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10 of the Best Creative Writing Resources for Teaching Plot and Setting in KS3 English
Whether students want to create an epic adventure in a fiery inferno or tense tale in a sleepy town, make sure they create a compelling plot and a fully realised setting with these resources…
Storyboard templates
Whether it’s short stories, comic strips or filmmaking, every tale needs the right structure to be told well.
Having a beginning, middle and end may be a staple of storytelling , but alone it’s not enough, and there are many ways to tell a story.
But however you choose to write yours, one thing is constant – good stories need good structure. These storyboard template resources and activities will help your students develop the skills required to add that foundation to their creative writing.
Check out these resources here.
Year 7 English worksheets
Get to grips with descriptive writing across two lessons with these free Year 7 English worksheets which focus on a piece of text all about the jungle.
Create a spooky atmosphere
Creative writing lessons need to stimulate all of the senses and inspire students. Creative writing in the Gothic genre – spooky stories – offers a wonderful opportunity for this. This is a topic that always manages to enthuse pupils and one of the most exciting aspects is that the outcome is completely different with every group.
Giving students time for thinking and the creation of ideas is essential. This plan provides the stimulus from which a number of sessions can be developed. Subsequent periods can also focus on the development of different writing skills as required by the individual needs of a group.
Get this resource here.
Use The Hobbit to write about tunnels
In this ‘build your own adventure story’ resource students discover new lands, and overcome monsters and other obstacles.
It begins with a passage from JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit , where Bilbo finds himself in a dark cave and meets Gollum for the first time. There are 10 pointers to look at to explore the passage, before student’s begin to write their own story.
It starts in a tunnel, which of course needs describing, and the other side of that they emerge in a fantasy land, which, guess what, also needs describing. They’ll also need to create maps, monsters and much more.
Download it here.
The Place as Character
This interactive resource from Eduqas offers an opening paragraph example of a story that creates a real sense of setting. Students should read through and identify the adjectives used to develop the atmosphere of the place being described.
The second section is where they give it a go themselves, writing out a descriptive passage about a place. But there are lists of adjectives they can click on to insert them into the story should they get stuck for inspiration.
Give it a try here.
Inspiring images and sticky notes
Inspiring images and endless sticky notes might be all you need to get learners producing some truly creative writing. And this lesson is one where students of all abilities (including in mixed ability groups) from Y7 to Y9 are taught engaging creative writing.
Getting students moving around the classroom (especially in classes where behaviour can be challenging) can be daunting but the speed of the task keeps students focused and can result in some fantastic work being produced without too much teacher talk or instruction needed.
This is very much a facilitation of learning and creating for the teacher. You do need a number of resources (and one way to differentiate this lesson thoroughly is to decide exactly which student will have each picture), but for all the coloured sticky notes required, it is well worth the effort.
Download this free lesson plan here.
Playing with structure
This excellent resource on Structure features sections about narrative structures, structure of stories, how you can play with structure, opening and closing a story and how narrative point of view can affect the how you structure the plot.
Dig in to all this here.
Model texts for settings
If you’re after example texts for different settings then head to Literary Wagoll where you’ll find descriptions of an alien world, a fairground, a tree house, a thunderstorm and various others.
Check out all these and more here.
Plot elements
This short and sweet resource is a handy reminder of what the ‘plot’ actually is (and how it can differ from how you choose to tell your story), and it also includes a fun little exercise based on quickly coming up with a plot based on a random word.
You’ll find it here.
Plot advice
This post features an excerpt from the book What’s the Story? Building Blocks for Fiction Writing , and builds on the idea of what a plot is.
It also includes a short list of traditional plot types, and tips for building a compelling plot, like using momentum, creating stakes and giving the characters goals and motives.
Give it a look here.
Browse more English games KS3 ideas and more creative writing prompts .
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22 Creative Writing Picture Prompts
Subject: English
Age range: 11-14
Resource type: Worksheet/Activity
Last updated
20 January 2019
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A set of 22 vivid photographs to be used as inspiration for descriptive, narrative or discursive writing. The pictures are open to interpretation and can be used in multiple ways.
The resource includes a brainstorming template for students to use to organise their initial ideas.
The download includes both a PPT and PDF version of the images and student template.
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Very helpful - thank you
Gillian Deller
Lovely prompt ideas
Great resource. Provided students with a good choice of prompts for their creative writing.
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70 Picture Prompts for Creative Writing (with Free Slides)
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Visual writing prompts help young writers generate new ideas and overcome writer’s block. We’ve put together 70 picture prompts for creative writing that you can use in your writing centers or lesson plans to get your students’ creative juices flowing.
Picture Writing Prompts for All Ages
Writers of all ages and experience levels can get stuck thinking about what to write. Writer’s block is not just a challenge for reluctant writers. Even professional writers have days when they feel less than inspired.
Visual prompts can result in a vast array of story ideas. A single image viewed by ten writers will result in ten completely different stories. Even if you use verbal cues to get students thinking about the picture, each student will still write a unique response to the image.
Visual creative writing prompts are fantastic for elementary school because younger students often relate more to a pictorial prompt than a written one, but don’t shy away from using these with high school and middle school students as well. Pictures make a fun alternative to your typical writing prompts and story starters and can help shake up your regular routine.
How to Use Picture Prompts for Creative Writing
There’s no limit to the ways you can use writing prompts. Here are some of our favorite ways to incorporate image prompts into your weekly lesson plans .
- Writing Center. Print cards or writing pages with these images on them and put them in a writing center for your students to discover at their own pace.
- Specific Skills. Use story picture prompts to help kids work on specific writing skills. For example, you could work on descriptive writing by having them describe the setting of the picture in detail. Or you could work on character development by having them make up a history for a person in a picture.
- Warm-up Activity: You could pop the pictures into Google slides and project an image on a screen or whiteboard for the first fifteen minutes of class and have students work on a short story as soon as they enter the class.
No matter how you decide to use them—whether at home or in the classroom—photographic writing prompts are a great way to cultivate a daily writing habit and encourage kids to explore new topics.
70 Pictures for Writing Prompts
We’ve selected 70 of the most interesting pictures we could find for this exercise. When choosing photos for writing prompts, we look for high-quality photos with intriguing subject matter, but we try to go beyond that. We want to share images that suggest a story, that make the viewer ask questions and wonder why things are the way they are.
We want to feel propelled to explore questions like, What happened before the photo that led to this moment? What are we witnessing in this photo? What’s about to happen?
A photo doesn’t make much of a story starter if it doesn’t suggest that there might be a bigger picture lurking beneath the surface.
We hope you and your students love these picture prompts for creative writing as much as we do. If you love them, go ahead and scroll to the bottom to grab your own copy.
We’ve included a couple of questions with each picture that you could use to spark pre-writing conversations in your classroom, which can be helpful when working with younger students who might need a little more direction.
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Whose cat is this? What is he looking at? Where is he?
What is the owl thinking about? Is he alone? What does he hope to eat for dinner?
Who are these frogs? What is their relationship with each other? Why are they taking photos?
How did the dog get a phone? Why is he taking selfies? What is he doing with the pictures he takes?
This cat doesn’t look too happy. What’s bugging him? Did he get too many phone calls or is he waiting on an important call that’s taking too long to come?
What do these chicks think of the dog? What does the dog think of the chicks? Do you think they can communicate with each other? If so, what would they say?
Where do these lemurs live? What are they looking at? What is something unusual that might happen to them?
What is this fox doing? Is he yawning and stretching or is he trying to scare someone away? What kind of mischief does he like to get up to?
Is this wolf alone? If not, who is with him? What is he planning to do? Does he have a family to feed or protect?
What is this child doing on the laptop? Can he actually read and type or is he just playing? If he can read and type, how did he learn that at such a young age? What other cool things can he do?
Where is this woman? Is she lost? How did she get to this street? What interesting things might she discover as she explores this new city?
Why is the dog wearing glasses? Can he see through them? What are he and the girl doing? How does he feel about it?
Who are these two little boys? What is their relationship with each other? What is the teddy bear’s story?
Who are these children? Why are they running? Is it a race or are they playing a game? Who’s going to win?
Whose horse is this? Does the little boy own it or does he just visit it? Can the horse talk? How does the boy feel when he’s with the horse?
What is this boy reading? Does the book have magical powers? Does the boy? Do the stories in the book become real or does something else special happen?
Where is this man? How did he get there? What is he looking for?
Who is walking over the bridge? What’s on the other side? Is it worth the risk?
What are these people doing on the elephant? Where are they? Are they tourists or is the elephant their pet? What would life with an elephant be like?
Who made this map? It looks old. Has it been hidden away for a long time? Who discovered it and how? What does it lead to?
Whose typewriter is this? What important or secretive thing might they be working on? What could happen if the wrong person finds their work?
Who are these three stuffed animals? Are they living? What is their story?
Whose ukulele is this? Why did they leave it here? Who might find it?
Where is the owner of the bike? Where does this path lead? What if the bike’s not there when the owner returns?
Whose shoes are these? Why did they leave them here? Why are they so dirty?
Who was reading the newspaper? What was the most interesting thing they read? Where have they disappeared to?
Who put this sign on the old truck? What do you think of it? How did the truck end up in its current condition and location?
Who set the table? Who are they expecting? What special occasion are they celebrating? What could go wrong?
Whose birthday cake is this? Are they having a party? Who is there? Who did they want to have there that didn’t show up?
Who lives here? How do they access their home? What is their life like?
Who built the igloo? Where is it? How does it feel to spend the night inside it?
What is the history of this castle? Who lives in it now? Does it have any special or magical features?
Is this barn abandoned or do people live on the property? What kind of animals might live here? How do they keep themselves entertained?
What is it like living on a houseboat? What kind of community do you think forms among the neighbors? Imagine you live on one of these boats and think about how your daily life might change. What interesting things could you do if you lived here? What would you miss the most?
Where is this hut? Who lives here? What mystery might unfold if a stranger came knocking at their door?
What is this lighthouse called? Who runs it? How often do they leave? What is the most memorable experience they’ve had as a lighthouse operator?
How did this house get here? Does anyone live in it? What would life be like here?
Where is this festive street? Are the people there celebrating something? Where is everybody?
Who lives here? How did they build this house? Are they hiding from something? What does it look like inside?
Whose notebook is this? Why did they leave it here? What’s written in it and how might it change the life of the person who finds it?
What are these women doing? What are they supposed to be doing? Will they be in trouble if they get caught?
Who might be represented in this statue? Why is she being pulled by lions? What amazing things might she have done to deserve a statue in this prominent place?
Where is this? Who is riding in the hot air balloons? Where are they going and why?
How old is this tree? Where is it? What are some of the most fascinating stories it could tell?
Where is this carousel? Who is riding it? Can you think of a special or strange story about how it came to exist in this particular place?
What are these people thinking about? What’s at stake for them? What happens if one of them sneezes?
Where are these penguins? What are they talking about? Which one of them is the leader?
What is this place? Was it designed to be open like this or was it once part of someone’s home or a public building? How have people’s opinions of this place changed over time?
Who are these kids? Is this what they’re supposed to be doing? What happens when their teacher sees them?
Who is supposed to ride in this boat? Where are they going? Will they make it there?
Is this plane special to someone? What did they have to do to get it/build it? Where will they fly to in it?
Who decorated this train car? Which passengers will fill it up? What will they talk about?
Whose skis are these? Why are they sticking out of the snow? How did their owner get down the mountain without them?
Where does this gondola go? Who rides it? How does it feel to ride it?
Who’s driving the monster truck? Why is it at the beach? What is it going to crush? Who is watching?
Where is the boat going? Who is on it? What is their mission?
What city is the helicopter flying over? Why? Is the driver looking for something specific or do they have a special delivery?
What’s the little boy doing in the boat? Is he alone or is someone with him? Where is he trying to go?
Who is in the sub? What’s it like inside? What are they doing?
Whose book is this? What’s it about? What’s happening to it?
How did that piece of land with the house on it break off from the rest of the world? Why? Where is it going? Is anyone in the house?
Who is this girl? Where is she? Who is she shooting at?
Where does this scene take place? Is the lizard/dragon good or bad? What is its relationship with the girl?
What do these books represent? What kind of world is this? What (or who) is inside the books?
What are these dinosaurs discussing? Where are they? What do they do for fun?
Whose cottage is this? Do they still live there? If not, where have they gone? If so, what do they do there?
What is the moth thinking about? Is it alone? What’s the biggest challenge it faces in this moment?
Who is the owl looking at? Has it read these books? What is its greatest talent?
Where are these trees? Why are they pink? Do they have any special powers or features?
What do you think? Which kind of pictures do you like best for creative writing prompts ? Let us know in the comments.
Tuesday 26th of December 2023
I think the idea of using picture prompts is a great idea. It initiates oral language thus building vocabulary. It allows lends itself to students working in small groups to stimulate new ideas. The prompts engage the students and gives the teacher the opportunity to focus on specific writing skills.
luke elford
Wednesday 13th of December 2023
cloey mckay
Tuesday 17th of October 2023
I tried this with myself and my 6th-grade students, and they love it. it gives room for so much creativity.
Nayyar Abbas
Tuesday 30th of May 2023
This is very good idea and it really works, viewing these one try to think one's own way that what these pictures are telling or asking? I also recommend that this idea should also be given to the students for building their creative instinct.
Sunday 26th of March 2023
I LOVE THIS
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- Image Prompts
85+ Picture Writing Prompts For Kids (+ Free Printable)
A picture is worth a thousand words. So how many words can you write for these 85 picture writing prompts for kids and grow-ups alike! Pictures, whether something as simple as an apple or as complex as an action scene can spark the imagination in more ways than one.
Of course, when looking at pictures you can take the literal route, and describe whatever you see in front of you. Or you can explore your imagination, and think about the ‘What Ifs..’ of a picture. What if that person is actually upset? What if this picture is of a broken family? What if the world looked like this years ago? A picture can have so many hidden meanings and can hide so many secrets. The slightest detail could mean everything. Just imagine you’re a detective solving a crime from one picture alone. Examine every detail, write it down and think why? Only then can you fully understand a picture.
For more inspiration take part in our daily picture writing prompt challenge . Each day you will be given a new picture prompt to write about.
Picture Prompt Generator
In this post, we have included a mix of simple pictures, story picture prompts, photographs, fantasy images and even some action-packed images.
You can find the complete list of our picture writing prompts below. We’ve also created a smaller PDF version that includes 30 random picture prompts. Download the printable PDF here .
You might also be interested in the following posts:
- 30 Christmas Pictures To Get You Writing ‘Tis Jolly Season
- 25+ Halloween Image Prompts For Mastering Horror Stories
- How to Use Image prompts To Inspire You
150 Picture Prompts To Inspire
Over 85 picture prompts for creative writing, story-telling and descriptive writing assignments:
How to Use these Prompts
Picture prompts are the perfect writing stimulus especially when you hit writer’s block . Here are a number of ways you can use these picture writing prompts to spark your imagination:
- Descriptive Writing: Directly describe everything you see in extreme detail. You could even go beyond the physical appearance of things, and explore your other senses, such as smell, hear, feel and taste.
- Story-Telling: Pick just one image, and tell a whole story based on this one image.
- Story Starter: Similarly you can pick one image, and use it as the starting place of your story.
- Collaborative Story-Telling: In a group of 5 – 7 students, each student can have a random picture. The first student uses their picture as the story starter, and then the next student continues the story based on their own image. Keep going until the final student ends the story.
- Idea Generation: Pick one image and try to think of at least 3 story ideas related to that one image.
- Daily Writing Challenge: Give your students 7 images, and tell them to write a description for each image every day.
These are just some ways to use images as writing prompts. You can also check our post on 8 fun story-telling games using image prompts for more ideas. Did you find our picture writing prompts useful? Let us know in the comments below!
Marty the wizard is the master of Imagine Forest. When he's not reading a ton of books or writing some of his own tales, he loves to be surrounded by the magical creatures that live in Imagine Forest. While living in his tree house he has devoted his time to helping children around the world with their writing skills and creativity.
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Imaginative writing: creating a scene
This resource guides students through an imaginative writing task, using the idea of two characters who get into trouble. The students make a series of initial decisions about the setting, narrative perspective and character. Then they follow a series of steps to support them in structuring their scene. Could work as a KS3 or a GCSE task.
The imaginative writing task:
- This task will help you to construct an effective narrative scene which ‘zooms in’ on the key part of a story to give it pace, tension and atmosphere.
- Your story is going to be about two people getting into trouble. This could be a simple physical problem, like being stuck down a hole, or more complex like getting a message from a friend with bad news.
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Flying Houses I came across these amazing images in a Sunday supplement. I followed them up and got permission to use them here and in schools. They are by a Parisien artist called Laurent Chehere. I would link them to 'Pixar's Up' Children could describe them in 1st person imagining they are looking up at them.
You can find 48 creative writing tasks with picture prompts in these ppts. Unlike technical, academic, and other forms of writing, creative writing fosters imagination and allows students to have a voice. Therefore, it is one of the most effective ways to enhance creativity in the classroom.
This creative writing KS3 lesson uses inspiring images and sticky notes to get learners producing some truly creative writing. Often students will say 'I don't know what to write'. The format of this lesson eradicates that barrier to learning and creativity.
Remove from My Bitesize Jump to Imaginative or creative writing absorbs readers in an entertaining way. To succeed with this kind of writing you will need to write in a way that is...
A checklist of techniques which create effective descriptive writing, followed by a series of eight images for students to use as inspiration for a creative writing task. Designed for the AQA English Language GCSE, these photographs are ideal for practising writing in response to a picture prompt. The images include: a beach.
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10 of the Best Creative Writing Resources for Teaching Plot and Setting in KS3 English Whether students want to create an epic adventure in a fiery inferno or tense tale in a sleepy town, make sure they create a compelling plot and a fully realised setting with these resources… by Teachwire DOWNLOAD A FREE RESOURCE!
Arbor Day Shape Poem for 6th-8th Grade. Explore more than 685 "Creative Writing Ks3" resources for teachers, parents and pupils as well as related resources on "Ks3 Creative Writing". Instant access to inspirational lesson plans, schemes of work, assessment, interactive activities, resource packs, PowerPoints, teaching ideas at Twinkl!
Use this pack of engaging creative writing activities to fuel the imaginations of your pupils. With varied activities around the themes of pets, sunflowers and a mirror, the pack gives students the opportunity to pick a subject that will really get the creative writing juices flowing. Suitable if you are looking for story ideas for KS3 and KS4 pupils. Particularly useful if practising the ...
A lesson designed to develop the understanding and use of metaphor, simile and personification in creative writing. International; Resources; Jobs; Schools directory; News; Courses; Store; Chat ... KS3: Creative Writing - Imagery. Subject: English. Age range: 11-14. Resource type: Lesson (complete) English Literature & Language KS3/4/5 (lessons ...
pdf, 6.49 MB pptx, 4.13 MB pdf, 146.62 KB A set of 22 vivid photographs to be used as inspiration for descriptive, narrative or discursive writing. The pictures are open to interpretation and can be used in multiple ways. The resource includes a brainstorming template for students to use to organise their initial ideas.
We've put together 70 picture prompts for creative writing that you can use in your writing centers or lesson plans to get your students' creative juices flowing. Picture Writing Prompts for All Ages Writers of all ages and experience levels can get stuck thinking about what to write. Writer's block is not just a challenge for reluctant writers.
Task 1: Write two sentences about this image using personification (describing an inanimate object using human qualities). e.g. Her sword was alive with anger. Task 2: Create two compound sentences about this image using a range of conjunctions. e.g. Daylight started to fade and a dark, restless night drew in.
December 18, 2021 A picture is worth a thousand words. So how many words can you write for these 85 picture writing prompts for kids and grow-ups alike! Pictures, whether something as simple as an apple or as complex as an action scene can spark the imagination in more ways than one.
This resource is for creative writing, featuring images suitable for the horror genre. Learners choose at least 5 of the photo prompts to tell a story and use this planning to write their own story, from a choice of 12 images. Show more Related Searches horror writing prompts horror writing close reading comic strip template creative writing
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This excellent resource provides descriptive writing images for your children to use as inspiration during your writing activities. The PowerPoint includes 21 different descriptive writing images for your pupils to take inspiration from. Among these pictures for descriptive writing, you can find a starry sky, a dinosaur, an autumnal forest and ...
Imaginative writing: creating a scene. This resource guides students through an imaginative writing task, using the idea of two characters who get into trouble. The students make a series of initial decisions about the setting, narrative perspective and character. Then they follow a series of steps to support them in structuring their scene.
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