Writing Prompt Wheel: Spin an Idea to Write About

Writing prompt wheel with 16 story ideas for kids, from a pet that can talk to a day with no gravity. Spin one and start writing, in class or at home.

Warm-ups
Writer’s block
Home

On this wheel

A door that wasn’t there before
Your pet talks for a day
A day with no gravity
The last cookie goes missing
You shrink to the size of an ant
A letter from the future
The school bus takes a wrong turn
A map falls out of a library book
Your shadow runs away
The day it rained socks
A robot joins your class
You find a tiny dragon

Why use a writing prompt wheel

Sixteen writing ideas are on the wheel, all fine for a classroom and all with room to imagine. Spin one for the whole class, or let each student spin their own, and the hardest part of writing, starting, is done.

Start a writing lesson
Spin a prompt and give the class five minutes of quiet writing before the main lesson.
Help a student who is stuck
A student with a blank page can spin for an idea rather than wait for one.
Keep kids writing over the break
Parents can spin one prompt a day for a short story or a page in a journal.

This wheel wears the Wheel-ementary theme: crayons on a chalkboard, push pins and a gold-star arrow. Your own copy keeps it, or pick another wheel theme.

How to use the writing prompt wheel

Click the wheel to spin it.
Wait for it to slow down and stop on a random entry. The winner pops up on screen.
Click “Hide & Respin” to take the winner out and spin again, so nothing is picked twice.
Click “Create your own writing prompt picker” to save your own copy, change the entries, and share or embed it.

All 16 entries on the writing prompt wheel

A door that wasn’t there before
Your pet talks for a day
A day with no gravity
The last cookie goes missing
You shrink to the size of an ant
A letter from the future
The school bus takes a wrong turn
A map falls out of a library book
Your shadow runs away
The day it rained socks
A robot joins your class
You find a tiny dragon
Your perfect treehouse
A snow day in July
Teach an alien about pizza
Your best day so far

More Writing Prompt Wheels

Story Starter Wheel12 entries

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I add my own writing prompts?

Yes. Click “Create your own writing prompt picker” and type your own.

Is the wheel really random?

Yes. Every entry has a slice of the same size, and where the wheel stops is picked with your browser’s cryptographically secure random number generator (crypto.getRandomValues), so nobody can predict or rig the result.

Can I change the entries on this wheel?

Yes. Click “Create your own writing prompt picker” to save your own copy. You can then add, remove or rename entries, change the theme and spin settings, and share or embed your wheel.