Writing Games and Lesson Plans for Children

Can I Use Games to Teach Writing?

You may not usually associate writing instruction with game playing, but writing games may be a good way to jumpstart children's creativity and motivation. Here are five writing games and lesson plans that may work well in your classroom or homeschool environment.

Fun Writing Activities

Writing a Group Story

Before beginning a creative writing activity, sit your students in a circle and start a story with a fun, silly sentence. Each child in the circle needs to continue the story with one more sentence. You could appoint one person to record the story. After making up this silly group story, the children will be ready for writing their own individual stories.

Linking Random Plot Elements

Make three boxes with ideas for plot elements. One box should have slips of paper with story starters, such as a topic or beginning sentence. Another box will contain ideas for the middle of the story with details about the topic or main event. The third box will be full of possible endings. Ask every child to pick one slip from each box and write a story linking the ideas together.

As an alternative, the three boxes could contain main characters, settings and plots. The children will enjoy the random elements and unexpected combinations that result.

Describing with the Senses

Cut out enough slips of paper for each child. Write the name of a common food item on every one and put the slips of paper in a box.

Ask the children to pull a slip of paper from the box and write descriptions of the taste, smell, touch, appearance and sound of the food listed. Instruct them not to write the name of the food or use any obvious words that would give it away, such as using the word 'chocolate' to describe a candy bar. Then have each child read his or her description and see if you or the other children can guess what kind of food it is.

Inspiring Stories through Art

Find some art images that appeal to kids, such as a Norman Rockwell painting or one of William Wegman's Weimaraner dog photographs. Divide your students into groups and assign one image to each group. Ask each group to collaborate and write a short story about the image. Encourage them to get as creative and silly as possible. Afterwards, each group can share its results with the rest of the children.

Sharing Words and Poetry

Ask each child to make a list of five silly words. Then divide your students into pairs and tell them to swap their word lists with their partners. Each child will write a poem that incorporates all the words on the list. Encourage the children to write the poems in any form they wish. They can share their poems with their partners.