Kindergarten students often have trouble thinking up ideas of things to write. Even with a fairly well-defined prompt, they might falter after a sentence or two. Giving students a chance to talk together before writing can help them generate ideas and warm up to the topic in a more natural way than if they had to simply sit down and start writing. Lead a short discussion about the topic, then let children divide into groups of three to five to share their ideas before they start writing.
Let students write in pairs in order to teach teamwork and communication while also harnessing the power of social interaction to generate ideas. Divide students into pairs or let them choose partners, then give each partner a sheet of paper. Students can talk together for a short time, then instruct each student to write a sentence about what they discussed. Have students trade papers with their partners and practice reading aloud, or add a sentence to each others' papers.
Some students will find it easier to express their ideas in pictures than in words. Even for students with stronger writing skills, creating a drawing along with the text can reinforce and clarify their thoughts. One way to combine drawing and writing is to provide students with paper that has a blank space at the top and a few lines for writing at the bottom. Provide a prompt with a visual component and allow them to draw and write about it.
Keep writing prompts for kindergarten students simple and use topics that they can relate to, such as family, home life, food, school and play. An informative writing activity can be as simple as describing a family member or recent event. To develop observation and descriptive skills, perform a simple science demonstration with a dramatic visual or sensory result, such as growing seeds or letting a magnet move iron filings into patterns. Assign students to write a description of what they saw or experienced.