Quick Quiz
Overview
Quizzes that decide things like your DJ name based on personal information are very popular with children and something they are familiar with from magazines and websites. This activity uses that idea to generate some story ideas. The fun and familiar format of this sort of quiz will really engage children in the creative writing process.
Intro
This activity uses things such as birthday month, first or surname initial, and favourite colour or animal, to create a variety of characters and ideas for a setting. Children can use these ideas to write descriptions and/or a short story.
You can use the quizzes provided below as they are, or adapt them however you like. Children can also try making up their own quiz to use on friends and family.
What you need
- Access to the quiz or quizzes you are going to use
- Paper to note results on
What to do
Step 1: Choose any or all of the quizzes below for children to complete.
Step 2: Children can then complete one or more of the follow on activity ideas.
Step 1: Complete quizzes
Children answer the quiz questions to generate ideas for characters and settings. All the quizzes can be found below the follow on activity ideas section. Make notes of results as you go.
Step 2: Follow on activities
Choose one or more of the following activity ideas to complete. You could complete all of them in separate sessions. If your child doesn’t have much confidence, start with just talking about possible story ideas or drawing a character. Build up over time to attempting writing a description or short story through this and other fun, non-threatening Wid Literacy activities.
Follow on activity ideas:
- Children draw their favourite results and write a short description of the characters.
- Children write or draw a scene involving the character(s).
- If you have multiple children and/or you join in, put together a family/group book of different heroes and villains involving pictures and short descriptions.
- Use the quiz results as a springboard for writing a piece of ‘flash fiction’ (a piece of fiction, generally around 100-1000 words in length, sometimes as short as 50 words).
- Write a longer, more complete story using the results of the quizzes.
- Adapt any of the quizzes to make new ones, or create one from scratch, Try them on friends and family.
The Quizzes
In this section you will find all the quizzes.
Section 1: A basic quiz for main character and setting
Generate ideas for main characters and setting. Children answer the three parts of the quiz and use their results to make up a simple story or another of the follow on activity ideas.
Section 2: Quizzes for more detailed characters
In the first quiz, generate ideas to build a more detailed villain character. and in the second a detailed hero. Children can complete one or both and use the results to describe and/or draw their character or use for one of the follow on activity ideas.
Section 1: Quiz for main characters and setting
Baddy
Your date of birth:
| 1st-5th | Clever and evil witch |
| 6th-10th | Eccentric and power-hungry scientist |
| 11th-15th | Giant who doesn’t think much and is very violent |
| 16th-20th | A wizard who hates everyone and everything and just wants to destroy things |
| 21st-25th | A robot who was made to serve a clever inventor but turned evil and got a mind of its own |
| 26th-31st | A fire-breathing dragon |
Goody
Your birthday month:
| Jan/Feb | A superhero with the power of invisibility |
| Mar/Apr | A brave and cunning mouse |
| May/Jun | A grandparent with a secret agent past and they still have all the gadgets |
| Jul/Aug | An ordinary-looking pet dog who secretly has great intelligence and martial art skills |
| Sept/Oct | A group of friends who get superpowers after their science teacher’s experiment goes wrong– these superpowers could be strength/flying/teleporting |
| Nov/Dec | A person who gets hit by lightening in a storm and transported to another world where they have to fight the baddy to get back home |
Setting
The initial of your first name:
| A-D | Jungle |
| E-H | Park |
| I-L | Woods |
| M-P | Beach |
| Q-U | Farm |
| V-Z | Fairground |
Section 2: Quizzes to create more detailed characters
Build a villain
The date of your birthday is their personality:
| 1st-5th | Blood-thirsty |
| 6th-10th | Evil |
| 11th-15th | Cruel |
| 16th-20th | Wicked |
| 21st-25th | Vicious |
| 26th-31st | Wild |
Your favourite colour is their secret weapon:
| Red | Wrestling |
| Blue | Flying |
| Green | Ice-blasting |
| Yellow | Flame-throwing |
| Orange | Ninja |
| Pink | Bone-crushing |
| Purple | Lightening-striking |
Your favourite animal is their evil villain job:
| Dog | Clown |
| Cat | Monster |
| Monkey | Inventor |
| Mouse | Teacher |
| Fish | Doctor |
| Elephant | Spaceship pilot |
| Bird | Troll |
Build a hero
Hero’s name/title (three parts)
Your first name initial is the first part of their name:
| A-C | The Brilliant |
| D-G | The Awesome |
| H-K | The Epic |
| L-O | The Amazing |
| P-S | The Great |
| T-V | The Fantastic |
| W-Z | The Magnificent |
Your surname initial is the second part of their name:
| A-D | Fiery |
| E-H | Crafty |
| I-L | Brave |
| M-P | Cool |
| Q-T | Wild |
| U-Z | Bonkers |
Your birthday month is the third part of their name:
| Jan/Feb | Rock star |
| Mar/Apr | Tiger-man |
| May/Jun | Lion-woman |
| Jul/Aug | Wonder-kid |
| Sept/Oct | Knight |
| Nov/Dec | Warrior |
Your middle initial is their crime-fighting gadget:
| A-F | Helicopter hat |
| G-L | Rocket boots |
| M-R | Super-fast car |
| S-Z | Invisibility suit |
| None | Sticky shoes to walk up walls |
Your favourite food is their side-kick:
| Chocolate | Super-smart talking parrot |
| Pizza | Ninja cat |
| Chips | Brave dog |
| Strawberries | Speedy cheetah |
| Ice cream | Acrobatic monkey |
| Crisps | Fire-breathing dragon |