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The Earth is a Cart Loaded With Dust, a photo by Melissa Reese Etheridge on Flickr.

It is important that students be given the opportunity to write each day. The new Common Core State Standards tell us that students need to be writing for extended periods of time. Corbett Harrison calls it "Sacred Writing Time" and begins each class period with quiet writing time. 

I actually begin my class with twenty-minutes of Silent Sustained Reading (SSR) and then move into twenty-minutes of Silent Sustained Writing (SSW). I like having the students read before they write so that they can use their reading as a "spark" or stimulus (as it's called in the Common Core). My students write in their English Language Arts (ELA) Journals for this time in order to keep their writing and notes organized. All published pieces are written on notebook paper to be handed into me to grade.

Seventh grade CCSS 7.3 states that the student will "write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective techniques, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences." Using this standard as my guide, I have created the following prompt as one of the daily writing assignments:

Think about a memorable experience you've had near the water~perhaps a lake, ocean, or river. What happened? Write a narrative about your experience.

This is a fantastic piece to begin the school year with as most students usually spend some time in or near the water during the summer. I always write my own response to each prompt so that the students can see that I "practice what I preach." 

You can make a text to text connection using the theme of water. Here is a poem I found that has water as its overall theme and subject.

Elements~Water

Water an elemental
Water a fundamental
Building block of life
Water of Life
Water of Death

Water in all religions
Water in all living things
Water in all countries
Water also used for barter

No life without water
No rife with water
No respect for water
Willful neglect of water

Water, for cooking
Water, for cleaning
Water, for drinking
Water, for living
Water, for dying

Water is the same 
In all languages
Water is the same
To all living beings.

by Anand Dixit

Make another text to text connection using a nonfiction article. I found this article about a world water shortage. Have students read the article then write an argument essay on the need to conserve water or some other issue related to water.

Your students may want to use this piece as one to publish. This lesson can also be adapted to use as an Earth Day assignment. The important thing is to get students to write.

Melissa