Computer Lab Activities, Interactive Whiteboard Activities, Writing Activities

Story Starters

This interactive tool creates quick writing prompts to help young students delve into creative writing.

Ready to get students excited about writing? Story Starters is a fun, interactive tool that generates writing prompts, which include direction on character, plot and setting. Your students will love to watch the Story Starters wheels spin. Plus, if they want to modify the prompt, they can simply pull the handle on the Story Starters Scrambler to change any piece of it! The activity is now also available for iPad.

1. First, students choose one of four themes: Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-fi, or Scrambler.
2. Then, students type their name and select their grade.
3. Next, they spin the wheels to generate a random writing assignment.
4. Student's pick a template — notebook, letter, newspaper, or postcard. (Students can opt to include a drawing, too.)
5. Once they’re finished writing, they can print or download their completed assignment.

Get started.

Learning Objectives

While participating in Story Starters, students will:

1. Discuss and identify what makes a story compelling. They may reflect on their favorite stories and what elements work together to create powerful tales. These may include:
      • strong characters
      • exciting action
      • a surprising plot
      • details about a place you’ve never been
    
2. Generate story starters that inspire. Students can choose from several genres to write their stories, including Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-fi, or Scrambler for a random combination. Students produce prompts by using the Spin lever or adjusting one piece of the prompt at a time with the Spin This Wheel buttons.
    
3. Write a short creative writing piece. Students may choose to use the notebook, letter, newspaper, or postcard templates for their writing and may choose to include a drawing with their story. When students print their work, they are rewarded with a brief animation.
    
4. Use it on an iPad. Students can access Story Starters through the Scholastic website on an iPad. They can work individually or in groups to write different parts of the story. Students can save the story on their iPads and later share their work with family and friends.