Ask students to choose a famous deceased person and research his life and history. Have students write a letter to that person asking him questions based on this research. Encourage students to include information about the current way of life, but ask the famous person questions about his way of life during his lifetime. Provide examples on the proper format so students have a basis for how to write a formal letter.
Journals and diaries give students writing practice, as well as a chance to express themselves. Ask students to keep a journal documenting one day of their life. Have them start writing when they get up and finish when they go to bed. Ask them to include thoughts as well as observations throughout the day. If the students wish, have them share this journal entry with the class or a friend.
Choose any book appropriate for your class' reading level and read it together. Ask students to write a new chapter to add to the book. This might be a chapter to extend the ending or a prologue to provide background information at the beginning. You might also ask students to write their own chapter from the viewpoint of a character in the story. Allow students to work with a partner to edit their chapters and produce a final draft.
Assign each student a partner in class to interview. Depending on the age of the student, give a set of questions to ask or allow students to create their own. Based on the responses from this interview, ask students to write a biography about their peers. Help students create this biography by providing many examples of biography formats through the use of children's biographical books. You can use this writing activity at the beginning of a school year to help your class get to know one another or any point in the year you want to encourage more peer interaction.