• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Course
    • Teaching Every Reader
  • Subscriber Freebies
  • About
  • Contact
  • Shop
  • Member Login

The Measured Mom

Education resources for parents and teachers

  • Alphabet
  • Reading
    • Structured literacy
    • Printable Books
    • Pre-Reading
    • Phonics
    • Sight Words
    • Comprehension
    • Fluency
    • Vocabulary
  • Writing
    • Grammar
    • Handwriting
    • Spelling
    • Writing in Pre-K
    • Writing in K-3
  • Math
    • Counting
    • Number Recognition
    • Addition & Subtraction
    • Colors, Shapes & Patterns
    • Visual Discrimination
    • Time, Money & Measurement
    • Place Value
    • Graphs
    • Multiplication & Division
    • Fractions
    • Problem Solving
  • Book Lists
    • Letter of the Week
    • Early Childhood Themes
    • Pre-Reading Skills
    • Math Concepts
    • Writing Mentor Texts
    • Versions of Familiar Tales
    • Holidays and Seasonal
    • History
    • Leveled Book Lists
  • Join Membership
Home
  • Shop
  • Blog
    • Alphabet
    • Reading
    • Writing
    • Math
    • Book Lists
  • Podcast
  • Courses
    • Teaching Every Reader
    • Teaching Every Writer
  • Subscriber Freebies
  • About
  • Membership
  • Contact

PSPKK12312 Comments

10 Ways to help kids find their own writing topics

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Sharing is caring!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Kids can find their own writing topics! Here’s how.

Teaching writing is tough when your kids can't find writing topics. Try these ten tips to help kids find their own ideas - no writing prompts needed!

Here are some ways to help kids find their own writing topics. As always, model first before you ask your students to try a new strategy. Then practice the new strategy together before you ask them to do it on their own!

  • Have each student create an expert list. Show them how to make a list of things that they know a lot about and could write something about. They could write about family members, places they’ve been, interests, etc.
  • Instead of brainstorming major topics, ask your students to brainstorm about times that they felt certain emotions – happy, excited, surprised, etc.
  • Teach your students how to use a writer’s notebook as a place to record writing ideas even when they are not at school.
  • Draw a large heart on a piece of paper and make a heart map. Invite them to divide it into sections, writing about things that are important to them on each piece of the heart.
  • Students sometimes think that once they’ve written about a topic, it’s “used up.”  Show them how to write about an old topic in a new way. A story could become a poem, an information book, etc.
  • Teach your students to look through old pieces of writing to get inspiration for new writing ideas.
  • Invite your students to write a list of the “ten best things” that have ever happened to them (or “ten really good things”). Next, have them star the items they could write more about.
  • Start with storytelling. Tell true stories from your own life (preferably when you were the same age as your students). Put your students in partners or small groups to tell their own stories. Show them how these oral stories can become written ones.
  • Make a class chart of “things we can write about” and add to it regularly. Refer students to the chart when they are stuck.
  • Teach students a variety of ways to use a writer’s notebook: writing memories, observations, descriptions, opinions, questions, and more.

 

Grab a free pack of printables that will help your students find their own writing ideas.

Teaching writing is tough when your kids can't find writing topics. Try these ten tips to help kids find their own ideas - no writing prompts needed!

 

Get your free writing idea printables!

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD

Free Spelling Games

Get this fun variety of sample spelling games from the membership site! The download includes resources for spelling CVCE words, long vowel teams, and multi-syllable words.

Sharing is caring!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Writing in K-3, Writing Tagged With: first grade, second grade, third grade, kindergarten

You May Also Enjoy These Posts:

Teaching tips for children in different stages of writing development Grab the reader with an interesting beginning! (a simple writing lesson) How to inspire kids to write at home
One-player multiplication bingo games
Letter R Activities for 2-year-olds

Reader Interactions

12 Comments

  1. Mediana

    January 18, 2022 at 7:10 am

    Thank you! Your content really inspire me. I’m from Indonesia and run a non profit organization. I share some of your content to our urban poor moms to inspire them teach their children. Keep writing 🙂

    Reply to this comment
    • Heather Groth, Customer Support

      January 18, 2022 at 7:35 pm

      That is fantastic, Mediana! Thank you for your work!

      Reply to this comment
  2. mirriam

    November 15, 2018 at 3:52 am

    i have actually learnt alot through these teachings. i really appreciate each one of them and apply them.

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna G

      November 15, 2018 at 7:23 am

      I’m glad this helped you, Mirriam!

      Reply to this comment
  3. Lori Zorn

    November 14, 2018 at 8:17 am

    Hi! Thank you so much for your great ideas! I’d like to email this post, is there a way to do this? I can see the sharing option (Facebook, google, pinterest), but not finding the email option.
    Thank you so much,
    Lori

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna G

      November 15, 2018 at 8:01 pm

      No, there isn’t really a way to do this. You would just have to copy the link at the top and email that. Or cut and paste the content into an email.

      Reply to this comment
  4. Gia F Lee

    July 28, 2018 at 6:07 am

    I am just starting in K….
    Your site has really been a great help to rethink strategies and understand processes. I was just reading about the differences between writing center and topic writing.
    I was surprised to see that the teachers in my school did not understand prompts vs no prompt writing, and how to get students to write on their own without telling them what to write.
    (I’m 46, a mom of 4. a past VP in banking, a grad student with a dream come true position…and your site is the BOMB!)
    Thank you for what you share and teach through sharing.

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna G

      July 28, 2018 at 6:18 pm

      Thank you so much for your kind words, Gia, and I’m so glad to hear that you’re interested in moving your students beyond writing prompts!

      Reply to this comment
  5. Amaka

    February 10, 2018 at 6:06 am

    Thank you for this.

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna G

      February 10, 2018 at 7:39 am

      You’re very welcome, Amaka!

      Reply to this comment

Trackbacks

  1. Graphing activities for kindergarten - The Measured Mom says:
    September 19, 2020 at 8:56 am

    […]      […]

    Reply to this comment
  2. Character analysis worksheet - The Measured Mom says:
    September 19, 2020 at 12:01 am

    […]      […]

    Reply to this comment

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Grade Level Key

  • PS Preschool (ages 2-3 years)
  • PK Pre-K (ages 4-5 years)
  • K Kindergarten
  • 1 1st grade
  • 2 2nd grade
  • 3 3rd grade

Hello, I’m Anna!

Welcome to The Measured Mom. I’m so glad you’re here!

Meet Our Team

Free Spelling Games

Get this fun variety of sample spelling games from the membership site! The download includes resources for spelling CVCE words, long vowel teams, and multi-syllable words.

Shop our store!

Writing Workshop Guide K-8

$26.00

330 Handwriting Worksheets

$10.00

Phonics Books & Games – Complete Set

$49.00

Shop all resources

Members get more!

The Measured Mom Plus is the perfect online membership for Pre-K to third grade educators.

Learn More

Love Freebies?

Subscribing to our email newsletter is completely free. And when you do, you'll get access to our library of subscriber freebies! Sign up below to get access to a wonderful variety of math and literacy resources.

Join our online course and get the tools you need to teach every learner in K-2!

Confidently teach every reader in your classroom. Still have time to live your life.

Learn More

Listen and subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and Stitcher

Check out these recent podcast episodes:

  • What does the research say about alphabet instruction? with Dr. Shayne Piasta
  • What is set for variability? A conversation with Dr. Marnie Ginsberg
  • How to help students improve language comprehension – a conversation with Dr. Karen Dudek-Brannan
More Episodes

Check out these FREE email courses...

Get strategies and tools to teach a particular topic with a free 5-day email series! Just click an image to sign up. We recommend signing up for just one at a time.

For Pre-K Educators

How to teach phonological & phonemic awareness

How to teach phonological & phonemic awareness

Learn how to develop this important pre-reading skill with a free 5-day email series!

How to teach preschool math

How to teach preschool math

Learn exactly what to teach your preschoolers in this free 5-day series!

For Kinder & 1st Grade Educators

How to teach kids to sound out words

How to teach kids to sound out words

Learn my top strategies for teaching kids to "sound it out"

How to teach sight words

How to teach sight words

Get strategies and tools for teaching sight words to young learners!

Tips for teaching phonics

Tips for teaching phonics

Sign up for our free 5-day email series to learn what phonics skills to teach and how to structure your phonics lessons!

For 2nd & 3rd Grade Educators

How to build reading fluency

How to build reading fluency

Learn smart strategies for helping your learners become fluent readers with this free 5-day series!

How to build reading comprehension

How to build reading comprehension

Discover the essential reading comprehension strategies for 2nd & 3rd grade and how to teach them!

“Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” –Matthew 6:33

Copyright © 2023 The Measured Mom •  All rights reserved  •  Privacy & Disclosure Statement  •  Site Design by Emily White Designs