Watch and Write videos and lessons deliver writing inspiration directly from authors, professionals, friends of 826, and students. Each video includes a writing prompt and lesson aligned to Common Core State Standards.
Hear from your favorite authors as they share writing prompts, strategies, and more.
Author Javier Zamora invites you to raise your voice and write to the next President of the United States.
Presidential Inaugural Poet, activist, and bestselling author Amanda Gorman shares one of her favorite techniques for starting a poem or getting over writers' block.
Midwest Youth Poet Laureate Ambassador, Charlotte Yeung, shares one of her favorite brainstorming strategies for creating a new piece.
Mac Barnett, a New York Times-bestselling author of stories for children, illustrates how to end a story...or not.
Learn how writing is essential in all types of careers—from journalists to TV show writers.
Award-winning documentarian and journalist,Soledad O'Brien, shares about why she loves her job and how she builds credibility out in the field through thorough research.
Nicole Dungca, Investigative Reporter at The Washington Post and President of the Asian American Journalists Association, shares strategies for asking key questions.
Radiologist Matthew Bucknor shares while it's important for students studying STEM fields "not to sleep on the Humanities."
Misinformation Specialist with Google Nidhi Hebbar shares how you can use writing to inspire change and bring people into conversations about the issues you care about.
Check out writing prompts and favorite student writing from friends of 826.
You will write a “soundscape” poem filled with familiar sounds of your neighborhood or home.
Songwriters are powerful storytellers. Their lyrics can connect us, uplift us, and even heal us. In this lesson, you’ll identify a story of your own and turn it into original song lyrics.
In this lesson, you will hear about the life and art of Reginald Dwayne Betts and write a poem that captures a meaningful moment from your everyday life.
Stories can bridge our past to our future—but only if we build them. In this lesson, you will reflect on a story from your personal history that you think others could learn from.
See student authors from across the country and get inspired to write.
What is the story of your favorite food? In this lesson, you will use descriptive details and sensory words to write a narrative that shares more about your favorite food.
Have you ever thought about what you have in common with an animal? In this lesson, students will write a comparison poem that explores these similarities and differences.
Not all poems have to rhyme, but when they do, they generally use “rhyme scheme.” In this lesson, students will write a poem with a unique sound and rhyme scheme.
In this lesson, you will practice analyzing different types of a narrative technique called irony. Then, you will write your own scene that uses irony to develop an imaginary experience or character.
