• 60 prompts
  • Checked October 2026

Scarecrow Writing Prompts

One straw figure, four kinds of writing: be one, wake one up, describe one, build one.

Scarecrow Writing Prompts

Show all 60
  1. A scarecrow comes alive and tries to help with the harvest. Write what goes wrong first.First line: The first basket went well. The second basket was mostly hat.
  2. If I were a scarecrow, here is the letter I would write to the scarecrow in the next field.First line: Dear neighbor, I can see your hat from here, and I have questions.
  3. A scarecrow comes alive on the first cold morning and decides to learn to whistle. Write the story.Problem: no lips, only a stitched line. Ends on: the wind helps.

Next step Deal an autumn storyPaint a scarecrow

All 60 prompts

If I were a scarecrow 15

  • If I were a scarecrow for one day and then myself again, here is what I would miss. Angle: name one thing about standing still that a busy person never gets.
  • If I were a scarecrow, here is the letter I would write to the scarecrow in the next field. First line: Dear neighbor, I can see your hat from here, and I have questions.
  • If I were a scarecrow, here is what I could not do, and how I would get around it. First line: You cannot scratch your nose when your arms are tied to a broomstick.
  • If I were a scarecrow, here is what I would see from sunrise to dark. Angle: go through one day in order. Who comes by first, and who comes last?
  • If I were a scarecrow, I would choose this name, and here is why. Angle: a name the farmer gave you, or one you took from something in the field.
  • If I were a scarecrow, I would count things all day. Write what you count. First line: Forty-one rows of corn, two tractors and one cat who thinks I can't see her.
  • If I were a scarecrow, I would keep a diary. Write the page for the windiest day. First line: Lost my hat twice before lunch. Got it back once.
  • If I were a scarecrow, I would stand in this field: finish the sentence and say why you chose it. First line: I picked the pumpkin patch, because nobody there is in a hurry.
  • If I were a scarecrow, I would tell the farmer three things. Angle: one thank-you, one complaint and one idea for next year.
  • If I were a scarecrow, I would want this for a face. Angle: describe the eyes, the nose and the mouth, and say what each is made from.
  • If I were a scarecrow, these are the clothes I would ask for. Angle: one thing warm, one thing bright, one thing with a pocket, and what goes in the pocket.
  • If I were a scarecrow, these would be my three rules for the field. First line: Rule one: nobody eats the corn before breakfast. Not even me.
  • If I were a scarecrow, this is how I would feel when the harvest was over. Angle: the field is empty and the job is done. Proud, bored, lonely or all three?
  • If I were a scarecrow, this is the sound I would wait for all day. Angle: a school bus, a screen door, a tractor starting. Say why that one.
  • If I were a scarecrow, this is what I would think about on a rainy day. Angle: wet straw, a dripping hat brim, and the one good thing about rain.

The scarecrow comes alive 15

  • A scarecrow comes alive and finds a lost lamb in the corn. Write how she gets it home. Problem: she must be back on her pole before the sun is up.
  • A scarecrow comes alive and tries to help with the harvest. Write what goes wrong first. First line: The first basket went well. The second basket was mostly hat.
  • A scarecrow comes alive at sunset and has until sunrise to do one thing. Write what she picks. Angle: she has had all year to choose. Make it small and exact.
  • A scarecrow comes alive on the first cold morning and decides to learn to whistle. Write the story. Problem: no lips, only a stitched line. Ends on: the wind helps.
  • A scarecrow comes to life just as the school bus stops at the farm gate. Write what the children see. First line: Nobody on the bus believed Mateo, until the scarecrow waved back.
  • Tell the story of a scarecrow who wakes up at the fall festival, in the middle of the scarecrow contest. Problem: the judges are coming down the row. Ends on: a ribbon for the most lifelike.
  • Tell the story of the night a scarecrow comes alive and tidies the whole farmyard. Problem: in the morning everything is in the wrong place, very neatly.
  • Tell what happens when a scarecrow comes alive and the only one who sees is the farm dog. Angle: tell it from the dog's side. Nobody listens to a dog.
  • Tell what happens when a scarecrow wakes up and finds she can talk, but only to the tractor. First line: "You're late," said the tractor, as if they had always talked.
  • Tell what happens when two scarecrows a mile apart come alive on the same night and set out to meet. Angle: each walks to the other's field. They pass in the dark.
  • Write a story in which a scarecrow climbs down at midnight to return a mitten a child dropped. Problem: she has never used a door. Ends on: the mitten on the step, and straw on the mat.
  • Write a story in which a scarecrow gets down to join a game of hide-and-seek. Problem: he is very good at standing still and very bad at hiding.
  • Write a story where a scarecrow comes alive and wants to taste pumpkin pie. Problem: he is stuffed with straw and has no stomach. Ends on: the smell is enough.
  • Write the story of a scarecrow who comes alive only when it rains. Angle: what does he do with one wet hour, and who has noticed?
  • Write the story of a scarecrow who steps off the pole to see what is on the other side of the fence. Angle: he has looked at that fence all summer. What is behind it surprises him.

Describe, compare, decide 15

  • Compare a friendly scarecrow and a grumpy one. What is different about how each is made? Angle: the tilt of the hat, the shape of the mouth, where the arms point.
  • Compare a scarecrow and a snowman. Write three ways they are alike and three ways they differ. Angle: who made them, what they are made of, and how long each one lasts.
  • Compare a scarecrow in October with the same scarecrow in March. Angle: what has the weather done to the hat, the stuffing and the painted face?
  • Compare a scarecrow to a person waiting for a bus. Angle: both stand still and look one way. Write what each is waiting for.
  • Compare the scarecrow you would make with one you have seen in a yard or a picture. Angle: say what you would keep, what you would change and why.
  • Describe a scarecrow at three times of day: sunrise, noon and dusk. Angle: the shadow changes most. Say where it falls each time.
  • Describe a scarecrow so well that a friend could draw it without seeing it. Angle: start at the hat and work down. Give one color and one texture for each part.
  • Describe a scarecrow using all five senses. Angle: the crackle of straw, the smell of an old coat, the scratch of burlap on your hand.
  • Describe a scarecrow using three similes. First line: His arms stuck out like a coat on a hanger.
  • Describe a scarecrow's hands. Angle: gloves, straw, sticks or nothing at all. Say what they look like they are about to do.
  • Describe the field as the scarecrow sees it, without using the word field. First line: Rows and rows, all the way to the trees, and every row is mine.
  • Give your opinion: is a scarecrow a decoration or a worker? First line: A scarecrow on a porch has an easy life. A scarecrow in the corn has a job.
  • Give your opinion: should a scarecrow look scary or friendly? Angle: pick a side, give three reasons, and answer one thing the other side would say.
  • Give your opinion: what is the best hat for a scarecrow? Angle: straw hat, wool cap or old bucket. Choose one and defend it against the wind.
  • Give your opinion: which season is hardest on a scarecrow? Angle: summer sun, fall wind, winter snow or spring rain. Say what each does to straw and cloth.

How to build and dress one 15

  • Explain how to choose the right spot for a scarecrow. Angle: where it can be seen, where the wind comes from, what it stands guard over.
  • Explain how to give a scarecrow a face. Angle: paint, buttons, marker or felt. Say what to do first so the eyes end up level.
  • Explain how to make a scarecrow look friendly and not frightening. Angle: three choices change the mood: the mouth, the colors, the tilt of the head.
  • Write a how-to for a class making one scarecrow together. Angle: give each step to a different person, so that everyone has a job.
  • Write a how-to for dressing a scarecrow. Angle: which goes on first, the shirt or the stuffing? Explain why the order matters.
  • Write a how-to for making a scarecrow from things already in your home. Angle: no shopping. Name what stands in for the straw, the pole and the hat.
  • Write a recipe card for a scarecrow, as if it were something to cook. First line: Take one old shirt. Add straw until plump. Season with a hat.
  • Write a set of rules for a scarecrow-building contest. Angle: what counts, what is not allowed, and how the winner is picked.
  • Write instructions for making a tiny scarecrow for a flowerpot. Angle: everything shrinks: craft sticks for the frame, a scrap of cloth for the shirt.
  • Write instructions for stuffing a scarecrow so that it does not sag. Angle: use the words first, next, then and last.
  • Write the care instructions that should come tied to a scarecrow's wrist. First line: Keep dry if you can. Re-stuff once a year. Wave when passing.
  • Write the list of materials for a scarecrow, with a reason beside each one. First line: Two sticks, because a scarecrow needs shoulders.
  • Write the steps for a scarecrow made of paper, to stand on a windowsill. Angle: say what to fold first and what to stick on last.
  • Write the steps for building a scarecrow, in order, for someone who has never seen one. Angle: begin with what to gather. Number the steps and start each with a verb.
  • Write the steps for fixing a scarecrow after a storm. First line: Step one: find the hat. It is usually in the hedge.

How it works

These scarecrow writing prompts keep to a figure every child can already picture, so the writing starts at the first sentence and not at working out what to write about. Nothing here is spooky.

Read the full guide

If I were a scarecrow

Fifteen prompts begin with those words and end differently: the field you would choose, the clothes you would ask for, the diary page for the windiest day. The writer stays on the pole, so the piece is a point of view and not an adventure.

Writing prompts for scarecrows that are not stories

Fifteen ask for a description, a comparison or an opinion. Describe the field as the scarecrow sees it, without using the word field. Compare a scarecrow in October with the same one in March. Decide whether it should look scary or friendly, and defend the choice.

  • In a comes-alive story, decide first what the scarecrow cannot do. Stiff knees and no pockets make the plot.
  • For a how-to, act the steps out with your hands before you write. The order shows up.

Questions and answers

What is a good scarecrow writing prompt?

One that tells the writer when the piece is done. Describe a scarecrow so well that a friend could draw it without seeing it. Write the steps for fixing a scarecrow after a storm.

Are these scarecrow writing prompts scary?

No. The scarecrows here return a dropped mitten, tidy the farmyard and lose their hats in the wind. One prompt asks how to make a scarecrow look friendly and not frightening.

How do you start an If I were a scarecrow story?

From the pole. Say what you can see, then what you cannot reach. A first line from the list: You cannot scratch your nose when your arms are tied to a broomstick.

Is there a how to build a scarecrow writing prompt?

Yes, fifteen: the steps in order for someone who has never seen one, a list of materials with a reason beside each one, instructions for stuffing a scarecrow so that it does not sag, the care label tied to its wrist.

More tools

Show 8 more

Browse Writing Prompts