Most teachers know that student choice is important in the classroom. But sometimes it can be oh-so-tempting to assign a whole-class writing topic based on whatever unit we are in. Then you can easily guide them to similar resources, you can speak more easily to structure, and you can grade more quickly when they’re all the same topic. But to be honest, by the time I get to essay #126 on the same topic… I’m done. Since we started this year with independent reading instead of a whole class novel, we are starting with an informational writing piece on a topic of choice as well.
How to Be Intentional
I knew that if I just said, “Okay everybody we’re going to write an informational essay, and you’re choosing the topic.” I wouldn’t have children cheering and ready to start writing right away, so I had to be careful with my approach. Since it was the beginning of the school year, some of their daily writing in their writer’s notebook was geared toward finding topics they cared enough to write about, but they just thought it was typical getting to know you activities…what’s your dream job, what issues do you care about that it seems like the news or media doesn’t, etc. We read Say Something by Peter H. Reynolds and talked about what issues we had something to say about. We watched “The Danger of Silence” by Clint Smith and talked about what topics we wished we spoke up about more often. All of this lead to choosing a topic.
Making the Choice
When it came time to actually make the choice, students were asked to reflect on what they had already written about and do three things to make sure the topic would work for the essay:
- Choose an issue that matters to you: We talked about how to filter topics through the lens of an “issue.” One student said, “But I just want to write about sharks.” Immediately students were talking about how to name the topic as how sharks are important in the ecosystem, why excessive fishing is bad for sharks, hunting for shark fin soup, and so on.
- Gather words around the topic: Students generated vocabulary that accompanied their topic. This was to help come up with subtopics and search words for finding sources.
- Find credible sources: Students were asked to find two credible sources that addressed their “issue.”
An Assortment of Topics
The list from my first period alone is enough to show that I would never be able to come up with a topic that was important enough to matter to all 126 of my students. Not a single topic was duplicated and each student chose an issue that matters to them, which in turn means the writing process is going to be smoother and they are going to be more motivated than if I had chosen something for them.
- The Assassination of MLK Jr.
- The Epstein Case
- Social Media Influencers
- Why People Should Care About Amazon Fires
- Why Dress Codes are Unfair
- LGBTQ Issues
- Why Lover by Taylor Swift Should Be More Respected
- Equal Pay in the Workplace
- The Importance of the Battle of Gettysburg
- Climate Change
- Giraffes are Going Extinct
- Italy vs. Ethiopia Before WWII
- Morality of Zoos
- Global Warming
- Lack of Diversity in Modern Movies
- Why It’s Important to Know World History
- Cancer Prevention
- Trash in the Oceans
- Similarities and Differences in the Reigns of Stalin and Hitler
- Formula One Racing
- Delayed Gratification
Love and Literacy 