Spark Creativity

Looking for an engaging Thanksgiving creative writing assignment that builds narrative writing skills without adding prep to your plate? This flexible, student-centered activity gives middle and high school students the chance to write imaginative Thanksgiving stories using a mix-and-match approach to characters, settings, and conflicts. Students will draw from a themed menu of creative writing elements to craft a unique holiday story—and the unexpected combinations keep things fun, fresh, and

If group work is a challenge for your students, these guiding handouts will help them explore and discover what it means to be successful in working together. Instead of dealing with complaints and disengaged group members, you can enjoy working with teams of students who understand how to get the job done collaboratively. "LOVE your Group Work Expectations. I bought it a few months back and it's just perfect! " - Angela Watson, The Cornerstone for Teachers While we often ask our students to wo

These Harry Potter Creative Writing Printables will slip easily into the open spaces of any Harry Potter novel unit. Simply print and enjoy watching students imagine themselves into the wonderful world of Hogwarts through their writing. From the Reviews: "My students love these prompts to develop great creative writing pieces." "A great way to help your students see sensory within HP and learn how to use it in their own writing." "Very helpful for my students!" "A very creative resource!" Thi

ELA Discussions can be GREAT, but they an also be... awkward, difficult, WORK. I know it and you know it. When students struggle to voice their opinion during discussion, sometimes all they need is a little warm-up. From the Reviews:"Such a great resource! It is really helpful to have all these types of prompts in one place. I printed stacks of several for just-in-case days and quizzes too.""Great discussion prep, thanks!" "Can't wait to use these!" These pre-discussion activities are designed

Looking to engage your college-obsessed juniors and seniors? Try this creative character college essay project you can use with any novel. Here, you’ll find the handouts you need to guide students through a unique adaptable ELA project in which a literary character fills out a brag sheet, chooses colleges of interest, picks an essay question, and outlines and writes a college essay. Not only does this project help students analyze a literary character in a creative way, it introduces them to im

In this fun creative writing activity, students choose from a menu of characters, conflicts, and settings, then write a Christmas story on the provided paper. If you wish, extend the writing workshop by having students finish their stories at home, then sharing them in class the next day. Students could share with one partner, sit in a circle and pass them around for fifteen minutes until they’ve read all they can, or read aloud in small groups. New here? Check out my most popular produc

Christmas Writing Activity: Keep the holiday spirit in the air while you accomplish important practice with metaphors and similes. These cute holiday handouts will help students stay on task as you play some cheery music in the background. Before diving in, remind your students to try to use comparisons they have never heard before, rather than relying on clichés. Share a few examples of clichéd comparisons (my love is like a rose, life is like a box of chocolates, it was as dark as night, I’m p

In this packet you’ll find five rubrics designed to save you time when grading the most common major assignments in the ELA classroom. Use them to save yourself time and energy while still giving clear feedback to your students. You may wish to pass out the rubric when you assign the homework, and have students turn it in stapled to the assignment as a cover page. That way they clearly know how they will be graded from the get-go. What’s Inside: Book Talk Rubric Research Paper Rubric Analytica

Use these fun Halloween writing prompts throughout October. Let students kick off class with creative holiday prompts like: “Of course bats get lonely!” yelled Fred. “I miss my family! I miss my friends! And you’ve hardly been welcoming to me! Halloween is usually my favorite holiday!” Each of the five story starters come on Halloween-themed paper. Just print and enjoy. More Fun for Halloween: Halloween Sensory Details Writing Pack Scary Story Festival I bet you're always looking for

Get your students excited about writing this October with this Halloween creative writing activity designed to spark imagination and build storytelling skills. These spooky story prompt cards give students in grades 3–6 everything they need to create their own Halloween-themed tales. With a mix-and-match set of characters, settings, and conflicts, students randomly draw cards and use them to guide their writing. It’s a low-prep, high-engagement way to encourage creative thinking and narrative