Writing Games for Kids

4 Ideas about Writing Games for Kids—
While creative writing is an important exercise for students, helping them get inspired to write can sometimes be a challenge. Journal prompts and story starters are a great way to get the creative juices going, but sometimes kids need something different to hold their interest.
When your students are fatigued and experiencing a bit of writer’s block, try these fun writing games to invigorate their interest. Each game is a fresh way to write creatively—and kids will improve their writing skills while also enjoying themselves.
1. Write a Communal Story

This game is fun for students to work on in small groups or as a class. Use a notebook, large sheet of paper, or the chalkboard and have students take turns writing sentences. You can do this activity during a set period of time in class, or keep the story out in a common area where students can add sentences during free times.

The collaborative effort is fun and engaging for kids and promotes creativity by allowing students to draw inspiration from one another. For students who have trouble writing stories on their own, the game is also a low-pressure way to get started.

2. Focus on the Details

Students sometimes take the easy way out when describing characters or objects in their writing by using simple, one-word descriptions. In this game, you’ll use a common object and ask students to begin by describing it in one word—“basketball.” Next, students need to use two words to describe the object—“orange basketball.” Then, students will use three words—“new orange basketball.”

Continue until the students have a short list of six or seven adjectives in front of the noun and then have them create a sentence using the description. You’ll get silly answers like “The athlete tossed the new, round, bouncy, noisy, orange, leathery basketball into the hoop with three seconds left on the clock.” The idea here isn’t to inspire students to start writing purple prose—but rather, to encourage them to come up with creative new ways to describe common objects. Take turns reading the sentences aloud and award prizes for the most unique descriptions.

3. Re-Write the Ending

Sometimes other books provide us with the greatest sources of inspiration. In this game, have students select a favorite short story or scene from a book and re-write it. They can try writing the story from another character’s perspective, or perhaps tell what would have happened if a main character made a different choice. Students can even change the story so that it takes place in a different setting or time period. The possibilities are endless, and kids will love the chance to get creative with their favorite books.

4. Draw What You Hear

Ask your students to think of a family member or a favorite character from a book or movie and have them write a brief, paragraph-long description of that person. Next, students will take turns reading their descriptions aloud. As each student reads his or her character description, the rest of the class should draw a picture based on what the student has written.

Give each student the drawn responses to his or her paragraph. When students receive the varied responses and interpretations to their paragraphs, they’ll quickly begin to see the importance of descriptive writing.

Until next time, write on!