How can I easily use Picture Prompts for Creative Writing?

Using picture prompts for creative writing has been a huge help in my classroom! Does this happen to you? You spend 10-15 min. on a writing mini-lesson, then send your darling cherubs off to write independently and you hear “I don’t know what to write about!” It used to happen to me ALL the time! Some students always have an idea, others need a little help. A picture is worth 1,000 words, right? Well, it can also help spark 1,000 words in your students! Here are some easy ways that you can use picture prompts for creative writing in your classroom!

Finding Picture Prompts for Creative Writing

You don’t have to have anything special to use as a picture prompt if you don’t want to! Do a quick google search and you will find TONS of images. My students love to write about silly pictures! Find a picture that you like, and project it for your class. The secret is giving your students time to talk about the picture. Then, as a class, we generate a list of words that we may want to use. I write a word bank on the whiteboard so the kiddos can see them, then let them go to town writing about the picture! Super fun, super easy!

Use Writing Prompts with Pictures

If you want something a little more controlled, you can use these super fun writing prompts with pictures! They can be differentiated to meet your needs. They are so fun and versatile! Plus, the pictures are right there on the paper that the students will be writing on, so they are print and go. Your students will choose one character, one setting, and one “plot” or problem point on the paper, then write the story! Of course, you can make it a little more difficult by having them choose 2 from each category, or for a challenge, they have to use them ALL!

When I give my students a Pick a Prompt, I hand them out and have them look over the pictures first. Next, I let them talk to a partner about the pictures on the page and they talk about what they are thinking of writing. Then, we create a word bank on the board and I let them go and write!

These writing prompts with pictures also make great writing journals, writing homework, and left with substitute teachers! My students LOVE them!

Picture Prompts for Creative Writing in Your Writing Center

My writing center is one of the most popular spots in my classroom. I try to keep it fully stocked will all kinds of writing activities! Do your students have a favorite picture writing prompt? Print it, laminate it, and add it to your writing center! My picture writing prompts come in a full-color version. Print, laminate, and put on a binder ring and you have a whole set of picture writing prompts that you can use over and over! These are always a favorite with my kiddos!

My students are welcome to use the writing center when they are finished with their morning work, classroom work, or during our writing block! Adding picture prompts will keep your student’s creative writing flowing throughout the school day!

Use Your Own Pictures

Honestly, this one is my favorite! I take so many pictures and sometimes they are perfect for picture prompts! One way that I build relationships with my students is by talking about my home life. My husband and sons, our goofy pets, etc… they LOVE to see pictures that I take!

Another fun way to get picture prompts for creative writing is to take fun pictures of your students. Halloween is especially good for this! Take pictures, print or project…instant picture writing prompt! They especially love seeing pictures from former classes (especially if I had their siblings or neighborhood friends). Their creative writing is never better than when they are writing about people and places that they know about!

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Thanks so much for stopping by and Happy Teaching!