Good writing prompts for fourth grade

Students in fourth grade need a variety of practice developing their writing skills. According to Common Core State Standards Initiative, fourth-grade writing should include opinion pieces, informative texts, and narratives about real or imagined experiences. Additionally, a fourth-grade writing curriculum should include short research projects.

The prompt is accompanied by an explanation of the writing task and by scored student responses that illustrate student writing at different score points on the test rubric. The exemplar test prompt included here is representative of the range of content and types of questions found on the ACT Aspire Grade 4 Writing test.

Suggest to your students that they try to use the bold word at least once or twice in their responses. If time allows, encourage students to illustrate their responses with their own drawings or clip art. You may wish to assign one prompt to every student by posting it in a prominent place in your classroom each week.

Additionally, a fourth-grade writing curriculum should include short research projects. These writing prompts offer diverse forms of inspiration for every student. In an opinion essay, students must state their opinion and back it up with facts and reasons. Ideas should be organized logically and supported by details.