This writing bingo opens with 6 cards, each drawing 24 tasks from 60 around a Free write center. Half are things to try inside any piece, such as Use a simile; half are things to write, such as A recipe.
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Two kinds of square
A craft square is earned inside whatever the class is writing: a pupil who opens a story with a question crosses off Start with a question. A form square is a short piece of its own, such as A postcard or A riddle. Keep the mix, or pick one kind in Ready-made list.
Proof on the page
Have pupils underline the place in their draft where they tried a task and write the name of the square in the margin. A bingo is then a row of underlined places you can check at a glance.
Unsure whether a try counts? The line beside each task in the list under the cards settles it.
Questions and answers
How do you play writing bingo?
Each pupil gets a card and crosses off a square after trying that task in their own writing. Five across, down or on a diagonal is a bingo. Play it over one long piece, a week of journal time or a whole unit.
What goes on a writing bingo card?
Tasks small enough to finish in one sitting: craft moves such as Use a sound word, Show a feeling and Use alliteration, and short forms such as A haiku, A menu and Rules for a game.
Which grades is writing bingo for?
About grades 2 to 6. Younger writers do best with Things to write, where each square is one small piece. The craft list suits pupils who already write a paragraph and can go back into it.
All 60 tasks
Try it in your writing 30
Add a titleA title that makes someone want to read on.
Describe a smellTell the reader what something smells like.
Describe a soundTell the reader what can be heard.
End with a surpriseMake your last line something the reader did not expect.
ExaggerateMake something sound bigger than it is: my bag weighs a ton.
Join two ideasOne sentence that joins two ideas with and, but or so.
List three thingsThree things in one sentence: boots, hats and scarves.
Name a placeSay where it happens.
Repeat a wordUse one word three times on purpose: it rained, rained, rained.
Show a feelingShow how someone feels without naming the feeling: her hands shook.
Start with a questionMake your first sentence a question.
Start with an actionOpen with someone doing something.
Swap a wordRead your piece again and trade one plain word for a better one.
Use a color wordName the exact color of something.
Use a compound wordA word made of two words joined together: sunflower, backpack.
Use a contractionTwo words shortened into one with an apostrophe: don't, we're.
Use a new wordA word you learned this week.
Use a numberHow many, how far, how old or what time.
Use a simileCompare two things with like or as: as quiet as a mouse.
Use a sound wordA word that copies a noise: buzz, splash, thud.
Use a strong verbSwap went or said for a verb that shows how: crept, shouted.
Use a time wordFirst, next, then, later or finally.
Use alliterationPut words together that begin with the same sound: six slippery snakes.
Use an adverbA word that tells how something is done: slowly, loudly.
Use an exclamationOne sentence that ends with an exclamation mark.
Use the word becauseGive the reason for something.
Use three adjectivesThree words that describe a noun, anywhere in your piece.
Write a rhymeTwo lines that end in the same sound.
Write a short sentenceThree words or fewer. Try it right after a long sentence.
Write some dialogueLet someone speak, with quotation marks around their words.
Things to write 30
A book reviewSay what the book is about and who would like it.
A captionA sentence that explains a picture.
A comic stripThree or more boxes, with the words in speech bubbles.
A diary entryWhat happened today and how you felt about it.
A greeting cardThe message inside a card for a birthday or a get-well wish.
A haikuA poem of three lines with 5, 7 and 5 syllables.
A headlineThe title of a news story, real or invented, in a few big words.
A jokeOne that you made up yourself.
A letterTo a real person or a made-up one. Start with Dear.
A listOf anything: favorite foods, things in your bag, places to go.
A menuFor a real or made-up restaurant, with a name for every dish.
A new endingChange the ending of a story you know.
A note to future youSomething to read again a year from now.
A place descriptionSo clear that a reader could draw the place.
A poemAny kind, any length. It does not have to rhyme.
A postcardA few lines from a place you have been or wish you were.
A posterA few big words that tell people about an event or a rule.
A recipeWhat you need, then the steps in order. The dish can be real or silly.
A riddleClues that describe a thing without naming it, for a friend to guess.
A short speechSomething you would say out loud to the class.
A six-word storyTell a whole story in exactly six words.
A talking animal storyA short story in which an animal speaks.
A weather reportWhat the weather is today and what tomorrow may bring.
An acrosticA poem in which the first letters of the lines spell a word.
An interviewThree questions for someone, with their answers.
An invitationSay what the event is, where it is and when.
An opinionSay what you think and give two reasons.
How-to stepsTeach the reader to do something, one numbered step at a time.
Rules for a gameExplain how to play so that someone new could join in.
Three factsThree true things about one subject, in full sentences.