Using Creative Writing Prompts to Spark Students' Imaginations

Once language learners progress beyond the basics of English, they start to get a lot more creative, expressing a wider range of thoughts, feelings and opinions than beginners. This is the perfect point to harness learners’ creative energy with activities like creative writing that make learning enjoyable and motivating, allowing language skills to develop with more freedom and independence.

To get students writing creatively, they need prompts, which are the triggers that will spark their imaginations. These prompts are like triggers for the process of creation, and can come in many different forms. Here are a few ideas that you might want to play with.

Story dice

A ‘Story Dice’ activity involves rolling dice with different images or words assigned to each side, and students must incorporate those things into a story. This not only sparks their creativity but also enhances their ability to think spontaneously. All you need are regular six-sided dice with a word or idea assigned to each number on the dice. You could make the assignments based on what students have recently been studying. For example, if students roll a six, three and one, and those numbers have been mapped to the B2 words ‘democracy’, ‘reckless’ and ‘come across’, then a story immediately jumps out! A thrilling story about a brave journalist who comes across a reckless plan by politicians, and it is only our hero who can defend democracy!

Storytelling teamwork

Storytelling teamwork lets students collaborate and share ideas. Put students into groups and assign each member a different part of a story, such as the beginning, middle or end. You can even get a little more creative with your story elements and assign things like plot twists, MacGuffins or dramatic climaxes. These will really get students thinking about how good stories are constructed.

Then have group members work together to weave these sections into a coherent narrative, by discussing the parts they have created and seeing how they can fit them all together. This develops teamwork and language skills. As they work together, students learn how to create smooth transitions between different parts of the story and develop their critical thinking as they consider how their work logically contributes to an overall narrative.

Group discussions

Finally, group discussions, although not strictly writing prompts, are great for encouraging critical thinking and enhancing communication skills. Teachers can facilitate conversations around thought-provoking questions related to the writing prompts or students’ own work. These discussions allow students to gain valuable insights from different perspectives while building confidence in expressing their thoughts. Peer feedback during group discussions also allows students to receive constructive criticism from their classmates. This feedback can be invaluable in helping them identify areas for improvement in their work while also boosting their confidence by receiving recognition for their strengths.

By incorporating these methods into classes, you can build an environment where students are inspired and motivated to explore creative writing to develop their English.

We hope this blog has got you thinking about how creative writing prompts can unleash the power of students’ imaginations. Please do let us know if you try these ideas and how they go for you and share any ideas you have about them in one of our social channels.