Preschool - 4th Grade Prewriting Activities

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.

Help your child make an imaginative scene come to life by making a diorama. Your child will be practicing three dimensional thinking and language arts skills.

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.

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 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.

Help your kindergartener develop his sequencing skills in this activity that teaches him about a story's beginning, middle, and end.

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

Want to build your child's literary repertoire with tools like foreshadowing and description? Try a spooky Halloween story!

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Need help teaching your child to sequence and organize information? Creating this graphic organizer will help your child see what happened before and after.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

This activity will help generate ideas for your child to write about...without the moans and groans!

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.

By using watercolor paints to practice writing letters, sentences, and math problems, your child will practice first grade skills in his "Sidewalk School."

Here's an activity that takes fourth grade reading and writing skills beyond the classroom to offer a warm welcome to a new neighbor.

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

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

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