Silly & Inspiring Writing 2nd grade Writing Prompts Your Young Writer Will Love (Free PDF!)

Ever heard of a story prompt like this? 

What if a pig and his friends traveled to the moon?

One student, Audrey Willey, a 2nd-grade homeschooler at the time, created her own adorable story based on a simple “what if” scenario. 

Yes, even though we've listed our favorite 2nd grade writing prompts below, you can easily make your own. It doesn't have to be complicated.

You really just need "a problem to solve" or a "big goal" for the characters to achieve. Of course, plopping their heroes in a fun setting will help to capture your 2nd graders imagination and entice them to write. 

Oh, and here's a tip we like share.

“Make us Worry!” and “Make us Care!”  

Who or what will block the Hero's way?

How might we care deeply for the hero?

If your 2nd grader doesn't want to dive into those questions, that's fine.

As long as their hero makes progress towards their goal, readers will be engaged and enjoy the ride! 

Again, below are some of our favorite 2nd grade fiction writing prompts.

But first, here’s Audrey’s hilarious and wonderfully playful tale. Enjoy. 

PEEG STORY 

By Audrey Willey

One sunny, hot July day, in the neighborhood swimming pool, Peeg, Panda, Airplane and Rabbit were playing catch the ball. Then Peeg wanted to go play in the mud puddle. They went to play in the mud and played until midnight. 

Then Peeg saw the round, white moon. 

"Boy, I would like to visit the moon," he said. 

"We could," said Plane. "Hop on me! 

So they all hopped on Plane. 

"One, two, three, take off!" he shouted. 

They all flew up. Airplane was so excited he went super duper fast.

Soon, they were close to the moon. But, Peeg, Panda, and Rabbit all fell off Plane. 

"My, how light you are!" Airplane said. "Did you eat air?" Peeg, Panda, and Rabbit were drifting in space. Peeg, Panda, and Rabbit found a broken spaceship, but it could not move. They fixed the spaceship together using all the tools in the spaceship. 

He was almost there at the moon. But, Plane fell into a black hole. Peeg, Rabbit, and Panda heard the news. 

They all thought of ways to save Plane. First, they tried to get Plane out with a rope. Peeg, Rabbit and Panda threw the rope as hard as they could. But it did not work because Plane had no arms. 

"I can't grab it!" said Plane. 

Then they tried a ladder. They put a huge ladder into the black hole, but Plane could not climb because he had no legs. 

Finally, they tried a fishing pole. And that did work! 

The hook hooked onto the propeller. And the propeller wound up the string. Peeg, Rabbit and Panda pulled Plane up. 

"Hello," said Plane. "Thank you for pulling me up! Let's go have some pixie sticks." 

So, they went back to Earth all safe and sound on the spaceship.

Wild prompts inspire wild adventures! We love this beautiful tribute to friendship and imagination, and we can tell Audrey loved telling it.

We hope this story will encourage your child to let out their silly belly and tell us a heartwarming tale just like Audrey! 

And now, enjoy these strange and wonderful 2nd grade writing prompts collected from our students. Feel free to send us your own and we’ll include it here! In the meantime, we look forward to reading your young writer's story when we announce a new Story Contest!

Have fun! 

Royd Hatta

Writing Coach

Our List of Silly Writing Prompts for 2nd Graders

Fantasy Prompts

2nd Grade Writing Prompts

1. What happens in Puppy Land?
2. A unicorn and her friends must go on a quest to find her horn. 
3. What happens in a world of tacos and unicorns?
4. What happens in a floating castle?
5. Name four animals and combine them into a mythical creature. 
6. What if you and your family found a fairy treasure map on vacation? 
7. Write a poem about a talkative hero who loses his wand. 
8. What kind of discussion would a happy elf have with an angry one?
9. After Jonny saves a glowing frog from being smushed, the frog grants him a wish.  
10. What if you woke up and found you sprouted wings like a fairy? 
11. What if your pet grew wings?
    
12. A wizard chooses you to lead a quest to find the golden donut. 
13. What if the cookies you made turned people into fairies? Unicorns? 
14. What kind of birthday dessert would you bake for a princess?
15. Your family tells you they're related to Shrek. Suddenly, you grow green ears. 
16. What if a frog, a dog, and a hog attempt to save a prince and princess?
17. Tell us the legend of a penguin who saves an underground kingdom. 
18. What if you and a friend discovered a portal into a land of talking pickles? 
19. The muffin mayor must prepare for the Bake City celebration. 
20. What if you discovered a tiny unicorn?
21. If you were a flower fairy, mermaid, or merman, what would you do?
22. What if a mermaid showed up in your swimming pool? Or, in a lake?
23. During a field trip, you open your lunch bag. Suddenly, a tiny elf jumps out from it.
    

Science Fiction

Writing Prompts for 2nd Graders

1. What if a pig and his friends traveled to the moon?
2. What if your pet was from another planet?  
3. A cow who likes to play on the farmer’s video games discovers that he just downloaded a computer virus.
   
4. A scientist ventures into the woods and discovers a new species–with special powers. 
5. What if a smart rabbit was chosen to travel to the moon? 
6. A kid goes fishing and pulls up something that glows.
7. What if you won a trip to Disney’s new theme park on…Mars?
8. A baby T-Rex popped out of an Easter egg. What will you do? 
9. What if a cute little alien knocked on your door?
10. What if you were adopted by a family of dinosaurs?
11. What if your parent’s minivan could turn into a walking robot?
12. You’re on an undersea expedition to find colorful fish. Unfortunately, your cat heard about it and snuck into your duffle bag.
13. You and your dog see a floating UFO under a play structure at a park. What would you do?
14. You are staying in a hotel on Mars. Suddenly, a short Martian, waves at you on the other side of the window!
15. What if an alien gave you some of his strange powers. What could you do?
16. A goofy scientist has invented a device that does…..what?
17. Suddenly, you’re zapped into your favorite video game.
18. Your mom brought home some experimental shoes. What would you do?

Silly Characters

Writing Prompts for 2nd Graders

Funny character vector created by jcomp - www.freepik.com

1. What would you do if you met a giraffe who only ate blueberry muffins?
2. Describe the secret life of a duck who likes to fly jets. 
3. Describe a party for a hippo who just wrote a play. 
4. A curious bigfoot learns to like your music and decides to... 
5. You are a pirate looking for treasure. The only problem is you’re only 5 inches tall. 
6. Describe your favorite animal that plays on your favorite sports team. 
7. At 12 o’clock, you turn into your favorite animal. What would you do? 
8. One day, Jesse’s pet rabbit begins to talk. What does he say and want?   
9. Tyler wakes up and notices he has an unusual super power. He can make cheese puffs appear.
10. What if a slippery hippo moved into your house?
11. Describe a shiny beaver who can build tall castles.
12. What if you were invited to be a silly hero’s sidekick?
13. Write a thank you note to a tuba-playing panda. 
14. A cat steps on a mushroom and transforms into a pig. 
15. What in the world is a Unitaco? And what must it do?
16. One day a kid discovers that his chickens can talk to him. What do they say?
17. What if pigs could fly? Where would they go?
18. What if you woke up as your pet bunny? And your bunny woke up as you.
19. At lunch time, you’re about to bite into a cookie. Suddenly, it yells! What happens next?
20. What if a guinea pig who lives in the city can’t stop growing hair?
    

Adventure

2nd Grade Writing Prompts

Camping adventure vector created by freepik - www.freepik.com

1. What if an egg in a refrigerator tries to escape before breakfast?
2. What would a jagged rock need to do to be a polished gem? 
3. A tofu block and his friends try to defeat the evil tomatoes.
4. Your hero sandwich actually saves a famous person. 
5. Muffin, a silly cat, catches a cookie thief. 
6. A baby tiger finds his brother trapped in a pit of onions. 
7. A clever rabbit and his friends discover that their land is being dug up by machines. 
8. Danny bakes his great-grandmother’s secret cookie recipe, but something silly begins to happen.
9. The classroom guinea pig escapes into a kid’s backpack.
10. What if your action figure could command a three-story robot?
11. What if your grandmother was a ninja? 
12. What if you discovered your grandfather is a superhero?
13. A banana becomes alive and starts talking to all the fruits and vegetables about how to escape.
14. A cat walks on a piano and opens a small door to a superhero’s cave.
15. A boy needs to defend his town from a huge monster.  Unfortunately, his mentor is a beaver. 
16. What if you woke up in a bald eagle’s nest?

We hope you enjoyed our list of writing prompts for 2nd graders!

Oh, and if you have at least five (5) silly prompts to share, we’d be happy to post them to this list. 

Write yours today and send it to us through our contact page.

Have fun, and remember to add flavor to your story! 

Royd Hatta

Writing Coach