We've started to talk about "brainstorming" in class. Up to this point I've basically told the kids what they have to write about. Now, I'm giving the students a little more freedom with their writing. I may give the students a topic like "THINGS WE EAT". I then ask the writers to brainstorm some different ideas that they could write about. I ask them to choose six ideas. Maybe they will choose pizza, cookies, hamburgers, chicken nuggets, ice cream and fruit. After they've brainstormed those ideas we need to narrow down our choices. I ask them to eliminate three choices. I tell them to get rid of things that they don't think they'll be able to write a good story about. So, maybe they will get rid of cookies, nuggets and ice cream. Now, we make one final decision. We need to eliminate two more choices. Let's say they eliminate fruit and hamburgers. That leaves our final choice! Pizza! That's what we're writing about today. So, you see they have a little more freedom to choose what they think they would be able to write the best story about. Now, they'll use the hand trick (see earlier posting in archives) to construct a proficient or advanced story. Piece of cake! This process will be helpful to them for the rest of their elementary writing "career". Consider brainstorming when you're asking your kids to write at home. They'll feel like they got to pick what they are writing about and they'll be much more motivated to do the work!
