By: Shawn Cox
Submitted: 2010-11-23 16:52:34 | Word Count: 581
A sure-fire way to produce a look of panic on a student's face is to tell him to get out his writing journal and write about whatever he wants. Sure, there are a random few that are willing to take on this task, but more often than not, the students will just freeze in place. But it's not just school children that have this problem. Many adults struggle as well: Whether you're planning a lesson or writing for oneself; many people often find that choosing a topic is the hardest part.
Independent Writing
Of course, there are times when it is appropriate to give students a topic to write on. The assignment or curriculum might call for an autobiography on a famous scientist or a response to a literature assignment. On the other hand, there are times when independent writing should be taking place. Independent writing is a good exercise for the brain. But what is the best way to get students to start?
Tell the student to keep a notebook or journal with a page or two dedicated to writing topics. Tell him to write down any topic ideas as they occur. He might find that he doesn’t use some of his topics (because hopefully, after awhile, he will have several to choose from). However, before he knows it, he will have a list waiting for him when he is ready to sit down and start writing.
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Free Writing
Ask students to complete five minutes of free writing. Many students find this method challenging at first, but after a few times, they really look forward to doing it. The tough part of this is that the student’s pencil cannot stop moving for the entire time. (It is advisable to start with five minutes, but be willing to adjust that time frame for younger students or for more advanced writing students).
Children find that the fun part is that they can write about anything they want. Instruct students to write about whatever is in your head at the time. Allow a lot of freedom in this area. Examples that may be produced are: lists of their friends or what they would like for lunch. They might copy words off of a poster on the wall. Do not place restrictions on this as long as the pencil keeps moving. Instruct students to keep this page in their writing journals for future reference.
Graphic Organizers for Writing
Ask the student to draw a tree. The trunk of the tree is the base. Advise your student to start with any topic that comes into her head. Ask her to then begin to draw branches on her tree by adding words related to that topic. She may find that one of her branches becomes her actual topic to write about.
Create a waterfall. This method is especially helpful when asking student to write historical fiction. The top of the waterfall is the "big" topic. For example's sake: The class is studying the Revolutionary War in history. The Revolutionary War will be the top of the waterfall. Many, many topics can rain down from the waterfall: George Washington, liberty, Delaware, the Boston Tea Party, Green Mountain Boys, etc.
By using methods such as independent and free writing techniques and employing the use of graphic organizers students and teachers will be armed with a list of ready-made topics whenever the time comes for independent writing. The more often these tricks are employed, the easier choosing a topic will become.
