What to Do When Kids Say “I Don’t Know What to Write About!”

One of the most dreaded phrases to hear during a writing lesson is “I don’t know what to write about!” If you find your students struggling to get started during writing practice, this post is for you! I’m going to share tips and resources that will help your struggling writers feel more confident in getting their thoughts on paper.

“I Don’t Know What to Write About!”: 5 Ways to Help

There are many different ways that you can support kids who feel stuck on what to write about. I’m going to narrow it down to the five most helpful things you can do to help your students feel more inspired to write.

1. Start with a Writing Prompt

Giving a young writer a blank piece of paper and asking them to write is a ticket for frustration. Writing is already one of the most difficult tasks that we ask kindergarten students to do. They have to access everything they know so far about letters and sounds while also using their still-developing fine motor skills. Giving students the additional task of choosing a topic is an easy way to overwhelm them!

This is why it’s vital to start with a writing prompt. Give your students a topic to focus on in their writing. When students can write about literally anything, they will often write nothing. You can take away the blank page overwhelm by starting with a prompt or question.

2. Add a Visual

While verbal or written writing prompts are a great place to start, picture writing prompts are even more effective in kindergarten. Just like any other part of the kindergarten school day, visual supports for writing can really help students be more successful.

Adding a picture makes it even easier for students to think of something to write about. All of a sudden, they have potential topics right in front of them. Take this dog picture writing prompt as an example. Students could describe the physical attributes of the dog. They could write about the fact that the dog has a bone.  They could even write about the dog’s emotions based on its facial expression. 

3. Use Sentence Starters

When some students say “I don’t know what to write about!” they often mean “I don’t know how to get started!”. You can use sentence starters to help students get their thoughts written down. As I mentioned before, having a lot of options can be too much of a good thing. Narrowing the focus with a sentence starter can go a long way in helping students write a complete sentence.

Sentence starters also allow you to support students who need more practice with fine motor skills. They can trace the words in the sentence frame or sentence starter before completing the sentence. Sometimes that little jumpstart is all they need to get the ball rolling.

4. Talk About It

For many students, writing is just going to be a very intimidating task. Even with a picture writing prompt and a sentence starter, they might feel stuck when it comes to what to do next. This is why it’s helpful to give your students a chance to talk about the prompt before asking them to write. 

Once the student completes the sentence frame out loud, encourage them to put it on paper. You can explain that writing is just talking with a pencil instead of a voice. As you repeat their response with them, you can point to the words in the sentence starter that are already written. Once they see that they just have a few more words to add, it becomes much less overwhelming for them! This is also something you could model for the whole class before giving students the chance to write independently.

5. Incorporate the Season

Young students are still developing their communication skills, including vocabulary. This means that it can be hard for them to find the words they want to include in their writing. One way that you can support students with this is by using seasonal topics. For example, if you asked students to write about a summer topic in the middle of winter, it might be difficult for them to switch mental gears and come up with something to write about.

Instead, if you incorporate the current season or a topic you’ve been discussing in class, students will have that vocabulary at the top of their minds. It will be much easier for them to think of something to write about!

Printable Picture Writing Prompts and Sentence Starters

If you frequently hear “I don’t know what to write about!” in your kindergarten classroom, I have the resource for you! 

My bundle of picture writing prompts and sentence starters can help your students get their ideas on paper. Each of these differentiated picture writing prompts comes with a 5-star writing checklist on the paper, so students can self-check their work. This bundle includes a wide variety of holidays, seasons, and themes, making it a resource that will keep your students engaged in writing practice all year long!

You can use these printable writing prompts individually for a writing center or during independent writing time. You could also print and assemble several prompts into low-prep writing journals. No matter how you decide to use these prompts in your classroom, I know your students will love having the extra support to decide what to write about!

If you’d like to take a closer look at everything included in this bundle, you can find it in the Teaching Exceptional Kinders shop or on TPT. 

Save These Writing Tips for Kindergarten

Be sure to save this post so you can come back to it later! Just add the pin below to your favorite teaching board on Pinterest. You’ll be able to quickly find these tips and resources when you get tired of hearing “I don’t know what to write about!” every time you ask your students to pick up a pencil.