Say, “Students, often it is a huge struggle to come up with ideas to write about! I’ve definitely struggled with this before as a writer. How many of you have too?”
Allow students to raise hands and share some strategies they have used that have helped them get out of this common writing rut.
Then, show students the chart below. During work time today, have students complete one or two activities from the chart. Explain that if students already know what to write then they don’t have to do an activity from the chart.
Make sure to conference with students during work time. Ask them what they are working on. If they are reading a mentor text, ask what kinds of ideas are they finding, urge them to make a list as they read. If they are researching, urge them to write down a list of topics/questions they plan to research.
