60 Writing Prompts for Grades 4, 5 and 6

A good prompt takes away the hardest part of writing practice: deciding what to write about. These 60 prompts are sorted by type, so you can pick ones that match what your child is working on at school.

How to use these prompts

• Match the prompt to the skill. Working on opinion essays? Use opinion prompts. Practising description? Use descriptive ones.
• Let your child choose. Offer three prompts and let them pick. Choice makes kids more invested.
• Plan first, even for short pieces. Two minutes of notes makes the writing better and faster.
• Keep it short. A strong paragraph is better practice than a long, messy page.
• Reuse prompts. Writing the same prompt again a month later is a great way to see progress.

Opinion prompts

Practise stating an opinion and backing it up with reasons. See our opinion essay guide.

1. Should kids be allowed to choose their own bedtime?
2. Is it better to be the oldest, middle or youngest child?
3. Should every school have a garden?
4. Are video games good or bad for kids?
5. Should students wear uniforms?
6. What is the best season of the year, and why?
7. Should kids get paid for doing chores?
8. Is it better to read the book or watch the movie?
9. Should recess be longer?
10. What is the most important invention of all time?
11. Should kids have phones by Grade 6?
12. Is it better to have a cat or a dog?

Narrative prompts (true stories)

Practise beginnings, middles and endings. See narrative writing for kids.

13. Write about a time you were really proud of yourself.
14. Describe your first day somewhere new.
15. Tell about a time something went completely wrong.
16. Write about the best day of your summer.
17. Tell about a time you helped someone.
18. Write about a time you were scared but did it anyway.
19. Describe a family tradition and one time you remember it well.
20. Tell about a time you learned something the hard way.
21. Write about a time you laughed so hard you couldn't stop.
22. Describe a time you changed your mind about something.

Descriptive prompts

Practise using the five senses and strong verbs. See show, don't tell.

23. Describe your favourite place so someone could picture it with their eyes closed.
24. Describe your kitchen at dinnertime using all five senses.
25. Describe a thunderstorm from inside your house.
26. Describe the most delicious meal you've ever eaten.
27. Describe a busy place: a mall, an airport, a hockey arena.
28. Describe a person you admire without saying their name.
29. Describe the first snowfall of the year.
30. Describe your bedroom as if you were seeing it for the first time.

Compare and contrast prompts

See our compare and contrast guide.

31. Summer vs. winter
32. Living in the city vs. living in the country
33. Your school now vs. your school when you were younger
34. Reading on paper vs. reading on a screen
35. Two characters from the same book
36. Breakfast vs. dinner: which meal matters more?
37. Playing a team sport vs. an individual sport
38. Being a kid vs. being an adult

Imaginative prompts

Great for creativity and narrative structure.

39. You wake up and can talk to animals. What happens first?
40. You find a door in your house that wasn't there yesterday.
41. Your teacher turns out to be a time traveller.
42. You shrink to the size of an ant for one day.
43. You invent a new holiday. What is it, and how do people celebrate?
44. Your shadow starts doing things on its own.
45. You're in charge of the school for a week. What changes?
46. A letter arrives addressed to you, dated 50 years in the future.
47. You discover your pet can fly, but only at night.
48. You get one wish, but it must help someone else.

Quick-write prompts (10 minutes)

Perfect for timed practice. See our timed writing tips.

49. What makes someone a good friend?
50. What would you do with an extra hour every day?
51. What is one thing every kid should learn to do?
52. What is the best advice you've ever been given?
53. If you could meet anyone from history, who would it be?
54. What makes a book hard to put down?
55. What is something you're better at now than last year?
56. What would make your town a better place for kids?
57. What is a rule you think should change?
58. What does it mean to be brave?
59. What is the most interesting thing you learned this month?
60. What do you want people to remember about you?

Try it: Pick one opinion prompt and one descriptive prompt this week. Plan for two minutes, write for ten, and check your work for two.

Turn prompts into progress

Prompts give kids something to write about. To improve how they write, pair prompts with the skills in our guides on sentences, paragraphs and essays, or try our writing exercises for kids. Smart Little Writers gives kids a daily exercise matched to each of its 12 lessons, so practice builds step by step.