Topics for Writing

Your children haven’t written anything in a while, and you’re not sure what to assign? Here are some topics to get you started—and them writing!
• Describe a place you love (or dislike) focusing on those details that give you a specific impression. For example: The mall is the scariest place I know. Or: Walking into the library feels like coming home.
• Pick an article in the newspaper and write an essay supporting your reaction to the news event. Example: The city of McAllen should invest in electronic stop lights to catch drivers who speed through red lights.
• Narrate your most embarrassing moment, brush with greatness, a time when you were tempted, a turning point in your life, the most ordinary day, a glimpse into your future, a wild ride, the best day ever, or a disappointment.
• Detail how to make a parent mad, how to keep a secret, how to be a good friend, how to make the best ice cream sundae, how to clean your room in ten minutes, or how to drive your little/big sister/brother crazy.
• Compare your life to a video game—how are the two alike?
• Compare homeschooling to public school—how are they alike?
• Tell about what makes you mad.
• Tell about the person you admire least.
• Tell about the talent you wish you had and why you wish you could do that.
• What kind of music should be outlawed and why?
• Tell about the best way to stay awake when you are bored.
• Develop an argument for why tennis shoes are the only shoes a person needs.

These are just a few to get you going. Try to come up with something that will challenge thinking and maybe even be a little bit fun.

Happy writing!