Writing Workshop Minilesson: A Treasure Trove of Writing Ideas

In ELAB, you have to write every day. You might write for fifteen minutes or thirty minutes. Writing is what it is all about in ELAB. Sometimes, writers get what is called "writer's block." Writer's block is when an author cannot think of any interesting topics. Even professional writers get writer's block.

Today, you are going to create a list of topics that you can write about when you think that you have no ideas of interest. We will call this our treasure trove of writing topics. You are going to write for fifteen minutes. Brainstorm and list as many ideas as you can in that fifteen minutes.

Here are some of my treasure trove of writing topics:

• Writing a blog
• Training Lab puppies
• Kayaking in the ocean
• Planning a vacation
• My father’s death
• Raising respectful children
• Creating lessons in Microsoft Word
• Photographing flowers
• Writing poetry
• Journaling every day
• Using Evernote in the classroom
• Writing lesson plans
• Organizing your classroom
• Writing an instructional unit
• Outlining an essay
• Military funerals
• Caring for an aging dog
• Places to visit in the mountains of North Carolina
• Places to visit in Ireland

These are some that I came up within about five minutes. Let's practice this on our own.

Student Task

1. Brainstorm and write a list of as many writing topics as you can in fifteen minutes.
2. You must write for the complete fifteen minutes.
3. Keep this list in the prewriting section of your binder. You can add ideas to this list throughout the year.
4. Refer to this list when you get writer's block or any time that you need a writing idea.
5. Be prepared to share.

My homework