2nd - 4th Grade Prewriting Activities

A nonet is a 9-line poem. Like haiku, each line has a specific number of syllables, starting with nine in the first line and ending with only one in the last.

In the spirit of Seuss and all things creative and silly, celebrate reading and all that it has to offer with this fun and interactive story box.

Help your kids put together a travel journal for your family's next vacation to get them reading, writing, and thinking about what's happening on the trip.

To reach goals and gain accomplishments, you have to have a plan for success. This activity will help your child to create goals for the upcoming school year.

Make a poster with your child about what she wants to be when she grows up, while helping her practice her writing, researching, and artistic skills.

Encourage your child to explore her favorite fairy tale, and learn about characters, plot, setting and story sequence as she draws her own pictures.

Help your child create an autumn poem full of colorful sensory details.

Build second and third grade writing skills by using pictures to help kids "see" how to use details in their stories.

Design a special recipe book just for mom. Kid-made and packed with recipes for some of mom's favorite dishes, it's sure to be a hit on Mother's Day.

Start the school year off on the right foot by treating your child's new teacher to a special heart-felt surprise!

Writing a book about a favorite trip can be fun, rewarding and a great way to practice organizational, thinking, and communication skills.

Get your little traveler ready for a âround-the-world adventure! Kids will get a geography lesson, writing practice and a great appreciation for traveling.

This third grade writing activity brings home the lesson: it's not only what you write that's important, but how you write it, too.

Help your third grader author a lovely limerick in honor of Valentine's Day! He'll be delighted to compose and recite this nonsensical poem.

What exactly went on in a typical dinosaur family? Travel back to the Mesozoic Era and bring out your kid's creative side with this sequencing activity.

I see fun in your future! Your child will love making homemade Popsicles and creating jokes or fortunes to write on the Popsicle sticks.

Many kids find themselves especially challenged by writing in third grade. Here's how you can help, using a technique called "storyboarding."

Help second graders grasp their understanding of tall tales and practice writing with this activity by writing about their own family!

Got the pre-writing blues? Try this simple five-finger technique to help your second grader develop a sequenced plan for her early compositions.

Take advantage of the upcoming Irish holiday, Saint Patrick's Day, to encourage your third grader to flex his poetry muscles and come up with a haiku.

Let your third grader newscaster practice presentation skills with this video "card" to celebrate Dad this Father's Day!

Even the most reluctant beginning writers love to experiment with the "cliffhanger."

Turn a real-life hero into a folklore hero. Your child can write a tall tale that makes a Davy Crockett or John Henry out of someone they personally know.

This project will help keep your child's thoughts in order as he creates stories from the beginning all the way through to the end.

Get creative with this engaging activity where kids are asked to create their own pumpkin person and tap into their creative writing skills! Include all family members by having them create their very own pumpkin people.

Make going back to school a fun time! Let your child create her own pencil topper creatures using everyday materials and a Styrofoam ball.

Help your child use recycled materials, a little imagination and some writing skills to build his very own recycled creature.

Give your third grader's reading and writing skills a stretch: have her create a Care Manual for your pet the next time your family goes away.

Does your young writer need more details to beef up her writing? Why not make it fun by mixing in some creative artwork, and take her writing to the next level.

Thanksgiving dinner can be filled with fun and memorable interactions between family members. This holiday, why not memorialize some of those details and events with a family poem? You can create a lasting memory in the form of a poem with contributions f