Topic: Brainstorming in Writing

Standards: ELACC2SL4: Tell a story or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking audibly in coherent sentences.

Essential Question: How does brainstorming prepare us to write?

Duration: about 1 hour

Materials: “How I Spent My Summer Vacation” by Mark Teague, chart paper titled “Things I Did This Summer”, marker

Overview or notes pertaining to lesson: Students will learn to brainstorm ideas before choosing a personal narrative topic to write about.

Mini Lesson: Students bring writer’s journal to the floor. Use “How I Spent My Summer Vacation” by Mark Teague, that we read in a previous lesson, and retell this book to remind students that authors write about memories they have. Writers write about many different people, experiences, places, etc. In order to keep track of all of those memories, writers make lists. This is called brainstorming. Model making a list of “Things I Did This Summer”. Think aloud and show students how to brainstorm.

Guided Practice: Allow students to turn and talk about 2 things they did over summer. Share some ideas. Students open writer’s notebooks to the mini-lesson part in the beginning of the notebook and jot 1 or 2 of the ideas they shared during turn and talk on their brainstorm list of summer memories. Monitor understanding of task and clarify if necessary.

Independent Practice: Then send students to their seats to complete their brainstorm list of things they did over summer. If there are early finishers, they may add a picture next to each idea. Confer with students as you walk around and ask struggling students questions to generate ideas.

Closing: Have students share a few of their memories from their list and review what brainstorming is.

 

 

image credit: Mystic Arts, LLC