1. Ideas or Seeds Essential Question: How do writers find their topics? Essential Question: How do writers find their topics?

2. Brainstorming Ideas for Selecting a Topic 1. Pick topics you know a lot about. 2.Pick topics that you have strong feelings or care deeply about. 3.Pick topics that your reader will find interesting too. Real writing has its roots in everyday experiences. Often the best idea lies within you.

3. Create an Authority List Do you see the small word “author” tucked inside of it? Having some authority on a subject suggests you could write about it. To be an authority means you know something about that subject. You don’t have to know everything about it. You could ask yourself a few questions: What am I good at? What are some things I know how to do? Do you see the small word “author” tucked inside of it? Having some authority on a subject suggests you could write about it. To be an authority means you know something about that subject. You don’t have to know everything about it. You could ask yourself a few questions: What am I good at? What are some things I know how to do?

4. Authority List being a middle child saying good-bye to a pet growing a butterfly garden collecting rocks hiking along trails

5. Heart Map The rule is simple. The more important a thing, person or idea is to the writer, the closer to the middle of the heart it is placed. The rule is simple. The more important a thing, person or idea is to the writer, the closer to the middle of the heart it is placed.

6. Here is an example:

7. What’s special in your life? Fill this heart with people, places and memories that are most important to you. http://www2.scholastic.com/content/collateral_resources/pdf/h/HPLesson1_Final.pdf

8. Writer’s Eye Start a collection of the people, places, games, hobbies, interests that you know well.

9. Create a poster of your writing ideas for your own Writer’s Notebook using the following websites: http://www.wordle.net/ http://www.tagxedo.com/app.html

10. Write about what makes you different. ~Sandra Cisneros