Friday Writing Prompts: Week Two

by Kayla Aldrich, Read to Them staff

Hello, all - happy Friday! It's nuts to think that we're already two-thirds of the way through our time with Nuts to You. Don't fret, though. We've still got plenty of goodies ahead of us! If you haven't already, be sure to check out our Character Spotlight on Jed and our interview with the wonderful author of Nuts, Lynne Rae Perkins.

Have you checked out all the fun resources on the Digital Resource Hub yet? Or better yet, have you joined the Flipgrid community to talk about all things Nuts to You? You've still got time - and a bonus activity waiting for you! This week, we took inspiration from TsTs leaving messages for Chai by hanging leaves on the wires. Challenge yourself to think new ways to communicate with those around you. It can be through the creation of your own language or even a messaging system, and creating that new system could be as easy as using stickers or drawings. Get creative, and once you've got the juices flowing, hop onto the Flipgrid and give us a tutorial of your new communication system. We look forward to seeing what you've come up with!

To keep the love for Nuts to You going into the weekend, here are five writing prompts to consider:

• In chapter ten, the narrator suggestions that sometimes disasters throw us together with our adversaries, eliminating differences and making us realize our likenesses. Do you agree? Can you think of a time that a disaster brought you closer to people you'd never been close to? Write about it.

• At one point, Chai wishes that he could be a flying squirrel. Would you like the ability to fly? If yes, write a few sentences about what you'd do with this power - where you'd go, what you'd like to see, and so on. If not flying, write about another special ability you wish you could have.

• In the brief human-centric interlude, the humans wonder what the animals must be thinking. Have you ever wondered this about a pet in your life? Describe what you think your pet's voice might sound like if they had the ability to speak. You could also consider what sort of personality your pet has and write about how that might change the sort of conversations you'd have.

• There is a disconnect between the animals and humans, and the animals call the humans frightening monsters because they don't understand what they're doing to the forest. Has there ever been a time that you've made a judgement about someone before you understood them? Share what you learned from your experience in a paragraph or two.

• In chapter sixteen, the narrator writes that a good story makes a journey go by more quickly, and that a really good story makes you forget you're even on a journey. Have you ever been having such a good time that the moment is over before you know it? What made the journey (or moment) so good? What made it memorable?

Enjoy your Friday, all. Happy reading!