Moe's Cafe: 48 Decidedly Different Creative Writing Prompts

"While driving with your friends or family someplace far from home, your radiator starts steaming. You manage to find a gas station in a small town where they can fix your car, but it's going to take a few hours. You ask the mechanic if there's any place to get something to eat, and he points across the road to Moe's Cafe, a real dump. You don't have much choice, so you head inside and take a seat at the first booth on the left." So begins Moe's Cafe, one of 48 innovative and intriguing prompts for student writing. These classroom-tested prompts put students in a place or in front of a character and ask them to describe what they "see." The thinking, writing, and scribbling they do for the prompts inspires them to create their own stories and poems. After writing 90-word mini-stories, students read a short story or watch a film scene to help them expand on their own creative works. A section of longer readings models writing strategies. The lessons and activities reinforce and develop skills defined by the National Council of Teachers of English as appropriate for students in grades 6–12. 8½" x 11". Good Year. ©2007. GDY402.