Say, “Students when you aren’t sure what to write about the best thing you can do is make lists! Watch me as I make lots of lists in my journal.”
Proceed to write headings for topics you know a lot about or are passionate about in your own writer’s notebook.
Model switching between topics when you get stuck. It is important to show students how to move from topic to topic without stopping. Getting a student to generate lots of ideas to write about is key. Every time a student attempts to write about a topic and gets stuck teachers can tell students to refer back to their list, pick a new idea and begin writing again!