Summer Writing Ideas

Estimated reading time: 1 minute, 38 seconds. Contains 329 words

Primary Reading Audience: Classroom teachers and literacy coaches

Why It Matters: A common question at this time of year is a welcome one! How can we encourage children’s writing lives over the summer?

Ideas to Try: Here are a few ideas to share.

1. Start a family routine that involves writing. My daughters initially resisted the idea of writing for five to ten minutes before leaving the dinner table, but gradually it became a ritual. We lived with my father who had increasing dementia, and even he participated. We all had writing journals, we wrote about something from the day– no rules– and we shared. This practice shines a light on the value of writing for building relationships.

2. Have children research and report out on planned or possible summer adventures. Even young writers are able to create persuasive pieces about why summer vacation should include certain experiences. Set children up with some information about a place and challenge them to educate and convince other family members about why they should go there. Multi-media presentations welcome!

3. Tap into the power of competition. Even during the summer, there are some writing competitions that are available to young writers. Here are a few with summer deadlines:

Anti-bullying book contest: Deadline is July 15.
Ocean Awareness Contest– Deadline is June 15.
Tadpole Press 100-word Contest– Deadline in November, but submissions are open soon, if not now.
The Betty Award– Deadline is in October, but submissions are open now.

4. Summer is a perfect time for young writers to submit pieces for potential publication. Here are a few sites that welcome submissions:

Go Deeper: For other ideas, check out these posts and podcast:

Building Self-Advocacy: A Tip for Tomorrow from Stacey – Two Writing Teachers Podcast

Discover how teaching self-advocacy during writing workshop empowers students to express their needs and take charge of their learning. Drawing on insights from her upcoming book, Make the School System Work for Your Child with Disabilities: Empowering Kids for the Future, Stacey shares practical sentence starters to help students ask for help with revision, clarify instructions, and participate in peer conferences with confidence. Learn how teaching your students these sentences can foster independence and help them speak up for themselves clearly. Six Self-Advocacy Sentences for Writing WorkshopI’m feeling confused about my writing. Can you help me understand what to do next?I need help with this part of my writing. Could you help me?I’m not sure how to revise this. Could you show me again?Can you please check if I understood the instructions correctly?I’m struggling with giving feedback. Can we talk about how to do it?I’m not comfortable sharing this piece. Is there another way I can participate?Learn more about Stacey’s book, Make the School System Work for Your Child with Disabilities: Empowering Kids for the Future (Guilford Press, 2026).*****Thanks to our affiliate, Zencastr. Use our special link (https://zen.ai/mqsr2kHXSP2YaA1nAh2EpHl-bWR9QNvFyAQlDC3CiEk) to save 30% off your first month of any Zencastr paid plan. *****Send us a textPlease subscribe to our podcast and leave us ratings/reviews on your favorite listening platform.You may contact us directly if you want us to consult with your school district. Melanie Meehan: meehanmelanie@gmail.com Stacey Shubitz: stacey@staceyshubitz.com Email us at contact@twowritingteachers.org for affiliate or sponsorship opportunities.For more about teaching writing, head to the Two Writing Teachers blog.

The Bottom Line: Just as reading is important during the summer, so is writing! Consider accepting the challenge of inspiring writers to keep writing going when school isn’t in session.