Since the 2019-2020 school year marks the 10th
Anniversary of this blog, on Fridays, I’m resurrecting and updating old posts
that sparked a lot of conversation or that still have a lot to offer people
teaching or writing nonfiction. Today’s essay originally appeared on October
27, 2017.
Not long ago, during
a school visit in Rhode Island, fourth graders said something that shocked me.
According to them, choosing a topic is the hardest part of the nonfiction
writing process. Seriously. They found it completely overwhelming.
I’ve heard
students and teachers talk about this struggle before, but never so adamantly and
with such resignation. And frankly, I was baffled.
For me, ideas
are everywhere. They come from books and articles I read, conversations with
other people, places I visit, and experiences I have. Why, I wondered, wasn’t
the same thing true for young writers?
It took a
while, but I finally figured out the answer. Kids weren’t paying attention—at
least not the way I do. I’m always on the hunt for ideas, and when I get one, I
write it down. Then I tack the piece of paper on the Idea Board in my office. Some
of those ideas lead nowhere, but others turn into books.
Young writers
can mimic this process by having an Idea Board in their classroom. Alternately,
they could write ideas on the last page of their writer’s notebook.
If a teacher assigns
students an umbrella topic, such as the Revolutionary War, students can use the
ideas they’ve recorded to brainstorm narrowly-focused topics, such as what
soldiers ate during the Revolutionary War, what kind of clothes soldiers
wore during the Revolutionary War, or medical practices during the
Revolutionary War.
There could
also be a classroom idea jar for struggling
students, or children could participate in ABC brainstorming to home in on a
specific topic.
Do you have other
ideas that could help young writers select a topic for a report?
2 Responses
Put up a big sheet butcher paper or bulletin board paper in the classroom, hallway, or library w/the words "I wonder…" Have students wrote on paper or use post-it notes.
Use newspapers or news magazines and have students cut out, highlight, or mark topics of interest to them. And I love Kathy Halsey's idea using the word "wonder." Sparking curiosity is the key!