Many students are hesitant to express themselves through writing. Often, this is due to a lack of interest in the writing prompt. Get your reluctant students excited about writing by using Star Wars to spark their interest and creativity.

Just about any Star Wars related topic will work, but in the lesson below students will take on the role of a background character and write about their experiences.

A Letter Home

For this lesson, you will place your students in a scene from the Star Wars universe and have them write about their experience. For better reference, we suggest showing your students a relevant clip from the films or either Star Wars: The Clone Wars or Star Wars: Rebels. We've included some film clips from YouTube to help get you started. How far you go with these prompts is entirely up to you.

The Writing Prompt

Write home to your family or a friend and explain to them what you recently experienced.

For each scene, students should consider any of the following:

• Choose a side. For example, are you a Rebel Alliance soldier, a stormtrooper, an Imperial Officer, or a space pirate?
• Provide some back story to the events seen in the clip.
• Where were you just before the events, etc.?
• What series of events dragged you into the events of the clip?
• What events took place that we did not see in the film clip?
• Were you in danger? How did you survive?
• What did you do immediately after the events in the clip?
• Did you have an encounter with anyone of significance? Han Solo, Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, etc.?
• Where are you now?
• What are you doing at this moment (besides writing a letter)?
• Where are you going next? Why?
• What do you expect to find or do when you get there?
• Is your current activity related to the events of the film clip? If so, how?

Suggested Film Clips

Stormtroopers Chase Han and Chewie on Disney Video


Look, sir -- Droids! on Disney Video




Pursued by the Empire on Disney Video


Attack on Echo Base on Disney Video

• Stanford Creative Writing Program
• Purdue - OWL Creative Writing
• Creative Writing - Lewis Center for the Arts

First posted on: March 29, 2014