Posing a delightfully engaging question to kids has always been a wonderful way to get them to dive in enthusiastically to writing time.
Nowhere is this better shown than with a class full of kids excitedly debating a “would you rather” writing prompt, wanting to share with everyone which choice they want to make!
And yes, I definitely like to throw some very silly ones in there…
Also, if you’re needing writing prompts for younger students, try our 2nd grade writing prompts, which should be better for that age group.
What are writing prompts really?
They come in a whole range of different types, which largely boil down to one very useful concept…
Capture the childs attention, and create a spark that their creativity wants to run with.
Time and time again this has proven to trigger all sorts of great writing and discussion in my classes.
And it’s no different with this type of prompt – pose an interesting, silly, or thoughtful choice in question form, and watch those concepts get explored, and written about, in great detail!
How to use “would you rather” writing prompts?
Try printing out the list and cutting it into strips. Then let the kids pick a random prompt and see them excitedly telling others what they’ve got to choose from, what they’re going to pick and – crucially – WHY!
9 times out of 10 you’ll find that you can direct a good portion of that enthusiasm into a creative story, even from reluctant writers. That is a good result in my books!
Another method I’ve used is to pick out a single prompt, and have everyone write a story about their choice. It can really get the kids thinking about all the possibilities within writing and their imagination when they hear about all the different stories that emerged from a single idea.
Ultimately in my opinion, however you use them, they can be an awesome addition to your teaching / writing toolkit across many years/grades.
So with that in mind…
Today I’ve got 21 great “Would You Rather…?” writing prompts for you to use, and I’m sure they’ll be a hit with your kids, whether in the classroom or homeschool – or just helping inspire writing for the sheer fun and satisfaction of it.
The Prompts:
- Would you rather be able to shrink down to the size of a beetle, or grow to the size of a giant oak tree? Why?
- Would you rather be able to hear things clearly that are miles away, or be able to speak to others who are miles away? Why? What would this let you do?
- Would you rather your body was like a helium balloon that can float upwards from the ground, or like a parachute so you can fall slowly back to earth from any height? Why did you make that choice?
- Would you rather be able to swim underwater for as long as you want, or be able to run on the waters surface? What would you want to do?
- Would you rather be able to whistle and attract all the cats in your city, or all the dogs in your city? Why? Where would you whistle?
- Would you rather be able to time travel into the future, or into the past? Who would you go and speak with first?
- Would you rather have all the latest technology gadgets, but never be satisfied with what you have, or have only one basic tech gadget, and be completely satisfied with it?
- Would you rather be able to read a book in 10 seconds but not enjoy it, or take 10 hours to read a book, and enjoy it more than anything you’ve ever read before? Why?
- Would you rather live in the snow covered arctic and have a dog sled, or in the Amazon jungle, and have a trained monkey? Describe your day.
- Would you rather invent something that improves life for the entire world but gives you no money, or something that no one cares about, but that makes you incredibly rich? Why?
- Would you rather be able to write wonderful books, but be unable to speak, or be able to speak beautifully, but be unable to write? What would you do with your chosen skill?
- Would you rather be able to talk to dolphins, or swim like a dolphin? Describe what happens next!
- Would you rather live in an underground house, or a tree house? Why?
- Would you rather have one million people pretend to laugh at your joke, or one hundred laugh so hard they cry? Why?
- Would you rather be a deep sea diver, or a deep space astronaut? Why?
- Would you rather hear the thoughts of everyone around you, or have everyone hear your thoughts?
- Would you rather be a great president for one year, or a bad president for 20 years? Why?
- Would you rather be able to sink a full court basketball shot, or dunk a full height basketball hoop?
- Would you rather what you wrote down comes true, or what you read comes true? Why?
- Would you rather you get picked for a dangerous mission to colonize Mars, or live a quiet life on Earth and never do anything remarkable?
- Would you rather be raised by wolves alone in the forest, or chased by wolves in a crowded city?
Enjoy writing time!
I’d love to hear of creative ways you’ve used these prompts, and incorporated them into your writing class or other activities.
We have plenty more teaching resources, prompts and free tools on the way (new things are published every week!) so don’t forget to bookmark or Pin and check back soon for more goodies!
Thanks,
Matt & Hayley
