Writing prompts with pictures is a fun way to stimulate kids’ creativity and can be used in many different situations. For example, you can use them in the classroom to practice your students’ writing skills and develop their storytelling skills. You can also use them at home to stimulate your children’s imagination and spark their interest in reading and writing.
60 Picture Writing Prompts for Kids
Picture writing prompts are a great way to help kids write and can also be an opportunity for kids to find their own voice. They can help students expand their vocabulary and write more meaningful sentences.
A picture writing prompt allows students to express their ideas while learning a new word and improving their creative writing skills.
Here are 60 pictures examples organized by category that can serve as starting points for great writing prompts:
People
- A picture of a person
- A picture of a mother and her child
- A picture of a crowd of people
- A picture of a superhero
- A picture of an actor or actress
- A picture of a person hugging another person
There are many reasons why using pictures of people is a good idea for a creative writing prompt for children.
One of the main reasons is that it helps them imagine the story, which can help them figure out how it should go.
Another reason is that it’s easier for readers to put themselves in the story because they’ve someone in front of them who looks like them and understands their situation.
Here are some questions you can ask children when using people as visual writing prompts:
- What do you think about the person in this picture?
- What’s the person feeling?
- What do you think is going on here?
- Why do you think she’s dressed like that?
- What would happen if she did something different?
- What do you think he or she’s thinking about?
- What’re the two people doing in the distance?
- What words would you use to describe how the characters are feeling?
- What probably happened just before this picture was taken?
Places
- A picture of a building, such as a house or a school
- A picture of a city
- A picture of a tree
- A picture of a forest
- A picture of a beach
- A picture of a city
- A picture of the moon
- A picture of space or planet
Pictures of places are a great way to inspire your kids to write. It helps them see what a place looks like from different angles and builds their vocabulary.
Here are some examples of questions you can ask kids after you show them a picture:
- Describe the place you’re in.
- Describe what you see when you look out the window of your house.
- Where do you like to go on vacation? Why is that your favorite place?
- Write about a place that reminds you of home.
- Describe a place you visited that wasn’t ideal for some reason (e.g., it was too hot or too cold). How did you feel when you were there? Did anything good come out of the trip for you?
- Describe a place where people gather regularly (e.g., church or school). What do people do there? What feelings do they’ve when they’re there?
- Describe a place you’d like to visit, even if it’s an imaginary place, and explain why you’d like to visit it.
- Where do you think this photo was taken?
Landscapes
- A picture of clouds
- A picture of the sun
- A picture of a rainbow
- A picture of the sun rising above the horizon, turning everything golden and orange as it rises into the sky above us
- A picture of a storm
- A picture of a clear blue sky
Landscapes can be used as creative writing prompts for children because they’re a great way to get children thinking about the world around them.
The following questions will help them write using pictures of landscapes:
- Describe the weather in your town today.
- Describe a landscape you saw that made you happy.
- Describe a landscape you saw that made you sad and why.
- Describe a time when you felt like you were the only person in the world who’d a certain feeling.
Food
- A picture of a fruit
- A picture of a pizza
- A picture of a hamburger
- A picture of an apple pie
- A picture of a birthday cake
Pictures of delicious food can be used as inspiration for creative writing – they can encourage the child to write about what they’ve seen or help them describe something in more detail than words alone.
For example:
- What do you think is the most delicious food and why?
- Describe the best thing you’ve ever eaten.
- What’s your least favorite food and why?
- Describe your favorite restaurant
- Write a story about what happens when you don’t get your favorite food
Animals
- A picture of a bird
- A picture of a butterfly
- A picture of a bee
- A picture of an elephant
- A picture of a horse
- A picture of a bear
- A picture of an octopus
- A picture of a whale
- A picture of a hippopotamus
- A picture of a crocodile
- A picture of a pet
Using pictures of animals as narrative writing prompts is a great way to get children excited about writing.
Animals are subjects that children know well and can relate to. Therefore, they’re likely to have some ideas about what the animal in a simple picture might be doing.
Here are some examples of questions that can be answered with animal pictures:
- What do you think this animal is thinking?
- What’s the young elephant saying to the older elephant?
- What would you say to this animal if you were talking to it?
- What does this animal remind you of?
- What would you do if you were an animal and saw another animal that looked like you?
- What’s your favorite animal and why?
- If you were an animal, which animal would you be? And why?
- Why is the dog sitting on a chair wearing sunglasses?
- Where does the horse go, and where does it come from?
Transportation
- A picture of a plane
- A picture of a car
- A picture of a bus
- A picture of a train
- A picture of a boat
If you ask your students to write about their favorite vehicle, they can describe it in detail and tell you why they like it.
And the best part? It doesn’t have to be a car or a truck – you can also ask them what plane or train they’d like to ride on or what boat they’d like best.
They can also tell you why they chose a particular mode of transportation, which helps build their critical thinking skills. Here are some examples of questions you could ask them:
- Where would you go if you could drive this vehicle anywhere? Why this place?
- If you could’ve any vehicle for your next big trip, which would it be and why?
- If you could choose to be any vehicle, which would it be and why?
Sports
- A picture from a soccer game
- A picture from a swimming competition
- A picture of a horse race
- A picture of people playing tennis
- A picture of a baseball team
- A picture of a yoga master
- A picture of a martial arts competition
Sports are a great way to get kids to write. A picture prompt of a sport gives them a stimulus, and then they can answer questions about what they see in the picture. This method can be used at any age level but works especially well with elementary school children just learning to write.
For example, you might ask your student:
- What’s your favorite sport? And why?
- If you could be an athlete, what would it be and why?
- What do you like best about sports?
- What do you think makes a good athlete?
- Write a story in 10 sentences about what’s in the picture
- What’ll happen when they compete in this game?
Objects
- A picture of a pen or pencil
- A picture of a notebook
- A picture of a glass cup with water in it
- A picture of an object that belongs to your culture, like an American flag or a Japanese tea set
Writing prompts are great for any type of story, but they’re especially helpful if your children don’t know what to write about.
By giving them an image or object to start with, they steer their thoughts in new directions and help them turn an idea that might be boring into something more exciting.
Here are some examples of questions you can ask:
- What’s it?
- What or who does it remind you of and why?
- How does it feel when you touch or hold it?
- What would you do with this object if it belonged to you?
Art
- A picture of something made up, like a cartoon character, a unicorn (or both!)
- A picture that looks like a painting or drawing someone made
- A picture of a singer or band
- A picture from a movie
- A picture of someone dancing
- An abstract picture
- An action photo (like someone jumping in the air)
- A close-up of something small (like a flower or plant)
The Topic of Art Is a Great Way to Get Kids to Writing
When you talk about art, it’s important to be specific. You want kids to be able to identify the things that make up the artwork and also talk about how those things are arranged or used.
Here are some examples of questions you can ask them to inspire them:
- What’s this artwork about?
- How does it make you feel?
- What would you add to the artwork? Take away from it? Change it?
- What’s the artist trying to say/how is he saying it?
How Do You Go About Using a Simple Photo to Structure Your Writing?
I think using a simple picture template is important to get kids to structure their text. It’s too easy for them to go astray and not remember what they were trying to say. With a photo, however, they’ve something concrete to focus on and align their words with.
A photograph can be a good way for children to write about an interesting topic or idea they might otherwise have difficulty putting into words.
For example, if a child was sad because their cat died last week, it would be hard to write about how they felt without distraction from other things – for example, a trip they took with the family when they were younger or something someone said at school yesterday. But if you give them a prompt like “Write about your best friend who died last week” (or something similar), suddenly it all makes sense! And you know what? You need to write about your best friend who died last week! Isn’t that fun?
Put the Student in the Right Position to Write
One of the most important things you can do as a teacher is to get your students to write. This can be one of the most difficult tasks, but it’s also one of the most important.
The More Comfortable and Relaxed Your Students Feel About Writing, the Better Their Work Will Be
Here are some creative ideas on how to get your student in the right mood:
- Go outside and sit in a circle under a tree (if you’re noisy). The gentle swaying of the leaves will help your student relax and focus on writing.
- Play classical music in the background while they write – this keeps distractions away and still keeps them focused on what they need to do.
- Have students close their eyes and breathe deeply for 5 minutes before they start writing. This helps them relax, focus, and prepare for what’s ahead!
The More Practice They Have at Writing, the Better They’ll Get at It
Writing prompts in the form of pictures is a great way to encourage children to write. The more they practice writing, the better they get at it.
If you’re looking for ideas for writing prompts with pictures for kids, here are some tips:
- Choose a topic that interests kids and make sure it’s age-appropriate. For example, if you’ve young children, you can choose “my favorite toy” or “my favorite place.” If you have older students, you can choose topics like “My first day of school” or “My dream vacation,” etc.
- Choose an interesting picture of what you want them to write about! This can be a real photo or drawing (you can find this on the Internet) or a painting or drawing of the children themselves! The picture must fit well with what the children will write about. Otherwise, there’s no point!
- Give the children time to think about what they want to write about (this can be 10 minutes or more, depending on how old they’re). Then let them start writing! They may not know where to start because they could say so many things about their topic.
Story Picture Prompts Always Work With Children
For story starters, a simple picture can significantly stimulate children’s imagination and inspiration and improve their writing skills. One idea always gives rise to new ideas.
A Picture Can Tell a Long or Short Story
That’s why writing prompts with pictures are great for kids in 1st grade or 2nd grade, or 5th grade and up. It’s just a matter of choosing the right picture writing prompt.
Picture writing prompts for kids are great because they help them express themselves in a way they can understand. They also have the opportunity to express themselves in a way other than talking while boosting their creative juices. They can use their hands to show what they’re feeling and thinking. This makes it easier for them to express themselves without thinking about what they’re saying or how it sounds.
Creative writing prompts can also help children learn other languages by using pictures to communicate with others who’re not fluent in English. This helps the child learn about other cultures and become more comfortable communicating with people who speak differently than they do.