50 Writing Prompts for 6th Graders That Aren’t Boring
Sixth grade writing prompts are a teachers best friend when it comes to getting her students writing skills off to a rousing start. These prompts help the teacher to get their students involved in the project in an easy going way. In other words, writing prompts have no rules. They are just there to spark the imagination of students. As a result, their writing skills improve in a fun and enjoyable way.
What is a Writing Prompt?
A writing prompt helps a write to get a jump start on a topic. It helps writers to concentrate on a topic without digressing. In general, a writing prompt contains one statement. This statement is often followed by a question or questions which are meant to guide your writing. For example:
Write a short story about a ghost. What did the ghost look like? What did the ghost do? Did the ghost talk? If so, what did the ghost say?
The questions exist to assist the writer in formulating a concise, centered and detailed essay or story. There are prompts for all forms of writing, from fiction, poetry, journals and more. If you have a student that finds third grade writing prompts confusing and difficult to follow, you can try to write the prompt as a list:
Write a short story about a ghost.
- What did the ghost look like?
- What did the ghost do?
- Did the ghost talk?
- If so, what did the ghost say?
As previously stated, there are no rules when it comes to writing prompts. If you choose a writing prompt about a horse, and you end up writing a story about a zebra, deer or unicorn, it’s perfectly fine. In other words, writing prompts only exist to inspire the writer, nothing more.
50 Awesome 6th Grade Writing Prompts
Below are 50 6th grade writing prompts. These prompts are designed to engage the student’s cognitive skills in a variety of ways. Some are magical and creative, while others are straight forward. By encouraging your students to use these prompts to think outside the box, you’ll be a witness to the rapid development of their writing skill set.
1. Watch the following short film. What do you think the short film is about? Write a review of the film. How does this movie make you feel?
2. Write a short story about an elf who made a wish. What did the elf look like? What were they wearing? Did the elf say anything to you? What did the elf wish for?
3. Write a step-by-step paper about a butterfly where you describe how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly. How many steps are there? Describe each step.
4. Take this time to write a biography of your own life. This is known as an autobiography. Include your birthday, favorite activities, favorite foods and so on.
5. You have the chance to be in a rock and roll band.Would you like to play in a rock and roll band? If so, tell us about the instrument you would play and your favorite song.
6. Tell us how to make the perfect peanut butter and jelly sandwich, step by step. Did you use crunchy or smooth peanut butter? What flavor of jelly did you choose? What type of bread did you use?
7. What do you want to be when you grow up? Tell us why that occupation appeals to you.
8. Tell us how you feel about homework. Do you think it is helpful? Would it be better to have no homework and family time instead?
9. If you could redecorate your bedroom. Would you change the color of the walls, add posters, or get a bigger bed? Tell us what you’d change to make it more comfortable.
10.A talking horse asks you for directions to the nearest supermarket. Describe these directions in detail.
11. Write a short story about a hamster who has a secret life as a superhero. Who are the villains? What did your hamster do as a superhero? What does the costume look like?
12. Write a fictional story about two parakeets who decide to spend the day shopping. What did they buy? Did they stop to have lunch? If so, what did they eat?
13. Your best friend isn’t feeling well. Is there something wrong with your best friend? What would you do to cheer up your best friend? What would you say?
14. Write a short story about two puppies having a tea party. What do the puppies look like? What breed are they? Describe their tea set.
15. Write a story about a magical unicorn. what did the magical unicorn look like? What color was it? Did it have wings to fly? What did you and the magical unicorn do together?
16. You are using a writing prompt. State what you think a writing prompt is. Do you think that a writing prompt helps you come up with ideas? If so, tell us how it helps you to be more creative.
17. What if you woke up one day and found out you were a magician, like Harry Potter. Describe how it feels to do magic. What would be the first thing you’d do? Make a list of 5 things you would do if you had magic powers.
18. An alien spacecraft lands in your front yard. You go outside and encounter an alien. What does the alien look like? What did you talk about?
19. One morning you and your best friend receive a mysterious letter. The letter invites you to participate in a magical quest. What is the quest about? Explain your journey and what you found.
20. Create and describe your own superhero. What does your superhero look like? Tell us one or ,more powers that your superhero has.
21. What is your favorite video game. Who is the main character? Explain how the game is played.
22. You have a chance to board a rocket and go into space. Would you go? Did you go to the moon or Mars? What happened when you got there?
23. Watch the movie, “The Black Stallion” on Tubitv.com. How did this movie make you feel? Would you do anything different? Did you like the movie? Why or why not.
24. What is your favorite musical artist. Tell us about them. Would you ever like to be in a band? If so, name the instrument you’d play.
25. What does the phrase, “when pigs fly” mean? Write a short story about this phrase.
26. One morning, you find that your best friend has turned into a robot. How does that make you feel? What did you talk about? Does your friend like being a robot?
27. You have to make a choice between an apple pie or cherry pie. Which one did you choose? Explain to us why you chose the pie you did.
28. Look at this painting by Dali Write a story about this painting.
29. Tell us about a dream or nightmare you had. Describe it as best you can. Were there people in the dream? What colors did you ‘see’? What happened in the dream?
30. Watch this episode of Stingray. Give a summary of the episode.
31. You can create your very own fantasy land. Describe this fantasy land to us. Would you have amusement parks, pink skies, or chocolate factories? You are free to add whatever you want.
32. Describe what a city in the sky would look like. Include rockets, flying cars and magic.
33. Do you think that it is possible for robots to think for themselves? Does the idea of robots thinking for themselves appeal to you or does it scare you? Explain.
34. Watch this video. Describe what this video means to you.
35. When you’re feeling down in the dumps, what do you do to feel better?
36. Watch this video on growing square watermelons. Why did farmers grow square watermelons? Next, briefly describe what you need to grow a square watermelon.
37. Read about Genesis Butler. Who is she and why is an important figure in the world?
38. Go without the internet for an entire day. What did you do? How did it feel?
39. Look at this abstract painting by artist Paul Klee. What does it remind you of? Describe how it makes you feel.
40. Watch this video on how to make a rainbow. Next, write step-by-step instructions on what you saw in the video.
41. How do you feel when you’re sitting all by yourself? Do you like to be alone? If so, why? If not, tell us why.
42. Write a story about a goat, a rabbit and a chicken who went to the store to buy hats. Describe each one and the type of hats they bought.
43. Think about thunder storms. Do you like them or are you afraid of them? Explain why you like them or don’t like them.
44. Who is Malala Yousafzai? Research her name and describe why she is an important figure.
45. Do a Google search regarding the benefits of eating fruit. Explain to us why eating fruit is beneficial for your health. Make a list of 5 benefits and explain each one to us.
46. What was the best thing to happen to you in the sixth grade? Are you looking forward to seventh grade? Why or why not.
47. Explain to us the benefits of playing video games. Present both your own opinion as well as facts found on the internet.
48. While walking on the beach, you come upon a beautiful bottle. It’s so beautiful that you can’t resist picking it up and polishing it. All of a sudden, a genie appears and gives you three wishes. Write each wish down and explain why you asked for it.
49. Watch the following video. After watching the video, who is your favorite Batman and why?
50. Watch this video about a young boy and his dog, called “Clown”. Tell us how this film made you feel? Do you have a dog or did you have a dog? If so, tell us a little about your dog.
