Writer's Workshop Story Starters

My little friends can spend an entire Writer's Workshop just thinking of story ideas. Does that happen to your class also? I am not a fan of staged writing prompts from the teacher, so getting them to pull from their own experiences can be difficult. That is why I send home a special letter at the beginning of the year. Read on to learn more and grab it for free!

Hi Friends! Sarah from Mrs B's First Grade here today!

Writing is *probably* my favorite time of day with  my firsties. However, when I have one friend that spends the whole time not even writing a word, I get very frustrated! Please tell me I am not alone...

I encourage my students to be "Writing Factories" and turn out page after page during our workshop time. I do not give my students single pages of paper. Instead, they get several pages stapled together so that they are encouraged to write more and more. Does it work? Yes!

So, how do I help those friends that do not know what to write? Well, one way is to have my parents help me at the beginning of the school year. I hand out a letter during our Meet the Teacher night and ask parents to list 12 story titles that their child could turn into a story. I always love reading what they come up with.

Then, I hand out the lists to my students and have them put them in their writing folder. They pull from the list from time to time when they are out of ideas. Usually, the 12 ideas lead to many more because they are reminded of events by them.

You can send home the letter at any time during the school year. You can also had out the lists at any time. To grab them for free, just click the picture below! Happy Writing!