Writing Prompts from History for Teens

Take your writing – and knowledge of history – a step further with these writing prompts from history.

1. You walk into Gimbels Department Store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at Christmastime. A man by the name of Richard James is demonstrating a toy that looks like a metal spring that can “walk” down stairs. What is this new toy, and how do you react? Do you buy one? If not, why not? If so, do you give it as a gift? How does the recipient react?
2. You are living in China in the months following Mao Zedong’s establishment of the People’s Republic of China. Describe how life is changing and how you feel about the changes.
3. Describe a day as a Fuller Brush man in the 1950s.
4. You attend a meeting at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery Alabama in 1955. A boycott against the Montgomery bus system is being discussed. Do you support the boycott? Why or why not?
5. You are listening to the news on October 4, 1957, when you learn that the Soviet Union has launched Sputnik I. Share the conversation your family has concerning the news.

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