? This activity prompts students to reimagine recipes and write about their life experiences.

Grades 5–6
Sparks
Myth-Making

by Pedro Estrada, 826LA

Fantasy/SciFi
Narrative

In this activity, students will examine narrative structure, explore the purpose and practice of myths, and put the two together to create their own original piece.

Grades 1–5
Sparks
Sensory Heart Mapping

by 826 National

Narrative
Poetry

Students will identify their favorite sensory memories and transfer them to a visual heart map.

Grades 3–9
Sparks
The Dialogue Shuffle

by Klariza Alvaran, 826CHI

Media
Narrative

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

Grades 4–8
Sparks
Interviewing Inanimate Objects with Daniel Handler

by author Daniel Handler, a.k.a. Lemony Snicket

Narrative

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

Grades 4–8
Sparks
Details Detective

by Naomi Soloman, 826NYC

Narrative

In this Spark, students practice adding details into their writing, with the help of peer feedback.

Grades 5–9
Sparks
A Day in the Life of Flood City
by New Leaf Literary & Media

by Daniel José Older, author of Flood City

Fantasy/SciFi
Narrative

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.

Grades 1–3
Sparks
Feeling Words & Healing Words: A Poetry Journey

by Molly Sprayregen, 826CHI

Poetry

With this collection of 826 Digital poetry activities, young writers will explore a range of feelings and strengthen their emotional vocabulary. Activities are available in print and web versions!

Grades 1–5
Sparks
Say Something
by Cartoon Network

by 826 National and Cartoon Network

Students reflect on what it feels like to stand up to bullying and write about a time when they used their voice to make a difference.

Grades 5–6
Sparks
Write Your Own Comic Dialogue

by Ashlyn Anstee, 826LA

Media
Narrative

Students will be asked to take an existing 4-panel comic and create their own dialogue. This is a fun quick activity or warm-up exercise that will challenge students to write efficiently.

Grades 1–3
Sparks
What’s Your Happy?

by Molly Sprayregen, 826CHI

Poetry

In this social-emotional learning writing prompt, students create a poem that shares the "happys" in their life.

Grades 5–8
Sparks
Making (and Breaking!) Rules in Poetry

by Mindy Misener, 826michigan

Poetry

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.

Grades 2–12
Sparks
Author Bios

by Cristeta Boarini, 826 MSP

Narrative

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.

Grades 1–3
Sparks
Overcome the Overwhelm

by Molly Sprayregen, 826CHI

Informational
Narrative

In this social-emotional learning writing prompt, students write about strategies for recognizing and overcoming the feeling of overwhelm.

Grades 1–5
Sparks
Writing to Process (Elementary)

by Asia Calcagno, 826CHI

Memoir
Narrative
Poetry

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.

Grades 1–5
Sparks
Me, Myself, and I
by Cartoon Network

by 826 National and Cartoon Network

Memoir
Narrative

After writing about their personal and social identities, students discover that sometimes what makes us unique is what brings us together.

Grades 1–3
Sparks
What Do Feelings Sound Like?

by Molly Sprayregen, 826CHI

Poetry

In this social-emotional learning writing prompt, students reflect on the sound of feelings and use onomatopoeias in their poetry.

Grades 5–6
Sparks
Teach a Pirate How to Make a PB&J

by Neil Gordon, 826LA

Informational

Students teach a "pirate" how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and learn how to give effective instructions in the process.

Grades 3–8
Sparks
Recipe Zines

by 826 National

Informational
Media
Narrative

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