Story Starters Teaching Resources
Explore story starters for kids and printable worksheets created by teachers to spark your elementary and middle school students' imaginations as they learn all about narrative writing.
This collection of curriculum-aligned teaching resources has been carefully reviewed by our expert teaching team to make sure every resource is classroom-ready — so we can make your lesson planning easier!
New to using story starters in the classroom, or just looking for new ways to engage your students? Read on for a primer from our teacher team!
What Are Story Starters?
A story starter is a great tool to help students begin a narrative writing piece! These prompts can help your students unlock their creativity and inspire them to explore more graphic elements in their writing — everything from imagery to figurative language.
For new writers, a blank page can be daunting, and it's easy to get frustrated or develop a serious case of writer's block when you're not sure where to begin. Using a story starter can prevent that frustration from setting in and help your students develop their writing skills.
What Are Good Story Starters for Kids?
The key to a good story starter for students is relatability! Story starters that can inspire kids to put pencil to paper are age-appropriate and relatable to their experiences. After all — the goal is to make writing easier for kids, not present new challenges.
A good story starter for kids can be anything from a question, a statement or even an interesting image such as a photograph. It should be open-ended and allow for multiple interpretations. This encourages your students to think critically and creatively.
You also want to be mindful that the story starter you're presenting should capture kids' attention — simply being relatable isn't enough if it bores them! The more engaging the starter, the more engaged your student and the more engaging they can make the resulting piece of writing.
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Magical Story Starters Task Cards
Get your students writing magical stories with this set of story starter task cards.
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Inspiring Story Starters - Task Cards
Get your students writing during Read Across America week with this set of inspirational narrative story starter task cards.
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Haunted House Worksheets - Descriptive Writing Activity
Draw and write about scary Halloween houses with a printable Halloween descriptive writing activity pack.
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Halloween Creative Writing Prompts - 4th and 5th Grade
Develop narrative writing skills this Halloween season with a set of printable Halloween writing prompts for 4th graders and 5th graders.
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Grandparents' Day Writing Prompt - The Very Best Day
Surprise Grandma and Grandpa with a special story telling about the Best Day Ever with a Grandparents’ Day writing prompt.
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Halloween Narrative Writing Prompts — Finish the Story Writing Activity
Develop narrative writing skills this Halloween season with a printable “Finish the Story” writing prompt and craft.
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Roll to Create a Haunted House Halloween Activity
Have some spooky Halloween fun with a Roll-to-Create Halloween Art activity.
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Easter Writing Prompts- Story Starters
Create Easter-themed stories using these Easter writing prompt cards.
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Easter Bunny Craft for Preschoolers
Celebrate Easter while encouraging imaginative storytelling with this bunny craft for preschoolers.
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April Fools' Day Writing Prompts
Celebrate April Fools' Day in the classroom with these fun writing prompt worksheets.
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Sloth Story Starters - Animal Writing Prompts
Help students get over writers’ block with these cute sloth-themed writing prompts.
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Groundhog Day for Kids - Writing Prompts
Celebrate Groundhog Day and write imaginative stories using a collection of Groundhog Day writing prompts.
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If I Were a Sloth... - Writing and Craft Activity
Excite your students to write with this super cute sloth-themed imaginative writing prompt.
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Christmas Writing - December Writing Prompts
Inspire your students to write creatively with a set of 30 Christmas writing prompts for kids.
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Winter Writing Prompts for Beginning Writers
Celebrate winter and your growing writers with Winter writing worksheets for Kindergarten and first grade.
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Write With Your Senses: Daily Descriptive Writing Prompts
Inspire your students to write descriptively using our 20 daily descriptive writing prompts slide deck and graphic organizer.
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Roll to Create a Thanksgiving Feast - Creative Writing Prompts for Kids
A fun, hands-on Thanksgiving activity using a die and a chart to create a narrative text.
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Write a Spooky Story - Scaffolded Writing Project
Inspire your struggling writers to write spooky stories that contain all of the story elements with a set of scaffolded writing activities and final draft paper.
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Ocean Writing Center
Build stronger vocabulary and writing skills with an ocean-themed writing center.
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Labor Day Vocabulary Cards and Writing Center
Learn about Labor Day and write sentences using academic vocabulary with a Labor Day word wall and printable writing templates.
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Groundhog Day Vocabulary Cards and Writing Center
Create a vocabulary and writing center with a Groundhog Day for Kids word wall and writing template.
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Build a Sandcastle-Writing and Craft Activity
Excite your students for the upcoming summer with a narrative writing and craft activity.
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Spring Writing Prompts Worksheet
Explore creative writing in your classroom with these 3 fun story writing prompts for Spring.
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My Nobel Peace Prize – Upper Grades
Encourage students to think about how they could make the world a better place with our Nobel Peace Prize writing template.
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"If I Was an Astronaut ..." – Writing Template
A writing prompt template for students to write what they would do if they were an astronaut.
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Curious Creatures Character Spinner
A curious creature character spinner to use in a variety of ways.
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'Pick Three' Writing Inspiration Worksheet
A worksheet to use when students need writing inspiration for a narrative piece.
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New Year's Flip Book Template
Celebrate the coming of a new year by creating this flipbook with your students.
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Roll to Create a Superhero Comic
A fun, hands-on activity using a die and a chart to create a comic strip story.
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Roll to Create a Groundhog Story
A fun, hands-on Groundhog Day activity using a die and a chart to create a narrative text.
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My Ideal World – Writing Template
A template for students to use when writing about their ideal world.
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What Happened Next? – Little Red Riding Hood Writing Template
A template for students to finish the story of Little Red Riding Hood in their own, unique way.