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PSPKK12354 Comments

Make an expert list: A prewriting strategy

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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!

Simple-Writing-Lesson---make-an-expert-list---the-measured-mom

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:

Do your writers keep saying "I don't know what to write about" ? Try this prewriting strategy to give them loads of ideas for today and many days to come!

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….”

Do your writers keep saying "I don't know what to write about" ? Try this prewriting strategy to give them loads of ideas for today and many days to come!

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.”

Do your writers keep saying "I don't know what to write about" ? Try this prewriting strategy to give them loads of ideas for today and many days to come!

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.”

Do your writers keep saying "I don't know what to write about" ? Try this prewriting strategy to give them loads of ideas for today and many days to come!

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!”

Do your writers keep saying "I don't know what to write about" ? Try this prewriting strategy to give them loads of ideas for today and many days to come!

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!

simple writing lessons for primary grades - themeasuredmom & thisreadingmama

Get your free “I’m an expert” list!

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

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Reader Interactions

54 Comments

  1. Ann

    June 14, 2020 at 2:26 am

    Hi Anna
    This is Brilliant Anna. Thank you so much , can’t wait to start with my kids.

    Reply to this comment
  2. Robin

    January 17, 2020 at 5:45 am

    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!

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna G

      January 18, 2020 at 8:49 am

      I’m so very glad to hear this, Robin! 🙂

      Reply to this comment
  3. Anna Joslin

    February 20, 2019 at 4:54 pm

    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.

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna G

      February 21, 2019 at 5:44 am

      Thank you so much, Anna! That means a lot!

      Reply to this comment
  4. Nanette

    November 2, 2017 at 8:12 am

    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.

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna G

      November 3, 2017 at 12:54 pm

      I LOVE THIS, Nanette!! Thanks so much for this idea!

      Reply to this comment
  5. Pamela coscia

    July 27, 2017 at 9:58 am

    Hi,
    Can you tell me how I go about ordering the series Simple Writing.
    Thank you!!!
    Pam

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      July 27, 2017 at 11:19 am

      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.

      Reply to this comment
  6. Jo

    April 12, 2017 at 2:27 pm

    Thank you so much. This really helped my reluctant writer.

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      April 13, 2017 at 5:17 am

      I’m so glad to hear that, Jo!

      Reply to this comment
  7. Angelia Potts

    August 14, 2016 at 1:41 pm

    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!!!!

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      August 14, 2016 at 1:48 pm

      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!

      Reply to this comment
  8. Kristy

    August 2, 2016 at 10:48 am

    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!

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      August 6, 2016 at 11:47 am

      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

      Reply to this comment
  9. Maria

    July 8, 2016 at 12:45 pm

    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!

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      July 22, 2016 at 8:15 pm

      You’re very welcome, Maria! I hope this idea works for your students!

      Reply to this comment
  10. Dharma Ambarita

    March 2, 2016 at 7:11 pm

    This is a wonderful sources for teaching my kids. Thanks for sharing, Anna.

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      March 9, 2016 at 10:13 am

      You’re very welcome, Dharma!

      Reply to this comment
  11. Sheetal

    October 30, 2015 at 6:30 pm

    Excellent ideas !!! Truly brilliant !! Keep it up and many thanks for sharing your knowledge.

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      November 3, 2015 at 12:02 pm

      Thank you for reading, Sheetal!

      Reply to this comment
  12. Crystal

    September 22, 2015 at 1:23 pm

    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.

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      October 17, 2015 at 6:44 pm

      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/

      Reply to this comment
  13. Milagros MORALES GARCÍA

    August 3, 2015 at 4:04 pm

    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

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      August 12, 2015 at 9:16 pm

      If you read through this whole series you’ll find a lot of great ideas!

      Reply to this comment
  14. Holly B.

    January 17, 2015 at 8:36 am

    Thank you for including the conversation (coaching process) between you and your child. This will work great with my 3rd grader!

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      January 19, 2015 at 6:28 am

      So glad you’re planning to try this, Holly!

      Reply to this comment
  15. MissMom

    October 10, 2013 at 3:46 pm

    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!”

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      October 12, 2013 at 7:09 am

      I’m so glad you’re finding things that are helpful for you! Thanks so much for checking it out.

      Reply to this comment
  16. jeannine: waddlee-ah-chaa

    September 11, 2013 at 7:41 am

    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).

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      September 15, 2013 at 2:46 pm

      Thank you, Jeannine! I’ve really appreciated reading through your writing series.

      Reply to this comment
  17. Carrie

    August 16, 2013 at 6:41 pm

    What a great idea!! You always have such wonderful tips. Thank you for sharing at Sharing Saturday!

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      August 19, 2013 at 1:22 pm

      Thanks for stopping by, Carrie!

      Reply to this comment
  18. Beth

    August 16, 2013 at 5:07 am

    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

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      August 19, 2013 at 1:22 pm

      Thanks so much for checking it out, Beth! I’ve linked 🙂

      Reply to this comment
  19. Lorie

    August 14, 2013 at 10:02 pm

    This is a great strategy for any age! Thanks so much for sharing it!

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      August 19, 2013 at 1:22 pm

      Thanks so much for checking it out, Lorie! LOVE your post with a year of preschool books and activities! So useful!

      Reply to this comment
  20. Mom

    August 12, 2013 at 5:15 pm

    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

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      August 14, 2013 at 3:47 pm

      Thanks, Mom – we’re having fun!

      Reply to this comment
  21. Jenise

    August 7, 2013 at 8:22 pm

    Love this, Anna! Can’t wait to see the whole series!

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      August 7, 2013 at 8:34 pm

      Thanks, Jenise! It’s way fun to pull out the teacher brain 🙂

      Reply to this comment
  22. Ann @ My Nearest and Dearest

    August 7, 2013 at 5:41 pm

    Really love this, Anna! Great idea!

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      August 7, 2013 at 5:43 pm

      Thank you, Ann!

      Reply to this comment
  23. JDaniel4's Mom

    August 7, 2013 at 5:36 pm

    This is a great idea! It would be wonderful to tape to the front of a writing folder.

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      August 7, 2013 at 5:43 pm

      Yes, Dierdre – the front of the folder is also a great choice – maybe a better one : )

      Reply to this comment
  24. Caterina

    August 7, 2013 at 10:03 am

    This is wonderful! Thanks so much! Excited for this series!
    Thanks again,
    Caterina

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      August 7, 2013 at 4:19 pm

      Thanks, Caterina! We’re pretty excited too 🙂

      Reply to this comment

Trackbacks

  1. Tips for Writing with Kids at Home - The Educators' Spin On It (new) says:
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  2. Inside a Writer's Notebook and Guest Post says:
    October 26, 2014 at 9:41 pm

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  3. 14 Back to School Reading and Writing Resources says:
    August 25, 2014 at 5:28 am

    […] know what to write about!”, you’ll want to help kids compile an expert list. The Measured Mom shows you how to this in her […]

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  4. After School Link Up - This Reading Mama says:
    August 18, 2013 at 11:35 pm

    […] The Measured Mom as she shares and shows a practical tip for helping your child know what to write […]

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  5. Use a Graphic Organizer: A Simple Pre-Writing Strategy {Week 2} says:
    August 14, 2013 at 5:01 am

    […] Grades!  If you are new to This Reading Mama, please visit the introductory post.  Last week,  The Measured Mom showed how you can help your child make an expert list.  Today, I’d like to talk about using […]

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  6. Simple Writing Lessons for Primary Grades Series says:
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