Brainstorming

Students need ideas on how and what to write.  Small group, or class, brainstorming sessions allow students to process information, to collaborate with others, and to make sense of new content.  The Teaching Channel hosts a video by Stacy Brewer that has brainstorming strategies to use in preparation for writing.  Students used sticky notes to make connections to text as they read.  They wrote predictions, questions, and aha moments.  The students discussed what notes they had made with a small group and decided what to bring to the whole group discussion (Brewer, n.d.).  Groups came together to discuss notes they had written and the reasons for collecting the information.

Click HERE to watch the video.

We use regular and digital sticky notes in the classroom.  When I ask students to read material, I have them make notes on stickies.  Notes may include summaries, hypotheses, questions, examples for the real world, or reflections.  Students often also work with partners to submit digital stickies on our LinoIt board via the LinoIt Website.

When students are allowed to brainstorm small bits of information and discuss with peers, the content becomes more understandable.  Students can build on understanding gained in the discussion before writing a larger piece.

LinoIt is also great for Entry and Exit Tickets!

References

Brewer, S. (n.d.). Analyzing texts: Brainstorm before Writing. Retrieved February 21, 2016, from https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/analyzing-text-brainstorming