Students often get stuck trying to find a writing topic so as teachers when need to have many strategies in out own tool box to model and share with our students. My colleague, Taylor Dale and I have created a 'Your Turn Lesson' called 100 Things I Love. This lesson is designed to help students create a list of things that have meaning to them which they can then turn into writing topics. One hundred writing topics which can then be broken down into small moments gives writers a lot of ideas for writing.
Your Turn Lesson: 100 Things I Love
Created by Taylor Dale and Megan Laws
Hook: Read 100 Things That Make Me Happy by Amy Schwartz.
Purpose: Sometimes writers have a hard time coming up with things to write about. This happens to all writers. By making a list you will be able to write stories about things you love and have strong memories about. Today you are going to make a list of 100 things you love just like the book we read.
Brainstorm: Think aloud about the simple things in life that bring a smile to your face and that make your heart happy, that you love - people, food, items, stuffed animals, pets, sports, etc. They can be small things or big things. Mention that all the things you love have special stories. Ask the students to share some things that they love. These ideas can be shared with a partner so that every student can share then a few of them can be shared with the entire class.
Model:
Show students your own list of 100 things you love. You can either have it ready ahead of time or do it in front of the students. Then choose something you love from that list and write a small story on the board or overhead. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes or scratch out some writing and rewrite it this helps students see the writing process and what it looks like. Then have the students start writing their own.
Shared/Guided Writing: For this lesson have students participate in creating a notebook entry with 100 things the class loves. The teacher can start by thinking aloud and then writing an entry down. Students can then share with their partner things that they want to add. Come back together as a whole group and call on students to share things they love to add to the list. The probing questions below may help students who are stuck.
Probing questions:
Who do you love?
What food do you love?
Are there places that mean a lot to you?
What is the first thing you do when you get home?
Once you have a small list explain that each student is going to get to make there own ‘100 Things I Love’ page. Now that there are plenty of items on the list explain how you pick one thing to write about. It should be something that they have a strong memory about. Pick one thing and model how you use the list to find a writing topic. Make sure to mention that the list does not need to be finished in one day but it can be added to over time. Before students return to their workspace have them share one thing with a partner that they are going to put on their list.
Independent Writing: Allow students to have time to write their own list of things they love. They can put this in their writer’s notebook or you can have a sheet of paper with 100 lines numbered off, which they can glue into their notebooks after. Whichever is fine. They may struggle coming up with exactly 100 things but as long as they get a good amount and can write a short story about one thing that is fine. Some students will want to write more than 100 and some students will struggle coming up with more than 20. Push your students to come up with as many as they can but know your student’s abilities and push them to what you think they are capable of. After they have written an amount you think is acceptable ask them to choose one thing they really love and have a strong memory about. Once they have chosen something ask them to turn to their partner and share and then write a story about it like you did when you modeled. They can write this in their writer’s notebook. They can also come back to this list at any time and add to it.
Reflection: Once students have finished writing their list or the time allotted is up and they have shared with their partner or a small group have them think about how this list they created can help them think of things to write about. Questions such as the following can help guide their thinking:
How can a list of 100 things you love help you find a writing topic?
What will you write about next?
What are some stories you have about _________? (Choose a section from the list.
Did listening to others share their list give you ideas for your own?
Students also like to write bed to bed stories. Having a mini-lesson on small moments stories is a great way to break the habit of bed to bed stories. I have written my own small moments story in which I zoomed in on one specific moment in time. The entire story takes place in 2 minutes. Here is my own story which I could use to model a small moments story:
My feet slowly pad down the large wooden steps of a thrift story on an abnormally warm January day. My eyes look down to ensure I do not trip. They scan over the protruding nails of the old deck, the random pebbles and.... A WOOLLY WORM! Shocked, I bend down lightening fast and let out a squeal. I scoop up the furry, brown and black creature. Other shoppers come to my side to help me up as they think I have tripped. I stand up reaching out my hand to show them the miracle worm. Woolly worms are typically found in the fall and somehow this little guy managed to appear in early January!
