11 Writing Prompts for High School That Will Actually Inspire Kids to Write

I had just assigned the Greatest Creative Writing Assignment EVER!!!!!!!!!!! I was feeling really good about myself. I even painted a picture of my face on the William Shakespeare statue in the cafeteria.

Then the next day came. I had no more creative writing prompts for high school students that didn’t suck.

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In a panic, I stole some paint remover from the janitor’s closet, cleaned the Shakespeare statue, poured the paint remover over my head, and was about to light a match as punishment for my lack of planning when my colleague suggested I look on Pinterest for creative writing prompts for high school.

Glad I did because I found some good ones.

11 Creative Writing Prompts for High School

Writing Lesson Plans

Get more simple writing assignment handouts and lesson plans.


  1. You wake up one morning as a human lie detector; that is, you can tell with 100% certainty if someone is lying. You are shocked to discover that absolutely everything your best friend has told you—including her name—is a lie...
  2. You wake up in the jungle with three other people. You are all wearing the same clothes you went to bed in. None of you know why you are there. Next to each of you there's a box with a clue on why you are there and how to get back home...
  3. You're a nurse who works in the coma ward at the local hospital. As you walk by a patient who has been in a coma for over 5 years, she awakens, grabs your arm, and says you need to listen closely because there isn't much time...
  4. You find a stack of newspapers under your parents bed about a missing person, all with your picture...
  5. Your weird uncle has died and left you his mansion that includes numerous doors that lead to places you wouldn't expect...
  6. You have amnesia. You don't even have your personality. Luckily you have your social media accounts to mimic...
  7. When you were a kid you made a time travel password as a joke, just in case your future self ever tried to contact you. You had forgotten all about it until this morning when you received an email with the password as the subject line...
  8. Aliens abduct a human, who happens to be a psychopathic killer. He's not amused...
  9. Yesterday you found an app on your phone. You can't delete it and you can't open it. Last night you received an alert from the aforementioned app that gave you explicit instructions...
  10. In an alternate universe the sign "Children at Play" is not what it seems. It's a warning.
  11. You dig up a time capsule you buried years ago. Instead of memorabilia, however, you find a brand new cell phone. And it's ringing.

Standards

I'll throw these in just to make sure your compliant with all the necessary hoop-jumping that comes with being a teacher.

Common Core Writing Standard 3: W.9-10.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

Explanation. Use narrative techniques to write a story, a narrative essay, or to make points in an expository essay more clear.  Student written narratives should contain the elements of literature.  Students should be able to

  • Engage the reader.
  • Sequence events
  • Use details and sensory language to enhance theme.
  • Provide a conclusion that makes sense of the narrative.

Non-eduspeak Explanation.  Students should be able to tell a story that has a point and doesn’t make you want to rake your eyes with a pitchfork.

 

Last Updated on September 7, 2016 by Trenton Lorcher

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