Writing to Develop Character and Morals:

Each week you will be given a writing prompt during your fifth period study block. Please complete the prompts in the provided journal. You will not receive credit unless you write the responses in your journal.

These are meant to get you thinking about who you are and why you make the decisions you make. Be honest. This is your opportunity to have fun writing and in the process to come to know yourself better.

You will be graded for completion and not for content. Take your time and remember that writing is a means to discovery!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ October 16, 2006

1. Make a list of the Top 5 people who have influenced your life. Write a letter to one of these people. Be honest as to how they helped you become the person you are today.

October 23, 2006

2. Make a list of 15 goals that you have for the year. Rank them in order from most important to least important.

October 30, 2006

3. Write a short scene (a portion of a play with characters) that shows an every day person doing something heroic. The scene needs to be at least 15 lines long.

November 6, 2006

4. Think about your favorite children’s book. Pretend the school board has decided to ban this book. Write a persuasive speech explaining why this children’s book should be taught to all children.

November 13, 2006

5. Think about your hardest class (or the one in which you have the lowest grade). Make a list of 8 specific ways you can improve your effort and your grade. Make a contract for yourself stating at least 2 of the ways you plan to improve. Have the teacher sign the contract.

November 20, 2006

6. What is your greatest personality trait? Explain how you have used or could use this quality to help others.

November 27, 2006

7. If you could get paid for coming to school, how much do you think you should make? Defend this salary by listing your duties and your obligations as a student.

December 4, 2006

8. What is the biggest mistake you ever made? What did you learn from this mistake? Write a journal to yourself as if the mistake just happened.

December 11, 2006

9. What song has had the greatest influence in your life? What is the message of the song? How has this message changed your life?

January 8, 2007

10. Create a list of 20 things you might need to use your writing skills for after you graduate high school. Write a brief explanation as to why you need to know how to write in order to be successful.

Feb. 5, 2007

11. Write a letter to a person who had a negative influence on you. Explain the effects of their influence. Be honest.

Feb. 12, 2007

12. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “If a man hasn’t discovered something he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.”- Explain what this quotation means and how it could be used to inspire people today.

Feb. 26, 2007

13. How do you show respect to other people? Make a list of 5 ways you show respect and a list of 5 ways you feel respected by others.

March 5, 2007

14. What is the hardest lesson you’ve ever had to learn? How did you learn this lesson? Write this event as a newspaper article.

March 12, 2007

15. Write 4 specific things you have learned in each class you are taking.

March 19, 2007

16. Make a list of 15 things you plan to teach to your children. Choose the two most important things and explain/defend them in a paragraph.

March 26, 2007

17. In your journal, create a design for a poster with a slogan that has some sort of positive message. Think of a slogan that is catchy and that would influence you if you saw it around school.

April 2, 2007

18. Finish the statement: “To me, it’s important to…” in at least 150 words.

April 16, 2007

19. Create a list of 10 qualities that a role model must possess. Think of someone who possesses these qualities and explain how this person is a role model. Use an anecdote. (a personal story as an example)

April 23, 2007

20. What is one way you could get involved in the community? Research opportunities on the internet. List at least one resource that you found which will help you to become involved. Write a paragraph in which you explain why it is important to be involved in your community.

April 30, 2007

21. If you could do anything in the world, what would it be? What skills would you need? Make a list of 5 ways you could reach this specific goal or dream.

May 7, 2007

22. Create a survey or a list of at least 10 questions that you can ask some of you classmates so that you can determine what is important to teenagers today? Interview at least 5 classmates.