Second Grade Writing Prompts

Second Grade Writing Prompts Children in second grade are just beginning to develop their writing skills. By second grade, students should start expressing opinions, recounting narratives, and providing step-by-step instructions in their writing. These second grade writing prompts capitalize on age-appropriate topics to spark students’ creativity and engage them in the writing process. Narrative Essay Writing Prompts In their narrative pieces, students should recount a real or imagined event or sequence of events. Their writing should include describing details that indicate thoughts, actions, or feelings. They should conclude their narrative in a way that provides a sense of closure. Kindness Counts.  Write about a time that someone did something kind for you. What did they  do and how  did it make you feel?Special Day. Describe a special day that you and your best friend shared. What made it so memorable?Left Out. Have you ever felt left out? Write about what happened.Diaper Days. Write about something you remember from when you were a baby or toddler.Rainy Day Fun. It’s raining outside and your best friend is over to visit. What do you do?Happy Memories. Write a story about one of your happiest memories.Switch-a-roo. Describe what it would be like to switch lives with anyone in the world for a day. Who would it be and what would you do?School Sleepover. Imagine that you’re trapped in your school alone overnight. Tell what happens.Fly-on-the-wall. You wake up and discover that you’re a fly for the day. What do you do?Right and Wrong. Tell about a time when you were tempted to do the wrong thing, but you chose to do the right thing inst ead.Scary Stories. Write about a time when you were scared. Menu Madness. Imagine that you’re in charge of the school lunch menu for the week. What meals would you include?Wild and Wacky. Imagine your class is on a field trip to the zoo and one of the animals starts talking to you. What does he tell you? Opinion Essay Writing Prompts Second graders should write opinion pieces that introduce their topic and provide reasons to support their opinion, using words such as because and and to connect their reasoning. The paper should include a conclusion sentence. Fun and Games. What is your favorite game to play? Why is it better than other activities?Bedtime Tales. What is the best bedtime story your mom or dad has ever read to you? What made it the best?Travel Stops. If you could choose to stay in a tent, an RV, or a fancy hotel while traveling with your family, which would you choose and why?Playground Fun. What is the very best piece of equipment on your school’s playground? What makes it the best?Exotic Pets. If you could choose any wild animal for a pet, what would you choose and why?Study Choice. Your teacher has asked you to decide what topic the class studies next. What do you pick and why?Favorite subject. Which school subject is your favorite and why?Yucky or Yummy. Write about a food that you like but most people don’t. Why should people give it a chance?Play Time. Should your school give kids a longer recess time? Why or why not?Digital or Print. Which is better for reading, a printed book or a tablet?Allergies. Are you allergic to anything? Why is it important for people to know about your allergy? Drinks. Do you like milk? Soda? Lemonade? Name your favorite drink and give three reasons why it’s your favorite.Best Day. What is your favorite day of the week? Write an essay including three reasons why that day is the best. Expository Essay Writing Prompts Expository essays inform the readers about a specific topic. Second grade students should introduce their topic and provide facts, definitions, or steps to develop their point. School Day. You have a younger sibling who hasn’t started school yet. Tell him or her about a typical school day.Class Pet. Your class gets to choose a classroom pet for the year.  Name an animal that you think would make a good choice and explain  its needs (such as food, habitat, temperature).Favorite Food. What is your favorite food? Describe it as if no one else has ever seen or tasted it.Seasonal Fun. Pick a season, like summer or fall, and describe your favorite activity during that season.If You Build It. Think of a time when you saw something being built (like a house, a new road, or even a snowman). Explain the stages of the building process.Famous Firsts. Think about a famous first like the first person to walk on the moon or the first person to sail around the world. Explain why this first was so important.Famous People. Choose a famous person and explain what he or she did to become famous.Past Parties. Think of the best party you’ve ever attended and ex plain what made it the best. Favorite Film. Choose your favorite animated film of all time and explain why you love it.Bedtime. Explain why it’s important to get plenty of sleep every night.Funny Pet Tricks. Describe an unusual trick that your pet can do.Holiday Happenings. Select a popular holiday and explain why or how people celebrate it.Smelly Tale. Every place has different smells, good or bad. Describe two or three smells you associate with your home or school. Research Writing Prompts Students should also produce research-based writing by reading books on a topic and writing a report, recording science observations, or using provided materials to answer a question. Turtle Power. Why do turtles have shells?Digging Dinosaurs. Choose your favorite dinosaur and write a report including interesting facts about it.Under the Sea. Learn more about one interesting animal that lives in the ocean. Write a paper  about what you learned.  Places for People. Choose a unique home (such as an igloo or a mud hut) and explain why its suited for the environment in which it is found.Space. Choose one of the planets in our solar system and give five interesting facts about it.Science. Write an observation from a recent science lesson such as how plants grow or what makes up the water cycle.Famous people. Write a report about someone you are studying in your current history lessons.How Is It Made? Choose an everyday object (like LEGO bricks or toilet paper) and find out how it’s made.Desert Dwellers. Pick an animal that lives in the desert and write 3-5 interesting facts about it.Creepy Crawlies. What is the difference between arachnids and insects?Where in the World? Choose a state or country to research. Include 3-5 facts about the place in your report. What’s the Difference? Choose two similar animals, such as a horse and a mule, a crocodile and an alligator, or a leopard and a cheetah. Explain how to tell them apart.Sleep Habits. Some animals sleep standing up. Bats sleep hanging upside down. Birds sleep in trees. Choose an animal, bat, or bird and explain how they sleep without falling.

A Brief History of the Country of Morocco

A Brief History of the Country of Morocco In the Classical Antiquity era, Morocco experienced waves of invaders included Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, and Byzantines, but with the arrival of Islam, Morocco developed independent states that kept powerful invaders at bay. Berber Dynasties In 702 the Berbers submitted to the armies of Islam and adopted Islam. The first Moroccan states formed during these years, but many were still ruled by outsiders, some of whom were part of the Umayyad Caliphate that controlled most of northern Africa c. 700 CE. In 1056, a Berber empire arose however, under the Almoravid Dynasty, and for the next five hundred years Morocco was governed by Berber dynasties:  the Almoravids (from 1056), Almohads (from 1174), Marinid (from 1296), and Wattasid (from 1465). It was during the Almoravid and Almohad dynasties that Morocco controlled much of North Africa, Spain, and Portugal. In 1238, the Almohad lost control of  the Muslim portion of Spain and Portugal, known then as al-Andalus. The Marinid dynasty attempted to regain it, but never succeeded. Revival of Moroccan Power In the mid-1500s, a powerful state again arose in Morocco, under the leadership of the Saadi dynasty that had taken over southern Morocco in the early 1500s. The Saadi defeated the Wattasid in 1554, and then succeeded in holding off incursions by both the Portuguese and Ottoman Empires. In 1603 a succession dispute led to a period of unrest that did not end until 1671 with the formation of the Awalite Dynasty, which still governs Morocco to this day. During the unrest, Portugal had again gained a foothold in Morocco but was again thrown out by the new leaders. European Colonization By the mid 1800s, at a time when the influence of the Ottoman Empire was in decline, France and Spain began taking a great interest in Morocco. The Algeciras Conference (1906) that followed the First Moroccan Crisis formalized Frances special interest in the region (opposed by Germany), and the Treaty of Fez (1912) made Morocco a French protectorate. Spain gained authority over Ifni (to the south) and Tà ©touan to the north. In the 1920s the Rif Berbers of Morocco, under the leadership of Muhammad Abd el-Krim, rebelled against French and Spanish authority. The short lived Rif republic was crushed by a joint French/Spanish task force in 1926. Independence In 1953 France deposed the nationalist leader and sultan Mohammed V ibn Yusuf, but both nationalist and religious groups called for his return.  France capitulated, and Mohammed V returned in 1955. On the second of March in 1956, French Morocco gained independence. Spanish Morocco, except for the two enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, gained independence in April of 1956. Mohammed V was succeeded by his son, Hasan II ibn Mohammed, upon his death in 1961. Morocco became a constitutional monarchy in 1977. When Hassan II died in 1999 he was succeeded by his thirty-five year old son, Mohammed VI ibn al-Hassan. Dispute over Western Sahara When Spain withdrew from the Spanish Sahara in 1976, Morocco claimed sovereignty in the north. The Spanish portions to the south, known as Western Sahara, were supposed to become independent, but Morocco occupied the region in the Green March. Initially, Morocco divided the territory with Mauritania, but when Mauritania withdrew in 1979, Morocco claimed the whole. The status of the territory is a deeply contentious issue, with many international bodies like the United Nations recognizing it as a non-self-governing territory called the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Revised and Expanded by Angela Thompsell Sources: Clancy-Smith, Julia Anne, North Africa, Islam, and the Mediterranean world: from the Almoravids to the Algerian War. (2001). MINURSO Background, United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara. (Accessed 18 June 2015).