I don’t know about you guys but I STRUGGLE to think of captivating writing or storytelling prompts each week for my class. I’ll be honest, even just writing this post took me a while because I run out of ideas so quickly.
So in order to make life easier for you and me, I have come up with 4 different storytelling categories to pick from! From these categories, I came up with 10 easy ideas to implement with your class giving us exactly 40 storytelling prompts to use! However, don’t stop there – perhaps my prompts don’t quite relate to you or your students – let my prompts and categories inspire you to think of your own.
One thing I always stress with my class is that their stories do not have to be real – I am totally okay with made up stories – as long as they make sure they are honest about that if asked. Sometimes, made-up stories are the best because there is no pressure to remember events exactly or tell it in the right order – it is completely up to you and your creativity!
Tell me about a time when you…
What situations in life are most vivid for you? These are usually the easiest stories to tell. Normally what I do is think about something I did recently that the children might relate with and write about that. A lot of the time their stories wind up being a slightly crazier version of mine!
Stepped in poo
Saw a mouse/ rat/ possum
Were stung by a bee/ bitten by an insect
Touched something hot
Made a hut/ base
Went on holiday
Saw a wild animal/ went to the zoo/ aquarium
Went to a bonfire
Saw fireworks
Climbed up a hill
Retelling familiar stories/ movies
Talking about amazing characters and not reinventing the wheel…what about retelling some of your students favorite stories? Retelling stories is a really important part of learning to tell a story and sequencing events. But who said it had to be classic fairy tales or local legends every time – what stories do your students know and love?
Frozen
Horton hears a who
The very hungry caterpillar
Charlie and the chocolate factory
The little yellow digger
I want my hat back
Moana
Peter Pan
James and the giant peach
Fantastic Mr Fox
Pretend you are a…
Children are the masters of make believe – it’s what they live and breathe. They are constantly exploring what they see in the world through their play. One way to get them to tell a story is through inviting them to use their imagination through ‘Pretend you are…’ This is a great opportunity to bring role play into the classroom. ‘Let’s pretend you are a…teacher…what would your day be like? What is your job like? What might go wrong? How could you fix it?’
Policeman
Famous singer
Superhero
Time traveler
School Principal
Lazy Cat
The Prime Minister
All Black
Magician
Alien
Crazy situations
Imagination is key to writing a great story! Let’s look for opportunities to get our students talking, dreaming and coming up with answers to problems. Another way you can do this is by setting up a scenario for them…imagine you wake up in a chocolate factory….how did you get there? What would you do? What could happen? How would you get out? The possibilities are endless! Here is a clue to coming up with more of these – I often steal them from movies or books I like! Again, why reinvent the wheel!
Your toys come to life at night
You have a giant dog as a pet
The sky rains lollies
You make friends with a friendly giant
Your pet fish can talk
When you touch water you turn into a sea monster
Your pony grows a horn and begins to fly
The furniture can sing and dance
You shrink to the size of an ant
A shipwreck leaves you stranded on a desert island
