Creative Stimuli

Below, you can find free-to-use stimuli for writing and other projects, along with a few suggestions to get you started. All images are protected by copyright but may be used free of charge in the classroom.
They may not be used for commercial gain. Each stimulus would likely be enhanced by using physical examples in the classroom.

Pie’s Orange Button

There on the path before him, he saw…

Know me, and you’ll know this always visits schools

Stimulating thinking:

  1. Look closely - what do you notice? What made have caused the scratches and scuffs? Why might there be four holes?
  2. Where has it come from? Who might have lost it?
  3. What does it remind you of? What other things are round? What things are orange? What might it be used for?

 

The Little Blue Egg

There was a snap, a crack, and then a piece of blue shell toppled to the floor.

Stimulating thinking:

  1. Look closely - what do you notice? What's unusual about the shell? Why might it be cracked? What might come from a blue shell?
  2. Where was it found? Why is it alone? How might it have come to be there? 
  3. What else does it remind you of? What else is rounded? What else is blue, or speckled?

Elf Door

With a soft creak that betrayed the tiniest of hinges, the door opened slowly, and a single sparkling eye peered out.

Stimulating thinking:

  1. Look closely - what do you notice? What makes the door unusual? What might be interesting about what it's made from? What do you notice about the handle? Or the door frame?
  2. Where is it found? Why is that unusual? What clues are there in its environment?
  3. What might be beyond the door? How might it contrast? What sets it apart from where we are now?

A Single Lost Boot 

Who had left it here? He didn’t know. The boot lay forlorn, empty, missing both its partner and its purpose.

Questions to stimulate thinking:

  1. Look closely - what do you notice? What do you see along the sole? What about the laces? 
  2. Where might it have been? Where is it now? Where is the other boot?
  3. Who might have lost it? Where have they gone? How have they got there with only one boot?

Crumbling Poppies

The soft-flecked petals rustled faintly in the breeze. Their blood-red skin was frayed and tattered, scorched by a relentless sun.

Questions to stimulate thinking:

  1. Look closely - what do you notice? What do you see in the middle? What do you notice about the petals?
  2. What does it remind you of? What other things are red? How does it change the mood to say it's like blood, or like a sunrise?
  3. Where is it found? What might that say about the mood?

Who left this here?

A thick puff of smoke leapt from the man's hood, jostling with the shadows to escape. Two eyes peered out as a gnarled hand held the pipe lightly, gently, as if with great familiarity.

Stimulating thinking:

  1. Look closely - what do you notice? What is it made of? Is it valuable? Why do you think that?
  2. What does it remind you of? What else is red? Is it red all over, or is there something else?
  3. Who might use it? Where might that person be?

The Small-Town Sheriff

She pulled the collar of her jacket up against the dry wind and squinted, even hidden behind her classes, as the sand swirled. The roar of the sun was a constant, as persistent as the very turning if the Earth.

Questions to stimulate thinking:

  1. Look closely - what do you notice? What is it made of? Why might it be made tha way? 
  2. Who might wear it? Why? Where are they when they're wearing it? What are they doing?