Write about penguin chicks waiting for their parents to come back from the sea.Fact: emperor and king penguin chicks gather in large groups called crèches.
Explain why a penguin is black on the back and white on the front.Fact: seen from below, a white belly is hard to tell from the bright surface of the water.
A penguin joins a flock of pigeons in a city park. Write how it goes.Problem: they fly off at every loud noise and the penguin cannot. Ends on: a pond.
Describe a penguin's belly slide down a snowy hill, from the top to the stop.Angle: touch: cold under the chest, wind over the back, feet pushing behind.
Describe a penguin's walk across the ice to the sea.Angle: the waddle, the hop over a crack, the slide when walking gets too slow.
Describe the penguin colony in the morning, from the middle of the crowd.Angle: sound first: thousands of voices, and the one this penguin is listening for.
Tell the story of a penguin who is late back from the sea and has to find her family in the crowd.Angle: every penguin looks the same from behind. She finds them by ear.
Tell the story of a young penguin's first day looking after a younger one.Problem: the little one will not stay put. Ends on: both in the middle of the huddle.
Tell the story of the day the ice cracked and half the penguin colony ended up on the other side.Problem: a gap of water between friends. Ends on: everyone can swim. They had forgotten.
Write a day in the life of the penguin at the very edge of the huddle.First line: My turn in the middle is coming. I have been told this for an hour.
Write a penguin's day as a diary, from the first dive to the last light.First line: Woke up. Still cold. Still excellent.
Write a penguin's list of jobs for one day.Angle: catch breakfast, find your family, keep your spot. Put them in the order they happen.
Write a poem about the end of a penguin's day.Angle: a full belly, wet feathers, the walk home. Keep each line as short as a waddle.
Write about a penguin chick's first swim.Problem: the water looks much bigger from the edge. Ends on: the first fish, almost caught.
Write about a penguin who wants to be first into the water, just once.Problem: nobody likes to go first. Ends on: one splash, and then a hundred more.
Write the conversation between two penguins waiting for their turn to dive.First line: "You go first." "No, you. I went first yesterday."
Write the morning announcements for a penguin colony.First line: Good morning. The sea is open. The wind is from the south. Mind the seal.
Write what a penguin sees underwater on a good fishing day.Angle: light from above, a silver cloud of fish, the dark shape to keep away from.
A penguin far from home 15
A penguin is found in a school swimming pool on a Monday morning. Write the story.Angle: tell it as the swim teacher. The penguin is faster than the whole class.
A penguin joins a flock of pigeons in a city park. Write how it goes.Problem: they fly off at every loud noise and the penguin cannot. Ends on: a pond.
A penguin turns up at an ice rink and thinks it has found the sea frozen flat. Write what happens.Problem: skaters everywhere. Ends on: the best belly slide the rink has seen.
Describe the moment a penguin far from home sees the sea again.Angle: smell first, then sound, then sight. End on the first step into the water.
Tell the story of a penguin trying to explain snow to animals that have never seen it.First line: "It is like rain," said the penguin, "but it has decided to stay."
Tell the story of a penguin who rides a fishing boat too far north and has to get home.Angle: three helpers, three rides. The last ride is her own two flippers.
Tell what happens when a penguin moves into the frozen food aisle of a grocery store.First line: The peas were fine. The fish sticks were an insult.
Tell what happens when a penguin walks into a town library to get out of the sun.First line: Nobody said anything, because nobody is supposed to talk in a library.
Write a story about a penguin who follows a line of children on a field trip.Angle: tell it as the child at the back, who is the only one to notice.
Write a story about a penguin who wakes up on a beach with palm trees.Problem: the sand is hot and the fish are the wrong shape. Ends on: a cool cave.
Write a story in which a penguin gets on the wrong ferry.Problem: every stop is warmer than the last. Ends on: the captain turns the boat around.
Write a travel guide for penguins visiting your town.Angle: the coldest place, the best place to swim, and one thing to keep away from.
Write about a penguin's first day in a big city.Angle: traffic, tall glass, a fountain. Which one feels most like home?
Write the letter a homesick penguin writes to its colony.Angle: three things it misses, one thing it likes here, and when it is coming back.
Write the postcard a penguin sends home from the desert.First line: Dear everyone, there is no ice here at all. I checked.
Real penguins 16
Answer in a paragraph: how many kinds of penguin are there, and where do they live?Fact: there are 18 kinds of penguin, and 5 of them live in Antarctica.
Compare the biggest kind of penguin with the smallest.Fact: the emperor penguin is the largest kind and the little penguin is the smallest.
Describe how a penguin swims.Fact: a penguin pushes itself along with its flippers and steers with its feet and tail.
Describe the two ways a penguin crosses the snow.Fact: penguins waddle upright or slide on their bellies, which is called tobogganing.
Explain how a penguin parent and its chick find each other in a crowded colony.Fact: parents and chicks use their hearing to find one another among the crowd.
Explain how an emperor penguin keeps its egg warm.Fact: the male holds the egg on his feet and keeps it warm by himself until it hatches.
Explain to a younger child how a penguin can be a bird and still not fly.Fact: penguins are birds that cannot fly; their wings have become flippers for swimming.
Explain what a penguin drinks at sea.Fact: penguins can drink salt water; a gland filters the extra salt out of their blood.
Explain why a penguin is black on the back and white on the front.Fact: seen from below, a white belly is hard to tell from the bright surface of the water.
Report on how a penguin stays warm and dry.Fact: a penguin's short feathers overlap into a waterproof coat over a layer of fat.
Report on the animals a penguin has to watch out for in the water.Fact: a penguin's main hunters are sea animals like leopard seals and killer whales.
Write a report on how deep and how long an emperor penguin can dive.Fact: the deepest dive on record was 565 meters, and the longest lasted 22 minutes.
Write a report on where penguins live.Fact: almost all penguins live in the southern half of the world; one kind lives at the equator.
Write about penguin chicks waiting for their parents to come back from the sea.Fact: emperor and king penguin chicks gather in large groups called crèches.
Write about why penguins huddle.Fact: emperor penguins huddle to keep warm and take turns in the warm middle and at the cold edge.
Write what a penguin eats and how it catches its food.Fact: penguins eat small fish and krill, caught one at a time as they swim.
An opinion to argue 15
Argue for or against: a penguin would make a good class pet.Angle: think about the cold, the fish and the noise. Answer one point from the other side.
Argue for the best penguin name you can think of.Angle: say why it suits a penguin and not a cat or a goldfish.
Argue that penguins are braver than they look.Angle: use the dive into cold water, the long walk and the winter on the ice as proof.
Argue that the penguin at the edge of the huddle has the most important job. Or argue that it does not.Angle: say what the edge does for the middle.
Give your opinion: is a penguin better at being a bird or at being a swimmer?Angle: pick one and use what its wings, feet and feathers are good for.
Give your opinion: is a penguin's black and white coat the best outfit in the animal world?Angle: compare it with two other animals' coats before you decide.
Give your opinion: what is the best thing about being a penguin, and what is the worst?Angle: one paragraph for each, and a last line that picks between them.
Give your opinion: which is the better way for a penguin to travel, the waddle or the belly slide?Angle: three reasons. One of them should be about fun.
Give your opinion: which penguin has the harder job, the one on the egg or the one out fishing?Angle: one stands still in the cold and one swims a long way. Choose.
Give your opinion: would you rather be a penguin on land or a penguin in the sea?Angle: think about speed, food, danger and company in each place.
Is it fair that penguins cannot fly? Argue as a penguin.First line: Fair? Have you seen me underwater?
Should zoos in hot places keep penguins? Write what you think and why.Angle: give one reason for and one against before you say which wins.
Which would you rather visit, a penguin colony or a coral reef? Persuade a friend to come with you.Angle: say what you would see, what you would hear and what you would need to pack.
Write a letter to convince a penguin to move to your town.First line: Dear Penguin, I will be honest with you about the summers.
Write a speech to persuade your town to adopt the penguin as its animal.First line: It dresses well, it shares the warm spots, and it never complains about snow.
How it works
A penguin writing prompt here puts the bird in the huddle, on a belly slide or lost in a town library. No penguin from a book or a film appears, so the character belongs to whoever is writing.
Read the full guide
Real penguins, with the fact to start from
Sixteen prompts ask for a report or an explanation, and the fact under each is the Australian Antarctic Program's or Wikipedia's: a huddle takes turns in the warm middle, the belly slide is called tobogganing, a penguin steers with its feet and tail.
An opinion to argue
Fifteen ask the writer to take a side and give reasons. Waddle or belly slide. The penguin on the egg or the one out fishing. Whether it is fair that penguins cannot fly, argued as a penguin.
An opinion needs a because. Write the reason first and the paragraph is half done.
Far from home works best when the penguin wants one small thing: shade, a fish, a way back.
Questions and answers
What is a good penguin writing prompt?
One with a problem the penguin's own body can solve. Write about a penguin chick's first swim. Tell the story of a penguin who has to find her family in the crowd, by ear.
Are these free penguin writing prompts?
Yes. Press Show all 61, then Print: all 61 go on paper, each with its line.
How do penguins keep their eggs warm?
An emperor penguin lays one egg, and the male holds it on his feet and keeps it warm by himself until it hatches. In the other kinds of penguin the two parents take turns.
Can penguins fly?
No. Penguins are birds that cannot fly. Their wings have become flippers, and under water they push themselves along with them.