Third Grade Writing Prompts

How to Develop Writing Prompts for Third Graders

Third grade writing prompts are often about familiar themes or topics, like favorite places, toys and activities. When third graders respond to writing prompts, they usually write a few paragraphs to a couple of pages, describing their personal experiences or explaining a process to the reader on a particular subject. Although your child may complete writing projects at school, creating your own examples for at-home practice can help to further develop his or her research, organization, writing and editing skills.

Third Grade Writing Prompts by Type

Narrative

Narrative writing exposes your child to creative thinking through fictional and nonfictional storytelling. He or she will have the opportunity to develop characters, dialogue, plot and a sequence of events by incorporating descriptive details, thoughts and emotions. The ability to analyze other authors' texts will be honed in the fourth grade.

Narrative Writing Prompt Example

A hobby is an activity that you can do for fun in your down time. Think about some of your favorite things to do; choose one and make a list of your friends or family members who are involved.

Once you have an idea in your mind, create a narrative story about your hobby. How often you do it? Who does it with you? Is your pet involved? Why do you like it?

Remember to provide as many details as you can about specific behaviors, feelings and beliefs. Would you like it more if different people participated with you? How long do you take part in the activity? When you stop playing, is it because you have to or because you want to?

Expository

Expository writing gives your child the chance to learn about research, gathering information and organizing it in order to provide insight on a topic. This type of informative writing may involve the description of a process, or it might entail giving reasons for behaving a certain way. These exercises can also provide opportunities for your child to think about positive and negative behaviors, such as exercise, healthy eating, safety and manners. Prior to creating an expository prompt, find out what topics are being discussed in school so that you can choose familiar subjects.

Expository Writing Prompt Example

Being sick is never fun, but everyone gets the flu or a cold at some point in their lives. Thankfully, there are some ways to help prevent how often you get sick, but you must understand germs and how they affect your body. Think about what you learned in class about germs and bacteria. Explain what germs are, how they make you sick and how you can stop them. Be sure to include facts, descriptive details and a concluding statement.