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Grades 1–3
Informational, Narrative, Persuasive
Sparks

Kindness Counts

Nicolien Buholzer
Presented by: Cartoon Network
Why does kindness count? Students consider acts of kindness that they’ve experienced and reflect on the difference that kindness makes in the world.
What Your Students Will Learn

Students will collectively reflect on the power of kindness through a series of free-writes.

What Your Students Will Produce

See more Sparks at this level

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 1–12
Sparks
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 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 1–3
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 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 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 1–3
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
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 1–5
Sparks
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 1–6
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 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 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.

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 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 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 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
If Poems

by 826 New Orleans

Poetry

Students will imagine what they would do if they were someone or something else.

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 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 3–5
Sparks
The Writer’s Notebook

by Kathy Seipp, 826 Digital Educator

Narrative

Invite students to write freely with this lesson that includes directions for students to set up a writer's journal and favorite journal prompts.

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 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 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 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 1–5
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 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 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 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 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 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 1–5
Sparks
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 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.