Fall is the herald of an ending year, nature’s last colorful hurrah before the white blanket of winter wipes the slate clean. But for teachers and students who are just heading back to school, it is in many ways an exciting new beginning. As F. Scott Fitzgerald once put it, “Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.”
And, of course, with fresh starts come fresh perspectives and new possibilities. Just as farmers are busy harvesting pumpkins and corn, it’s the perfect time for your students to gather inspiration and begin practicing new writing strategies and skills. These three autumn descriptive writing prompts will help your students become more effective writers this fall by honing their skills during the most sensational season of the year.
Prompt #1: Describe one autumn leaf’s journey after falling off its tree branch.
Prompt #1: Describe one autumn leaf’s journey after falling off its tree branch.One of the best ways to practice descriptive writing with your students is to have them narrow their focus down to one very specific focus or subject—in this case, a leaf. Everyone knows the leaves change color, but not everyone stops to notice how they dance as they fall, or wonder what sort of things a single leaf might have seen on its way down. This is your 4th-graders’ chance to both practice more detailed writing and push their creative boundaries. Perhaps their leaf got caught on someone’s hair and went for a wild ride, or was picked up by a crafty boy or girl and turned into a beautiful pressed decoration!
PROJECT IDEA
To delve even deeper into the details of this assignment, begin by taking a quick trip outdoors with your students and ask them each to find a leaf to take with them and write about. (If you can’t find real leaves, ask them to design their own leaves on a blank sheet of paper.) Having a physical leaf to look at, touch, and smell can help your students get even more descriptive with their responses! Then, after writing, take pictures of your students holding their leaves—or ask them to draw their leaf in action. Finally, collect their art and writing and publish their stories in a lovely autumnal classbook they’ll look forward to leafing through every fall.
Prompt #2: Describe the five senses of autumn. What sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and physical sensations do you associate with fall?
For young writers still honing their descriptive writing skills, it can be all too easy to fall into the trap of relying on sight alone to describe a scene or subject. This is especially true when writing about autumn, which is so often associated with brightly colored leaves, glowing jack-o-lanterns and spooky, starlit nights. Help your 4th grade students branch out with this writing prompt that asks them to write a sensory description using all of their senses. What do freshly baked apple pies taste like, for instance? How do s’mores smell? What sound do dry leaves make under the weight of sneakers? Does the chill in the air give you goosebumps?
PROJECT IDEA
Try adding a fun collaborative element to this assignment by asking your students to swap papers after writing and draw scenes based on each other’s descriptions, incorporating as many details from their partner’s responses as they can. It’s a great way to demonstrate how details paint pictures in a reader’s mind—the more details the writer used, the more interesting (and lifelike!) the illustration will be. Finally, once the illustrations are complete, it’s time to publish their work! Bonus: once your books arrive, consider hosting a small “fall festival” themed publishing party to celebrate!
Prompt #3: Think about the outside and inside of a pumpkin. What characteristics do they share? How are they different?
Similar to the first prompt, this autumn writing prompt helps your students practice zeroing in on the details of a specific subject—a pumpkin, this time. However, it’s also a good opportunity to practice comparing and contrasting subjects—and perhaps try a little figurative writing as well. After all, the insides of a pumpkin may be slimy and stinky, but those words alone don’t convey how truly icky pumpkin guts are as well as comparing them to slick, tangled piles of long and skinny orange worms. Similarly, a jack-o-lantern might smile as brightly as the sun to welcome trick-or-treaters—but it also might wear a menacing grin to scare off ghosts and ghouls like a guard dog.
PROJECT IDEA
Spark some Halloween spirit a little early this season with this prompt by asking your students to design their own jack-o-lanterns after they finish writing. Have them make two copies—one to accompany their responses, and one to cut out and hang as fun fall decorations in your classroom. Once they’re finished writing and drawing, be sure to publish your students’ work in an imaginative classbook that captures autumn pumpkins—both inside and out!
Exploring Descriptive Writing in Autumn
There’s no time like autumn to find writing inspiration, and no time like the present to get your 4th grade students started on practicing their descriptive writing skills. What matters most is giving your students a chance to express their own thoughts and perceptions of the world in their own words. And by publishing those words, you’ll be giving them yet one more invaluable opportunity—a chance to share their unique points of view with the rest of the world.
Looking for more inspiration this fall? Check out even more free creative writing resources available through our online teacher’s lounge—and don’t forget to sign up for your free publishing kit!
Image sources: Lead image via Shutterstock