Picking a Seed IdeaProposing a Topic to Teach About
But which one do I pick?
• Which one do you know the MOST about?
• Which topic could you write a lot on?
• Which topic can I teach someone about it?
• Which topic would be interesting for my readers?
Ask yourself this:
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Proposed Topic:
Possible Teaching Points
Watch me!
I know a lot about this topic because__________
________________________________________
If you start feeling like this:
Pick a different seed story!
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Proposed Topic:
Possible Teaching Points
Watch me, AGAIN!
I know a lot about this topic because__________
________________________________________
If you start feeling like this:
You are on a great start to writing your best informational paper!
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Proposed Topic:
Possible Teaching Points
Anyone want To Try?
I know a lot about this topic because__________
________________________________________
Let’s pick a topic!
You are the TeacherRemember, today...
Teach Your Partner!
Who would like to share?
Is your topic strong or weak?
Digging into subtopics
• The topic is not TOO BIG
• The topic is not TOO SMALL
• The teaching points are teachable.
• You could write a lot about each teaching point
• Each teaching point is either a kinds of, parts of, how-to, day in the life, comparing/contrasting, or life cycle.
What makes a topic strong?
Let’s Look at Some STRONG Topics
What makes it strong?
What did they do well?
Let’s Look at Some WEAK Topics
What makes it weak?
What could they do better?
Giving a Helping Hand
Let’s help our friends take their “weak” topics and
turn them into STRONG topics.
Let’s PAIR UP!
Giving a Helping Hand
How-to give good advice:
* Are there different types to your topic?* Are there different kinds?*Are there different parts?*Can you explain a how-to?*Can you compare it with something else?*Is it part of a life cycle?*Can you write about a day being your topic?