Back-To-School Writing Prompts [Includes Printable Worksheets]

It seems like every single year when we came back from summer vacation, our new teacher asked us to write an essay that answered the same old question. What was your favorite thing about summer vacation? As a mom and homeschool teacher, my philosophy is that first-week back-to-school writing prompts should never be boring! And this is the perfect time to get those creative juices flowing!

That’s why I love our friendly schoolish gnomes in the free printable pack of creative writing prompts. Writing with gnomes can never be boring! You can find our back-to-school story starters at the end of this post, or download the printable pack and have all of the prompts with writing paper and adorable gnome illustrations. I definitely recommend the latter, since those cute little guys are what bring these different writing prompts to life! These are perfect for elementary grades as we have both manuscript lines and plain lines for all writing levels.

Before handing your child writing prompts, there are a few things to think about. 

Is your child ready to write?

Eliminate distractions, and warm up to school work with some physical activity to stimulate the brain. It can be as simple as a special finger play with little ones or as difficult as a hundred pushups for your teenagers. Physical activity lights up the brain and primes it for learning. 

The first thing to do is make sure your student has a comfortable place to sit, a good pencil and paper, and bright lighting before beginning any assignment.

Writing Prompt Rules

For some parents, there simply are no rules for writing. Others like a more structured approach. I like to strike a balance somewhere in between a strict structure and complete chaos. You could have a required word count, or alternatively, you could have a minimum amount of time spent writing. Perhaps you want to pick the writing prompt for your child or require a certain subject to be covered. Or, perhaps you want to give your child complete freedom to choose the writing prompt of his own or come up with something out of thin air. 

Here’s the deal. You’re in charge! You decide how many or how few rules will be happening in your homeschool. The key is to make sure that time spent with pen and paper is productive and contributes to overall homeschooling success. It is especially important at the start of a new school year, to set clear expectations with your younger students so everyone has a great year.

Writing Prompts Help Reluctant Writers

It may seem counterproductive to have a child that struggles with writing, actually do writing. However, over the years, I have found that writing prompts are a great way to not only help but encourage my struggling writers. Using new writing prompts every so often, your child will begin to stretch their imagination while improving their vocabulary, spelling, and creative writing skills. Give them some fun writing prompts, or maybe some crazy ones, and they can start to explore the short story avenue.

Adding in journal writing prompts or some fun writing activities to your homeschool is a great way to get your kids back into the swing of things and make some memories for a fun first week of school. They can also be used as conversation starters or ice breakers to give your kids some new ideas. I have used writing prompts in one way or another with all my kids and found them to be an effective way to improve their writing skills in a fun way that encourages their own thoughts. You might even notice writing turns into their favorite subject! Providing them with a list of questions or journal topics to help spark their imagination is a good place to start.

Why Have Back-To-School Writing Prompts

At the beginning of the school year, a fun and interesting approach sets the tone for the upcoming school year. Our quirky writing prompts will inspire creativity and help get kids off on the right foot. Besides tone, you also want to set clear expectations right upfront. Having a set amount of time spent journaling through writing prompts or story starters each day will help reinforce the expectations you have set. Kids love to talk about all the activities they did over the past summer, so why not put that energy to good use by having them start with the most important thing – a story!

Goals for Back-To-School Writing Prompts

As you begin the school year, it’s a great time to set goals for each student. These goals should be tailored to the educational needs and personality of the child. For back-to-school writing prompts, you could set a monthly word count goal, a total pages written goal, a time spent writing goal. Almost any type of goal will encourage healthy amounts of writing.

You’ll need to make the goals measurable and achievable. To make sure the goals are within reach, see what can be done by your student in the first two or three days. Then use estimation to set the goals. Always set them lower than you think from the estimate, just because life happens, sickness happens, Christmas vacation happens, etc. You still want to stretch your student though! It can be tricky for sure, but goals can be adjusted as needed.

Looking for Something Different? We Have Tons of Writing Prompt Printables! Here are a few you might like. 

Best Fairy Tale Writing Prompts for Kids

Patriotic Gnomes Writing Prompts

Bee Gnomes Writing Prompts

Rainbow Writing Prompts Printable Set

The Back-To-School Writing Prompts for You

I’m including all of the different prompts in this blog post for you to use live and write on a chalkboard if you like. However, the illustrations define our writing prompts so be sure to look at our Back To School Gnomes Writing Prompts printable and download it for your kiddos. They will thank you for it!

1. Describe an imaginary book as if you read it over summer break and thought it was amazing. Include as much detail as possible.
2. You find this bizarre tool in a chest of goodies on your favorite video game. What does the tool do in the game and how does that help you win?
3. Every time you read a book a lightbulb floats past your head. You have no idea why. Describe your journey to find out where they came from.
4. Pretend your computer is a magical virtual world. Describe what you see and the challenges you face as you journey inside the computer.
5. Your Mom gave you an apple for the first day of school, but as you raise it to your mouth for a snack, you notice something strange. Describe what happens next.
6. You are Dad, and you are taking your family on a field trip to a nearby museum. Describe where you go and what you see while you are there. 
7. In art class, you are sketching to plan a big project. Describe your finished work of art in great detail.
8. You are teaching your siblings all about the alphabet. Describe your plan, describe the process, and describe their reaction. 
9. Your Mom told you to pack your own lunch and supplies for an unexpected field trip. Describe what’s in your bag for the day. 
10. Mom says you have to read one book per day and that has given you an idea. Describe your idea and how it will work to make your required reading faster.
11. You just found out that a distant relative will be visiting. from overseas. Describe the surprise and what you learned.
12. Your assignment is to find three different locations and make up a story connecting three different people from around the globe. 
13. Make up a story connecting characters from three of your favorite books and include an apple in the story somehow.
14. Your laptop has decided to go on the fritz and act in completely crazy ways. None of the buttons do what they should. Describe the problem and how you analyze and solve the problem. 
15. While bored, you decide to look through the attic and find this old diary hidden in the eves. Describe who wrote the diary and what you learn about that person.
16. You find this bag buried in the backyard while planting flowers for your Mom. Describe the contents and what happens as the mystery unfolds.
17. Your Aunt loans you a book for summer vacation and you cannot put it down! Describe the book and what you love most about it. 
18. Your protractor is your favorite school supply of the year. Describe how you use it and how you take care of it.
19. You must work together in groups to make something out of found objects. Describe the creation you and your sister invent.
20. You have thirty minutes to play your favorite game on the computer between subjects. Describe the game you will play with as much detail as possible.

Download your own Back to School Gnome Writing Prompts

Your kids will love these back to school themed gnome writing prompts, as they begin their first week of school. The writing prompts are found at the top of each page and provide just enough information to encourage your child’s imagination and help get the writing process started.

To download the Back to School Gnomes Writing Prompts, simply add it to your cart and then checkout. **Upon checkout, you will be added to my Weekly Newsletter list.**