Writing Rockstars Blog 

Writing activities connected to an approaching holiday is always a reliable way to keep kids engaged in their work. With Valentine’s Day and President’s Day around the corner, now is a great time to plan a few.

Below is a list of writing related activity ideas for teens with links to resource websites, and they all can be adjusted to suit your time constraints, interests, or group dynamics.

Even if you decide not to use these ideas now, file them away to revisit later. You never know what your kids are going to connect to, so never make any assumptions on what will or won’t work. I still get surprised by new activities they like and ones that go over like a lead balloon -- that I liked.

Valentine’s Day- The History Channel website has a webpage of attractive short videos devoted to everything connected to the day. Have your kids watch a few at http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day. Afterward, they can do some of the following activities or come up with their own:

• Write a romantic letter or Valentine’s Day message to a loved one

• Seek and find romantic poems they like and share them in a read aloud

• Write a romantic story of a first meeting between two people who fall in love

• Write about someone they love, which can include a pet.

President’s Day- On the official White House website there’s a section devoted to a history of all the U.S. Presidents at http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents. The descriptions of the U.S. Presidents and First Ladies are easy to read and share lots of information, so there’s plenty you can do in honor of the day.

• Read over the short Presidential bios and have kids pick their favorite five Presidents, or their favorite from each century. Don’t forget to have them explain why!

• Do the same with the First Ladies

• Write a short speech honoring a past President’s accomplishments

• Design a writing prompt like, “Which President do you most admire and why?” or “What are the most important qualities a President (or First Lady) should have?”