Eighth grade is a massive year for our students! They are stressed and under pressure, as they move towards high school. We can reduce that stress through writing as long as the prompts are meaningful and engaging for our students. We compiled a list of 60 engaging prompts to get your students to write and think critically about the message they want to express. Let’s jump in!
Personal Reflection and Self-Expression
1. What new technology has developed in your lifetime, and how has it helped you?
2. Describe your favorite place to someone who has never been there. What can they do and see?
3. Do you think it is easier to be a boy or a girl? Why?
4. What is the most important piece of information that you can give to an adult?
5. Describe a food that someone has never eaten to them. How will it taste, smell and feel?
6. Describe the day of your proudest moment.
7. Describe your dream family vacation. Where would you go? Who would you go with? What would you do?
8. Write a recount of your earliest memory.
9. If you could live in any other country in the world, where would you live and why?
10. You are stuck on a desert island. What five items do you bring with you and why?
11. What are you allergic to, and how do you deal with this daily?
12. What do you do when you are sick?
13. Who is an admirable person or a famous person that you find inspiring? Write about who they are and why you are inspired by them.
Creative and Fictional Writing
14. Write a fictional story using the following opener: “There, on the hill, there was a figure. The figure was standing tall and straight as if waiting for someone, or something.”
15. Write contrasting character descriptions for two fictional characters. Remember to include physical appearance, personality, likes, dislikes, and anything else you think is relevant.
16. Pretend you are a soldier in the American Revolution. What would you do when you hear “The British are coming?”
17. Write a story informing elementary school kids of how to prepare for middle school.
18. If you were to make a YouTube channel, what would it be about and why?
19. Write a fictional story that is set in your hometown.
20. If you were Principal for the day what would you do?
21. If you were creating a sports team with your fellow students, what sport would you play, who would play what position, and why?
22. Write a character profile about one of your favorite television characters.
Opinion and Persuasive Writing
23. Should people be allowed to travel anywhere in the world without a passport? Why or why not?
24. Do you prefer to watch TV or read books? Why is this better?
25. Write a letter to the founding fathers making suggestions of reasonable changes to the constitution.
26. We are becoming too dependent on technology. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why?
27. Should children be allowed to vote in political elections, such as Presidential elections? Why or why not?
28. Should the wealthiest people in the world be made to give up some of their money to help those who are less well-off?
29. Are boys and girls treated equally?
30. The school board should ban junk food on school grounds/property. Why or why not?
31. Exams and tests should be banned in school. Why or why not?
32. Do eighth graders have the toughest time at school compared to every other grade? Why or why not?
33. Cell phones should be locked away at the start of the school day and only given back at the end. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
34. Should there be a limit on wealth or a maximum amount of money one person can have? Why or why not?
35. Does online bullying exist? Why or why not?
36. Do you think that free speech should not have consequences?
37. Do you think wearing a uniform to school benefits all students? Why or why not?
38. Sometimes people say boys should not cry. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
39. Write a letter to your principal convincing them to let you start a school club.
40. What does “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” mean, and where did it originate?
41. What is haggis, and would you eat it? Why or why not?
42. Write a response to this quote by Frida Kahlo “I don’t paint dreams or nightmares, I paint my own reality”. What does she mean by this, and how can you do this?
Educational and Informative Writing
43. Write a news article outlining the dangers of global warming.
44. Think about your hobby and write an article explaining its benefits to someone who doesn’t know about it.
45. Describe a unique family tradition of yours to someone who is not in your family.
46. Why are writing skills important?
47. Do all states have the same laws? Why or why not?
48. Think about all of the plastic waste in the ocean. Write a solution essay for this problem.
49. Why is it important to conserve the rainforest?
50. What are 5 easy things we can do in our daily lives to look after our planet?
51. You are the writer for the local paper’s advice column. Answer this question a reader has sent in: “My daughter keeps ignoring the chores she needs to do after school and wants to play her Xbox instead. How do I get my daughter to do her chores? I don’t want to take her Xbox away but if she doesn’t start doing her chores, I’ll need to!”
Letters and Communication
52. Write a letter to a friend who has just lost a family member.
53. Write a letter to your grandma teaching her how to use an iPhone.
54. Write a letter to your favorite teacher in your school telling them why they are your favorite and what it is about them that you appreciate.
55. Think about how you could improve your school for yourself and for your fellow students. Write a letter to your school board with your ideas.
56. Write a letter to the seventh graders at your school offering them a piece of advice, telling them what they need to know and what they should do to be successful in the eighth grade next year.
57. Write a letter to yourself, to open on the first day of school next year.
58. Write a letter to your U.S. Representative or Mayor about bullying in schools and what you think can be done to tackle this issue.
59. Write a daily journal entry from the perspective of yourself in 5 years’ time.
60. An advanced artificial intelligence robot has landed on Earth and threatened to destroy our planet. You must write to it and convince it not to.
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