For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been describing strategies from the anthology Nonfiction
Writers Dig Deep: 50 Award-winning Authors Share the Secret of Engaging Writing that
students can use to choose topics they’re excited about for nonfiction writing
projects. You can scroll down to read these posts.

But to create a list of possible topics—an Idea Incubator—students need to
know how to recognize their personal interests. For some children, this is easy
as pie, but for others it can be a struggle.

If
your students need support developing a spirit of inquiry, I recommend using (or
adapting) some of the activities that enrichment specialist Jeanne Muzi suggests in her
January 2017 ASCD Education Update article “Five Ways to Strengthen
Student Questioning.”

And it all else fails, you could try introducing an Idea Jar to
your classroom. Students who are endlessly curious about the world and how it
works will
generate more ideas than they could ever write about. They can help struggling
classmates by focusing on the one idea that speaks to them most and adding
their other ideas to the classroom Idea Jar.

You can add ideas too. It’s a way to
anonymously provide guidance rather than dictate a topic. And because you
aren’t usurping your students’ power to choose, they’ll be able to take
ownership of the project and the process.