Hello Teachers,

There’s something about music that sparks ideas—especially when it comes to creative writing.

For this task, students will write a 100-word story inspired by a song.

Think of it as musically inspired microfiction: listen, imagine, and turn the feelings, images, and characters inspired by the song into roughly 100 words.

Some students, of course, will be confused.

They’ll ask:

“How am I supposed to write a story from a song? That doesn’t make sense.”

Good.

That’s exactly the kind of creative confusion you want students to sit with for a while.

It’s a strange task, and that’s the point. There isn’t one obvious path from a song to a story. Students have to make connections and take creative risks to figure it out.

Give them some time. Feed them a few ideas and examples.

The stories will come.

Click on the worksheet for the link.

Now let’s talk about song choices for this task.

Every classroom responds to songs differently. So these are just some of the songs I've used.

Hans Zimmer: Time

The Ecstasy of Gold: Ennio Morricone Orchestra

Hotel California: The Eagles

Yellow: Coldplay

Hello: Adele

Africa: Toto

Zach Hemsey: The Way

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