Before a student can begin to write, he needs to figure out what topic he wants to write about. To assist a student in selecting a topic, you can help him identify experiences and ideas that are important to him. Engaging a student in a discussion (or providing time for him speak with peers) is a vital part of this intervention. Invest the time to chat: it'll serve your student well when he starts to write! As you employ these interventions, allow your student to keep a notebook full of ideas (some more developed than others) that he can return to when he needs inspiration to write. Don't fret if your student is not able to write full paragraphs of text. This stage is about idea generation, not writing production. This page includes intervention strategies that you can use to support your student's idea generation. As you read, consider which of these interventions best aligns with your student's strengths and needs in the whole-learner domains.
Explicit Instruction
If you are intervening to support your student's ability to select a topic, you should start by explicitly teaching the skill. This sounds like:
Activity A: Flashback
Have the student bring in artifacts (such as photo books, journals, prizes, etc.) to look through in order to inspire ideas. Then, have him brainstorm his top 3-5 memories based on these artifacts. Ask him to choose one to write about.
Note: One alternative to this activity is to have the student go out and take pictures of the people/objects/activities that he is most fond of. Then, have him bring the photos back into school (or show them on his camera/phone) and write in response to the ones that evoke the strongest emotions.
Flashback in Action
Teacher: Sam, can you tell me about the artifact you brought in today?
Student: This is a picture of my baby sister. She was turning 3, and we had a party at my house.
Teacher: That sounds like fun! Tell me more about the party.
Student: Well, my auntie bought balloons, and we also had silly string, the stuff that makes the whole room messy. We had good food, too.
Teacher: What kind of food?
Student: My gramps made collards, and my grammie made cookies. They were really mushy, and my baby sister got them all over her face.
Teacher: I can start to see a picture of this party in my head. I can also smell those yummy cookies baking in the oven. Is there anything else that made this day special?
Student: I got to stay up late! My auntie said that if I helped out, I could stay up. So I helped clean up the cups outside, and she was real proud!
Teacher: I'm excited to learn more about this party — but before you write, can you remind me of three things that made this party memorable? After you remind me, you can write them down.
Student: We had silly string, and it was messy. The food was so good, and I got to stay up late!
Teacher: Excellent! Go ahead and start writing these ideas down. First, we'll make a list, and we can add to it later.
Activity B: Make a List
Ask the student to tell you 3-5 things that he could teach you, or show you how to do. Then, write those things down (or have the student write them down). Then, ask the student to tell you 3-5 things that he is knowledgeable about. Write those things down. Have the student choose one topic out of the 6-10 things to start writing about.
Make a List in Action
Now watch Make a List being implemented with a struggling writer. As you watch, consider how the teacher uses guiding questions to get the student to brainstorm ideas.
Activity C: Let's Talk About It!
Engage the student in a conversation about something he did the previous evening, or over the weekend. Take 3-5 minutes to talk about his experience, getting him to tell you all of the details. Then, ask the student to come up with the first sentence related to the story he just told you. Once he verbally tells you the sentence, ask him to write it down. Continue this process, sentence by sentence, until the student can start generating full sentences on his own.
Let's Talk About It! in Action
Teacher: What is one exciting thing you did this weekend?
Student: Well, I helped my sister find her diamond earring. Well, it's not really a diamond, but it was shiny.
Teacher: I bet she appreciated that! How, exactly, did you find it?
Student: We looked under the couch, but it wasn't there. Then, I remembered that I saw a show where someone used a flashlight to find something shiny because it... What's it called when the light is on it?
Teacher: Reflecting?
Student: Yeah, the light was reflecting, and you could see it even though it was dark. So, that's how we found it.
Teacher: You used a flashlight?
Student: Actually, no...I used the light on my phone. I turned off the light, and then I looked under the couch, and I saw something reflecting. It was her earring! But I didn't give it back until she gave me a dollar.
Teacher: It certainly sounds like you earned that dollar! I think that's a great story to write about. How do you want to start your story?
Student: I found her earring.
Teacher: That's one way we could start it, but that sentence sounds more like the end of the story to me. What might be a nice that you could use to start the story?
Student: How about, "This weekend, I was a detective?"
Teacher: I like that! Go ahead and start writing.
Note how the teacher uses dialogue to get the student to give her details and an introductory sentence before allowing the student to write.
Activity D: Draw It!
Ask the student to describe his favorite trip, vacation, birthday, or any type of event. Once the student tells you a little about it, ask the student to draw the event, labeling the picture as he draws. Once the drawing is complete, ask the student to start turning the picture into a story.
Draw It! in Action
Now watch Draw It! being implemented with a struggling writer. As you watch, consider how the teacher guides the student to add labels to his drawing.
Note: This strategy can also be used for expository text. For example, if a student is doing a report on an animal/person/place, he can label it and describe it before writing about it.
Activity E: Give (or Choose) Prompts
If the student is unable to identify a topic that he would like to write about after going through the above activities, one option is to have the student respond (either in writing or by drawing a picture)to an open-ended creative-writing prompt. There are two ways to carry out this activity. The first is to give students a writing prompt concerning a topic with which they have a solid background. For example, if a student is close to his grandmother, the teacher might ask a student to respond to the prompt "Write a letter to your grandmother about your favorite day with her." The second option is to allow students to draw a picture in response to any creative writing prompt from a cup. For example, a student might draw in response to the prompt, "Imagine you had a magic power. What would it be?" Sometimes, this activity can be fun for the student because it includes an element of surprise. Keep in mind that the second option should be used sparingly: creative-writing prompts can be engaging and fun, but students will often have limited things to say if they are not writing from experience.
Click here for some creative-writing prompt ideas.
Give (or Choose) Prompts in Action
(Teacher hands student a cup with a few open-ended prompts in it.)
Teacher: Sam, choose a prompt to respond to.
Student: It says "Describe an outdoor game you played this summer."
Teacher: Okay, do you want to tell me about it, draw it, or write about it?
Student: I'll draw it.
Teacher: Great! Go for it.
ThinkWritten. (2016). 365 creative writing prompts. Retrieved from http://thinkwritten.com/365-creative-writing-prompts/
Think about the following scenario, which takes place after a teacher has explicitly taught a student strategies for selecting a topic:
Teacher: "What do you want to write about today?"
Student: "I don't know. Nothing."
In such a case, what might you do?
When you are planning your lessons, you should anticipate that your student will make errors throughout. Here are a series of prompts that you can use to respond to errors. Keep in mind that all students are different, and that students might respond better to some types of feedback than to others.
| Level of Support | Description of Scaffold | Script |
|---|---|---|
| Smallest Scaffold | Check your Resources. As you continue to use these interventions, your student should have lots of ideas in his notebook to choose from. Ask the student to refer back to the notebook. | "Look in your notebook -- can you pick a topic from there?" |
| Medium Scaffold | Back it Up. If a student is struggling, back up your process. Ask the student to draw the event, or return back to the dialogue before asking him to write again. | "I can see that you are stuck. What happened next? Do you want to tell me, or draw it?" |
| Highest Scaffold | Step by Step. If the student continues to struggle, walk him through each step, providing examples along the way. Take the time to engage in dialogue; this will help your student brainstorm ideas. | "Here is how I think of ideas to write about. First, I think about anything that happened over the weekend that was really interesting. One thing that was interesting to me was my fall walk. I got to see all of the beautiful leaves! What is one thing you did last weekend that was interesting?" |
If your student struggles to meet your objective, there are various techniques that you might employ in order to adjust the activity to your student's needs.
| Activity | Description of Strategy | Script |
|---|---|---|
| All Activities | You Think, I'll Write. If a student struggles to put any ideas on paper, engage him in a conversation and record his thoughts. Then, gradually ask the student to take over more of the writing. | "What do you want me to write as your first sentence?" "I looked for the earring." "Okay, what should I write next?" "I turned out the lights to find it." "Okay, now it's your turn. What sentence comes next?" "I used my phone as a flashlight." "Great, write it!" |