Are you a homeschooling parent teaching your child to write? Maybe you’re a classroom teacher launching a writing workshop. Or maybe, like me, you want to supplement your child’s school education. No matter who you are, this lesson is for you — I’m sharing a prewriting strategy for kids: make an expert list!
Teaching writing can be daunting, can’t it? The idea of handing our kids a blank notebook and expecting them to accomplish something may feel like we’re taking a pretty big chance. How will they know what to write about? How will we know what to teach them? How will we even know what to say?
I think this is the reason some people set the blank notebook aside and pull out a series of sentence starters and other writing prompts. But while writing prompts can be useful, they should be only a small piece of writing instruction.
When I think of writing prompts, I think of being inside a box. You can only stretch so far. Here’s a great quote from Ruth Culham in 6+1 Traits of Writing: Primary Grades (p.48):
“Some teachers give students a topic and a sentence starter, such as “Pets” and “My favorite pet is a (an) ____ because _____,” with the hope that the writer’s ability to come up with and flesh out topics independently will grow over time.
It won’t.
Let’s be clear right from the start: if you want children to learn to write, you need to give them pencils and let them write.
When we don’t give students the opportunity to make their own writing decisions — to think for themselves — we limit their ability to become independent.”
Well, that all sounds great, but let’s get to real life here. Expecting kids to come up with their own topics day after day feels a bit much. What are we to do when we hear the familiar complaint:
“I can’t think of anything to write about!”
We teach them. We equip them with a strategy that allows them to be independent thinkers.
Simple Writing Lesson #1: Make an expert list.
A pre-writing strategy
(Note: I used this lesson with my six-year-old daughter who just finished kindergarten. The lesson can easily be adapted for students in any grade.)
When to use it:
When you want to help your student find her own topics for writing.
How to teach it:
1) Prepare your materials. Your child should have a pencil and her writing notebook. You’ll also need two copies of blank lined paper, or this printable:
(Get the printable here).
2) Talk about what good writers do when they need writing ideas.
“Sometimes, good writers aren’t sure what to write about. It helps them to make a list of topics. One thing that can help writers is to think of things they are expert at. Do you know what that means? Today I’m going to make an expert list. It will be a list of things, people, or places that I know a lot about. Hmmm….”
3) Model your thought process as you write your own expert list. Here’s what it sounded like as I wrote mine:
“Let me think about things that I know a lot about… I know a lot about blogging. I know a lot about each of my kids. I know about you and each of your brothers. I know a lot about Daddy.”
(Here she suggested: “You know about yourself.”)
“Yes, that’s a great idea! I’m definitely an expert on myself. Let’s see… I used to be a teacher. I know a lot about that. Lately I’ve been doing a lot of canning, so I guess I’m an expert at canning. And I know I do a lot of cleaning. I like to bake bread… and I’m also an expert on things I love, like chocolate! I do a lot of grocery shopping – that’s another thing. What about places? What places am I an expert at? Well, I grew up in Virginia, so I’ll write that.”
(My daughter said, “You exercise a lot.”)
“Sure, I’m an expert at exercising. What else do I know about? I know a lot about our house. I’ll write that.”
(“You bake stuff – like cookies and things.”)
“I’ll write baking stuff.”
4) Guide your student as she writes her own expert list. Here’s what it sounded like at our house:
“Now it’s your turn to write an expert list.”
“Well, I can’t do that, because I don’t know what to write.”
“Let’s think about things you’re an expert at – things you know a lot about.”
“I’m an expert at swimming.” (She just finished beginner swimming lessons. :)) “I like to work in the garden, so I know about gardening…. I don’t know what else.”
“On my list I wrote about people that I know very well. Can you think of people that you know a lot about?”
“Grandma and Grandpa… And I know about school!”
“What’s something that you really love to do? You’re an expert at things you love.”
“Reading! And I know about God.”
“Those are great ideas! They’ll give you lots to write about. Can you think of people that live right in this house?”
“Mom and Dad. M—-, me, I—-, J—-. “
“What about places you’ve been? Did we go anywhere this summer that you know a lot about?”
“We went to West Virginia.”
5) Wrap up the lesson.
While we could have worked together to write a much longer expert list, my daughter was squirming. I knew that continuing would only frustrate her – and that we can add more to this list any time in the future.
“You have got some great things on your expert list. We’re going to tape it to the back of your writing notebook so you can always see it for new ideas. And if you add new ideas on another page, we can just tape the top so that it flips up!”
This is the first of a 12-part series. Be sure to join This Reading Mama and me for the rest of our Simple Writing Lessons for Primary Grades!
Have you seen our ebook about teaching writing? What a practical resource!
© 2013 – 2020, Anna G. All rights reserved.
Caterina says
This is wonderful! Thanks so much! Excited for this series!
Thanks again,
Caterina
Anna Geiger says
Thanks, Caterina! We’re pretty excited too 🙂
JDaniel4's Mom says
This is a great idea! It would be wonderful to tape to the front of a writing folder.
Anna Geiger says
Yes, Dierdre – the front of the folder is also a great choice – maybe a better one : )
Ann @ My Nearest and Dearest says
Really love this, Anna! Great idea!
Anna Geiger says
Thank you, Ann!
Jenise says
Love this, Anna! Can’t wait to see the whole series!
Anna Geiger says
Thanks, Jenise! It’s way fun to pull out the teacher brain 🙂
Mom says
Anna, this sounds so simple and just enough for one lesson. May God give you many more simple lessons for the rest of the series….and if Miss E writes about this grandma, you better share it! Love, Mom
Anna Geiger says
Thanks, Mom – we’re having fun!
Lorie says
This is a great strategy for any age! Thanks so much for sharing it!
Anna Geiger says
Thanks so much for checking it out, Lorie! LOVE your post with a year of preschool books and activities! So useful!
Beth says
What great tips! I always look forward to seeing what you post! I pinned this & G+
Thanks for linking up to TGIF! Hope to see you linked up again later today =)
Have a GREAT weekend,
Beth
Anna Geiger says
Thanks so much for checking it out, Beth! I’ve linked 🙂
Carrie says
What a great idea!! You always have such wonderful tips. Thank you for sharing at Sharing Saturday!
Anna Geiger says
Thanks for stopping by, Carrie!
jeannine: waddlee-ah-chaa says
Yep, we are on the same page when it comes to writing prompts. Children need to know they have their own “stories” to write about. They just need a little time to think and talk before writing.
Good strategies to start writing with a beginning writer (even a “big” writer).
Anna Geiger says
Thank you, Jeannine! I’ve really appreciated reading through your writing series.
MissMom says
Excellent! Normally, I have to create my own writing lesson for my 7 year old. I am happy that this series frees me up from that this time because the writing philosophy is “on-point!”
Anna Geiger says
I’m so glad you’re finding things that are helpful for you! Thanks so much for checking it out.
Holly B. says
Thank you for including the conversation (coaching process) between you and your child. This will work great with my 3rd grader!
Anna Geiger says
So glad you’re planning to try this, Holly!
Milagros MORALES GARCÍA says
I’m a Primary english teacher from Peru I’d like to learn about how to teach writing my kids (from 6 and 7 years old. Thanks for shareing your experince with us
Anna Geiger says
If you read through this whole series you’ll find a lot of great ideas!
Crystal says
I will try this on my ten year old. Getting her to write is like trying to pull teeth. I don’t understand why she doesn’t like to write. Maybe this will help.
Anna Geiger says
Sorry for taking so long to reply to your comment, Crystal! I wanted to tell you that you might also be interested in this post, about how to help kids enjoy writing:
https://www.themeasuredmom.com/how-to-get-kids-to-love-writing/
Sheetal says
Excellent ideas !!! Truly brilliant !! Keep it up and many thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Anna Geiger says
Thank you for reading, Sheetal!
Dharma Ambarita says
This is a wonderful sources for teaching my kids. Thanks for sharing, Anna.
Anna Geiger says
You’re very welcome, Dharma!
Maria says
Hi Anna!
I´m a EFL teacher and it´s really hard for my primary students to write just a couple of sentences. I´ll follow your advice step by step even they are older than your daughter.
Thanks for sharing!
Anna Geiger says
You’re very welcome, Maria! I hope this idea works for your students!
Kristy says
THANK YOU! I sat down to write with my daughter and she was completely enthusiastic about writing her own “expert” list. I can’t wait to continue through your prompts!
Anna Geiger says
I’m so happy to hear that, Kristy! I’m publishing an ebook soon about teaching writing to kids. If you subscribe to my newsletter you’ll be sure to get updates about when it’s available. I think you’ll find it incredibly useful! You can sign up for the free newsletter here: https://themeasuredmom.activehosted.com/f/1
Angelia Potts says
I don’t think my 2nd grade student’s know much about writing. I don’t know where to start. I think I need to start with brain storming, (expert list) and the five stages of writing ( making your sloppy copy). Help!!!!
Anna Geiger says
You asked this on the perfect day, Angelia! For the past four months I’ve been working on a super helpful resource for teachers and homeschoolers. I just released it this morning. You can learn more about it here: https://themeasuredmom.leadpages.co/homeschoolers-writing-ebook/
It’s 25% off for just a few days!
Jo says
Thank you so much. This really helped my reluctant writer.
Anna Geiger says
I’m so glad to hear that, Jo!
Pamela coscia says
Hi,
Can you tell me how I go about ordering the series Simple Writing.
Thank you!!!
Pam
Anna Geiger says
Hi Pam! It’s not actually something to buy; it’s a series of blog posts that you can read. You can learn more and get the links here:
https://www.themeasuredmom.com/simple-writing-lessons-for-primary-grades-series/
Also on that page you’ll see my Writing Workshop ebook, which is a guide for teaching reading K-8.
Nanette says
I great pre-curser for this lesson (if you’re doing a classroom size) is a stop light activity. Get a 3 pieces of construction paper (different colors). Assign one – “I’m an Expert” one – “I can kind of do” and the third – “I need help”. You call out activities i.e. tying shoes, writing your name, swimming, walking a dog, etc and the kids line up in the line that goes with how they are with that activity. Make sure you have some activities that each child will get a chance to be the in the expert line and also in the need help line. After about 5 minutes, then get them to sit and write their expert lists. It helps get their brains thinking about all the things they can do and the movement part also helps.
Anna G says
I LOVE THIS, Nanette!! Thanks so much for this idea!
Anna Joslin says
Hi Anna.
I am a first grade teacher in Southern California. Your ideas and advice are right on the mark and reflect the “best practices” in writing instruction being implemented in schools around the country. Thank you for sharing them and igniting a love of writing.
Anna J.
Anna G says
Thank you so much, Anna! That means a lot!
Robin says
I am a Mom of a struggling 1st grade reader/writer. I can’t explain how important your guidance, freebies, and this blog has become to help my daughter work towards the 1st grade (and catch up on Kindergarten) milestones.
Thank you!
Anna G says
I’m so very glad to hear this, Robin! 🙂
Ann says
Hi Anna
This is Brilliant Anna. Thank you so much , can’t wait to start with my kids.