Writing Games for Kids

Objective: Kids create their own story board and movie script.
Supplies: Six sheets of paper. Kids will draw five movie scenes and write a script following a simple plot outline. Combining some form of art - like coloring or drawing - will keep kids who don't enjoy writing from getting bogged down by the thought of the writing part of the game. If the drawing part gets in the way, pull out old magazines and have kids cut out five pictures from a magazine they could use to create their movie plot.

Drawing 1:

The beginning scene - should include at least two characters and lots of detail around the setting, place, time of day, and weather conditions.

Drawing 2:

First action scene - What happens to surprise the characters in the scene? A dinosaur, a storm, a race car. Have them think of something unexpected.

Drawing 3:

Second action scene - How do the characters respond to the surprise? The characters should show some sort of emotion - surprise, happiness, joy, shock.

Drawing 4:

Third action scene - Draw the characters leaving the scene. How do they leave? Do they walk, get on a train, sprout wings and fly away?

Drawing 5:

Fifth action scene - Draw the characters relaxing after their surprise. Suggest kids think about where they would like to go to celebrate a special event.

Script:

The sixth piece of paper should be used for writing the script. Have the child write three sentences describing what's happening in the picture and one line for each of the characters in the scene. (By line, I mean a statement said out loud by the character as actors would say in a movie.)

Have them show you their movie and give them a score for creativity, accuracy, and attention to detail. Build a "movie wall" where you post their latest movie or their highest scoring movie. You can even award "movie bucks" as prizes for the highest scoring movie script.

This is also a good game to pull out when your kids start begging to see the latest animated movie coming out in theaters. Tell them you'll take them as soon as they finish a movie board!

Objective: Writing a favorite story with new ideas.
Every kid has a favorite story or book. Have them tell you about their favorite scene in the book. Pull the book out and look at any pictures for that particular scene. Ask your child to write what they would have done if they were in the story.

Objective: Kids write and publish their own book.
Most kids I know love computer time. That's a perfect opportunity to work in some additional learning without them realizing you're doing so. Use Story Wizard - Creative Writing Software for Kids to spark a child's interest in creativity. Even if your child loves to write, this software program will guide them further by helping them understand the structure of a story and help them write their own, unique book. Kids who experience a sense of accomplishment - like actually producing their own story - become more and more confident with their own ability and are able to be more creative in school. This leads to wonderful long-term success.

Photo by: playingwithpsp / CC BY 2.0

Objective: Kids learn the importance of writing detail in their stories.
Have kids write a description of a character they read about in a book or saw on TV. Then have them read their description out loud either to an adult or other children. Those who are listening need to draw the character as the reader is describing him. Rules are that you can't add detail to the picture other than what you hear the player read out loud.

When all the drawings are done, show them to the reader and have them point out what's missing from the picture. This will help kids see which details they left out. You know - like when a person has no arms or legs or face, etc. Post the final results. The person with the least amount of missing details is the winner.

Objective: Writing about what is seen and heard while out and about.
Take your kids to the park, the zoo, or just for a stroll downtown - even the grocery store will work. Before you set out, give each child a little notebook or piece of paper and a pencil. Explain to them that you want them to take some notes during the outing. When you come home, you'd like them each to show you a list of 10 things they saw or heard during the trip. Don't be afraid to reward them with points, a prized snack or some other form of recognition for having really, thorough descriptions.

Objective: Writing a persuasive paper.
My eleven year old son hates to write. Smart as a whip but simply does not like to put pen to paper. He does, however, want a cell phone, or to go to the movies, or to get a new video game so we play the Convince Me Game. I ask him to write what amounts to a persuasive essay explaining why I should get him whichever item he's asking for. He knows he doesn't always get the item, but I get a lot of writing out of him as a result and, darn it - he's a really good writer when he's motivated!

Photo by: ksiniy / CC BY 2.0

Objective: Writing detailed descriptions.
We've all seen writing papers done by kids where they use simple, one-word descriptions in their sentences to tell a story: a banana is a banana, a car is a car, a puppy is a puppy. It's important that they develop the skill to describe an object or person using more detail, more adjectives.

Use this game to expand their descriptive skills. You can start verbally with young children and then move to a writing game format for older children.

Put any object on display. Let's use the banana as an example.

One Word:

Have kids tell you, or write down, the name of the object.

Two Words:

Have kids tell you, or write down, the name of the object using two words.

Three Words:

Have kids tell you, or write down, the name of the object using three words.

Now, tack the word "The" in front of the descriptive words and a blank line at the end of the descriptive words. Ask kids to fill in the blank part with something the object did: jumped, fell, danced around the room, etc.

Of course you could get really silly and see about getting up to ten words to describe the object. You'll end up with something like this:

"The long, yellow, spotted, squishy, ripe, soft, sweet, delicious, silly-looking banana smiled at the cat."

If you have multiple kids playing this game, give points for each unique word no one else wrote down and award simple prizes.

Objective: Learn spelling, how to put words together, and writing complete sentences for story-telling.
Back to using the computer for fun, educational learning opportunities, don't miss Scholastic's website for a load of fun, writing games for kids.

Objective: Learn to type.
I cheated. This isn't really a writing game, but knowing how to type in today's fast-paced, computer driven world is an important part of writing. In fact, many kids who hate to write with pencil and paper will jump at the chance to do so if it means they get extra computer time.

This game, while I admit it's a bit cheesy, is free online and reminds me of the typing software I used as a kid to practice typing. Check out Intro Typing program put out by Grandview Public School.

Objective: Writing a story as a family.
Credit for this game goes to my brother. He has three girls, two old enough to write and both are avid book readers. My brother began using his iPod for a story game with the girls by writing a few sentences of a story in his iPod Notes application. He then gave the iPod to one of his girls to write the next few sentences of the story and then to my other niece and so on.

Now, each of them - sporadically, when a thought comes to mind - grabs the iPod and adds more to the story. Not only are they having an absolutely wonderful time writing a story with Dad, it keeps them constantly thinking about new ideas to keep the story going. They don't want the fun to end.

A number of tools could be used for this game besides an iPod. The family computer, a notebook, a pad of paper, even post-it notes to help kids feel less intimidated by large sheets of empty paper.