50 Story Starters for Social Emotional Learning (SEL)

Use these fun and engaging creative writing prompts for improving student writing skills.  Perfect for reinforcing social emotional learning skills!

1. You find $10 on the floor in the hallway at school.  What would you do in this situation?

2. A new student who does not speak English is in your class.  You notice that student sitting on a bench alone during recess.  What could you do in this situation?

3. You have a neighbor who is older and has a hard time getting around.  A day after a snowstorm, you notice that your neighbor’s driveway is still covered with snow.  What could you do in this situation?

4. You are on the bus and hear a student in the seat in front of you being mean to the student they are sitting next to.  What could you do in this situation?

5. You are playing outside and throw a ball that accidentally goes over your neighbor’s fence.  Your neighbors are new and you have never met them, but you really want your ball back.  What would you do in this situation?

6. You are in art class and your teacher gives you a lump of clay.  You see that other students in your class are making pots, but you have a different idea.  What should you do in this situation?

7. You want to learn how to rollerblade, so your parents buy you a pair of roller blades.  You take them outside to try and you fall down over and over.  You are really frustrated and upset.  What could you do in this situation?

8. You really want to get a pet.  Your parents do not want a pet because they do not want to have to take care of it.  What could you do in this situation?

9. You are working on a group project in your class.  One of the students in your group is not doing any work and looks upset.  What would you do in this situation?

10. You forgot to do your homework last night.  You know that if you do not hand it in, you will have to miss a few minutes of recess.  You really don’t want to miss recess.  What would you do in this situation?

11. A classmate of yours looks like they are having a hard day.  You saw your classmate looking upset in class and then at recess, your classmate was just walking around alone.  What could you do in this situation?

12. Your friend loses their favorite pencil.  You know how much your friend loved that pencil.  What would you do in this situation?

13. You are sitting at lunch and see that a classmate only has half a sandwich.  You have two pieces of fruit, a bag of pretzels and a bag of cookies.  What could you do in this situation?

14. You notice that a classmate has sneakers that have holes in them.  You think about how cold your classmate’s feet must be in the cold weather.  You know that you have extra sneakers at your house.  What could you do in this situation?

15. Your friend helps you with an assignment that you did not understand.  What could you do after your friend helps you?

16. Your neighbor sees you outside raking leaves and comes over to help you.  What could you do after you neighbor finishes helping you?

17. You and your sibling were playing with a ball in the house.  When you threw the ball, it knocked a picture off a shelf and the glass in the picture frame broke.  What should you do in this situation?

18. Your mom just made cookies that she was planning to bring to a friend’s house.  When she wasn’t looking, you took a few cookies.  Your mom asks where the cookies went.  What should you do in this situation?

19. Your friends all like to wear sweatpants and hoodies.  You really like to dress nicely and wear nice pants and button-up shirts, but you are worried that your friends will make fun of you.  What would you do in this situation?

20. Most of the girls at your school have long hair.  You want to get your hair cut really short and dye it blue, but you are afraid that you won’t fit in.  What would you do in this situation?

21. You see that your mom is having a hard day.  What could you do in this situation?

22. You know that one of your neighbor’s lives alone and does not have many people visit her.  What could you do in this situation?

23. You are invited to a friend’s house.  Your friend’s parent offers you a snack.  How could you respond using your manners?

24. You are at the store with your family and you see someone who is wearing clothes that are ripped and look dirty.  What would you think and how would you behave?

25. A student in your class always seems to be having a difficult time.  She yells, throws things and doesn’t listen.  Many of your classmates are afraid of her.  How do you think you would behave towards her?

26. You are out for a walk around your neighborhood and you see someone who is dressed very differently than most of the other people who live in your neighborhood.  The person is walking looking down at the ground and not at you.  Why do you think the person is looking down and how could you behave towards the person?

27. You and your friends are playing outside.  One of your friends wants to build a house with sticks that you find.  Your other friend doesn’t like that idea and wants to use the sticks as pretend weapons to fight off “bad guys.”  What could you do in this situation?

28. You are playing at a friend’s house and your friend wants to play with toys that you have never used before.  You don’t know how to use them, but your friend really wants to.  What could you do in this situation?  What would your thinking be before making a decision?

29. You are eating your lunch and a classmate sitting at your table spills his milk everywhere.  Everyone else at the table moves their stuff to keep it away from the milk and keeps eating.  You see that your classmate who spilled the milk is upset.  What would your reaction be in this situation?

30. You are at the bus stop and one of the younger students looks really nervous.  You hear the younger student telling his mom that he doesn’t want to go to school.  What could you do in this situation?

31. You are playing outside with your younger sibling.  You see that the sky is starting to get really dark and it is getting windy.  You think that it might start to storm.  What would you do in this situation?

32. You ride the bus with your neighbor who is younger than you.  As you get off the bus one day, you realize that your neighbor is not getting off with you.  What would you do in this situation?

33. Your mom asks you to keep an eye on your puppy while she runs out to get the mail.  You see your puppy start to chew on something that is not hers.  What would you do in this situation?

34. Your teacher has just taken out new puzzles for you to use during inside recess.  You love to do puzzles and are really excited.  You cannot wait to be the first person to do one of the puzzles.  When you look around, you see one of your classmates looking upset and sitting alone with nothing to do.  What could you do in this situation?

35. You just cleaned out your desk and have all of your pencils organized and sharpened in your pencil box.  Your classmate next to you cannot find a pencil.  What could you do in this situation?

36. You and your sibling both walk in to the kitchen to get dessert.  You take the last piece of cake and put it on your plate.  Your sibling says that they would really like the cake.  What could you do in this situation?

37. You and your friend both want to take the same book out of the library to read.  What could you do in this situation?

38. You are really worried about a test that you have coming up.  What could you do in this situation?

39. You know that your sibling is really worried about taking the bus to school for the first time.  What could you do in this situation?

40. You are signed up to try a new class, but you are really worried because you don’t know anyone doing it and you are not sure you are going to like it.  What could you do in this situation?

41. You and your sibling are riding your bikes together on the street.  Your sibling turns too fast, falls off and gets hurt.  What would you do in this situation?

42. You see a cat walking around outside of your home meowing.  You notice that the cat has thorns sticking out of its leg.  What would you do in this situation?

43. Your teacher who is usually cheerful and happy seems upset today.  She hasn’t said that anything is wrong, you just feel like she’s not acting like she normally does.  What could you do in this situation?

44. You have a student in your class who is in a wheelchair.  You notice that many of your classmates do not interact with that student.  What could you do in this situation?

45. There is a student who rides your bus who has a hard time understanding how to interact with other students.  Most of the students on your bus ignore her.  What could you do in this situation?

46. You have friends who celebrate different holidays than you do.  You do not know about the holidays that they celebrate, but you would like to learn more.  What could you do in this situation?

47. You started a new karate class and you are one of the only girls in the class.  It feels strange to you to be around mostly boys.  What would you do in this situation?

48. You and your friends like to play football at recess.  Today, two girls come over and ask to play with you.  You have never played football with a girl before.  What would you do in this situation?

49. Your teacher asks each student to take a turn helping do the morning routine up at the board.  Tomorrow is going to be your day and you are worried that you will not do well.  What could you do in this situation?

50. Your parents ask you to read a poem that you wrote to your grandparents.  You think that you are not good at reading out loud.  What could you do in this situation?

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• Story Starter: Merlin the Tortoise Misses His Best Friends

Written by Kimberly Greacen, Education World® Contributing Writer

Kimberly is an educator with extensive experience in curriculum writing and developing instructional materials to align with Common Core State Standards and Bloom's Taxonomy.

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