How's Writing Workshop going? I had to take a break from workshop (horrors, I know), but I'm so happy to be getting back to it this week. We've had some schedule changes, and now I feel I have the "write" amount of time to jump back in (pun intended!).
I'm going to focus for a bit on gathering ideas for writing. Since one of the main focuses of Writer's Workshop is student choice, our students need to be able to come up with their own ideas for writing. Here are some great ways to help you teach students how to get ideas for their writing.
1. Picture cards
I have a little basket of picture cards in my classroom that are meant to stir up the imagination and get my students writing. These are usually pictures that make you go "huh?" or make you wonder or marvel at something. My students love these! And just because I love giving you some tools, I'm attaching a couple picture freebies here! (These were all taken by family members, and I have permission from them to share with you.)
2. Picture books
The picture books that you have on your shelf or in your library can give students a wealth of ideas for their own writing. One of my favorite ones to use is "All the Places I Love" by Patricia MacLachlan. I like using this book at the beginning of the year, and then having students write about a place that they love. "Bat Loves the Night" by Nicola Davies is perfect for writing about an animal in a nonfiction context. Any of Patricia Polacco's books are perfect for writing about family memories.
If you are using a picture book for helping your students gather ideas, I would make sure that you've read the book to them ahead of time. During your mini lesson, you would want to refer to the book, show some pictures, and do a "think aloud" about how the book can give you some other ideas for your own writing. For example, if using "Owl Moon" by Jane Yolen, you could talk about what it would be like to go hunting for other animals, such as mice in a barn, an alligator in a swamp, or a fish in a pond. Or, students could recall a special memory they shared with a close family member that brought awe and amazement.
3. Heart-mapping
I wrote about this one a few posts back. You can read about it here.
4. Expert Wall
Your students are all experts at something, whether it's knowing a lot about the Titanic, how to build an electrical circuit, how to cook, how to get past the hard level of their favorite video game, or how to make microwave popcorn. Create an "Expert Wall" where they can list what they are an expert about. This gives them confidence to write about something they know (usually in a nonfiction context, too). It also gives them the understanding that other classmates might know a lot about something they'd like to learn more about. This gives some great opportunities for interviewing an expert, asking questions, and broadening their own interests. As students grow in their knowledge of the world around them, they can add more "expert" topics to their portion of the Expert Wall.
5. Open Ended Writing Prompts
As a disclaimer, I'm not usually one to advocate for writing prompts, because they are usually given in a "whole class, everybody writes about" type of way. However, if used the right way, they can be a valuable tool.
Keep a list of prompts in a place where students can access it. You may want to have a chart in the room with prompts for the month, or a set of prompts on a ring hung on a bulletin board. If students are struggling with coming up with something to write about, they could read through the prompt options and choose one. The student still has choice, but the prompts are used to help with the ideas so they can get started writing something.
Here's a link to my writing prompt task cards that I use all the time. Here's another link for my digital writing prompts if your students have access to computers and Google drive.
There are tons of ways to help your students get ideas for writing. A lot of times, we come up with new ones as my students are just talking about what's going on in their lives. I can remember many times telling a student, "That would make a great story!"
I'd love to hear other creative ways that you help your students gather writing ideas!
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