Lesson Ideas – Writing

WRITING:  Narrowing the Topic

I’m not sure about you but I find that young writers  often choose very LARGE topics to write about – like “my trip to Disneyland” or “Animals” or “Hockey”.  These giant topics are challenging because there is just TOO MUCH to say and it becomes too challenging to try to organize it all.

Here is a great lesson idea I worked on with grade 1’s and 2’s at my school (Sexsmith) to help them “narrow their focus” in writing.  The anchor book I used was “The Best Part of Me” by Wendy Ewald.  After sharing the book, the students all chose their best body part.  We talked about what this body part looked like, what it did (actions) and how it was helpful to them.  They shared their thinking with a partner and then began to write. Inspired by the photographs in the book, I took black and white photos of the children to accompany their  writing.