Grade by Grade
D. Composition: Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts · Writing with Purpose, Voice and Evidence

Developing Ideas: Finding Topics and Adding Details

D1.2 A1.2 A3.1 A3.2About 40 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can use different strategies to find ideas, including my own experiences.
  • I can find ideas about fairness and including everyone, and ideas from other subjects.
  • I can expand a small idea with strong details.

Words to know

lived experience
Something that really happened to you or that you know from your own life.
brainstorm
To list as many ideas as you can quickly, without judging them yet.
heart map
A drawing of a heart filled with the people, places, memories and things you care about.
detail
A small piece of information that makes an idea clearer: a fact, an example, a sense word, a number or a quote.
inclusion
Making sure everyone can take part and feels welcome.
equity
Giving each person what they need so they have a fair chance.

Remember from Grade 3

In Grade 3 you found ideas by brainstorming, making idea webs, talking, sketching and using your own life and other subjects. In Grade 4 you will use these strategies on bigger topics, including topics about fairness and including everyone, and you will learn to expand an idea with rich details.

Writers are idea collectors

Many writers carry a notebook. When something makes them laugh, wonder, worry or feel proud, they jot it down. You have years of lived experiences: the first time you skated, a family recipe, a time you felt left out, a time you helped someone. These make great writing because you are the expert.

Good writing also comes from questions (Why do some kids sit alone at recess?) and from other subjects (How do rocks wear away? What was life like in an early society?).

StrategyHow it worksExample
Heart mapDraw a heart and fill it with what matters to you.My cousin, our cabin, the day our dog came home
Memory listList firsts, bests, worsts and surprises.First time on the ice, scariest storm
Wonder questionsWrite questions that start with Why, How, What if.Why do maple leaves change colour?
Other subjectsPick something you're learning in science or social studies.Habitats, rocks and minerals, regions of Canada
Fairness lensAsk: Who is left out? What would make this fair?Can everyone get into the library easily?
Talk it outTell a partner your idea and let them ask questions.A friend asks, What happened next?
Strategies for finding ideas

Ideas about fairness and including everyone

Grade 4 writers write about diversity (all the ways people are different), equity (fairness: giving people what they need) and inclusion (making sure everyone can take part). These topics come from real life:

  • How could our playground work for people who use wheelchairs?
  • How can we welcome a new student who is learning English?
  • What traditions, foods and languages do the families in my class share?
  • Is the way we pick teams fair to everyone?

When you write about people, write with respect. Describe people the way they would want to be described, and ask permission before you write about someone's family or culture.

Recess for everyoneGames all can playPaths for wheelsQuiet spotBuddy bench
An idea web for the topic 'Recess for everyone', with four ideas branching out from the centre.
Worked example

Let's expand a small idea

Start with a plain idea: My grandma's kitchen is nice.

  1. Ask What do I see? A big pot of soup bubbling on the stove and photos of our family on the fridge.
  2. Ask What do I hear, smell or feel? The radio plays old songs, and the whole room smells like onions and fresh bread.
  3. Ask What happens there? Every Sunday she teaches me a word in her first language while we chop vegetables.
  4. Ask Why does it matter? In her kitchen, I feel like I belong to something bigger than me.
  5. Choose the best details and put them together.

Every Sunday, my grandma's kitchen smells like onions and fresh bread. A big pot of soup bubbles on the stove while the radio plays old songs. As we chop vegetables, she teaches me a word in her first language. In her kitchen, I feel like I belong to something bigger than me.

Worked example

Let's find ideas with a fairness lens

Topic from social studies or your own school: Our school library. Use the question Who might be left out?

  1. List who uses the library: students, teachers, families on visiting days.
  2. Ask who could have trouble: Someone who uses a wheelchair might not reach the top shelves. A student learning English might want books in their first language. A student who is blind or has low vision may need audiobooks or large-print books.
  3. Pick one idea to write about: Books in many languages.
  4. Add a writing purpose: persuade the library to add books in the languages our families speak.

A strong topic: Our library should have books in the languages our families speak. The fairness lens turned an ordinary topic into an important one.

Just for fun

A writer's notebook rule: if you don't jot an idea down right away, it will sneak off faster than a cat that just heard the vacuum.

Small topics make big writing

Winter is too big. The morning our street was buried in snow is just right. Zoom in to one moment, one place or one question, then add details. A small topic lets you go deep.

WinterToo big! Where would you even start?Snow daysSmaller, but still lots of different daysThe morning our street was buried in snowJust right: one moment, one placezoomin
Zoom in like a camera. Winter is too big; one morning on one street is small enough to fill with rich details.
Hands-on activity

Make a heart map

You need: a large piece of paper, a pencil, and markers or pencil crayons.

  1. Draw a big heart that fills the page.
  2. Inside, draw or write the people, places, pets, memories, foods, languages, hobbies and worries that matter to you. Make the most important things bigger or put them in the middle.
  3. Add at least one question you wonder about and one thing that you think is unfair that you'd like to change.
  4. Choose one part of your map. Write 5 details about it using your senses and the question Why does it matter?
  5. Share your map with a grown-up and ask them to add one memory they have of you.
  6. Keep your heart map in your writing folder for future ideas.

Your turn

1

Name two strategies for finding writing ideas.

2

What is a lived experience?

3

Make this topic smaller: Animals.

4

Write a wonder question about snow.

5

Use the fairness lens: Our class field trip to the farm. Who might need something to take part?

6

Add a sense detail: We had a campfire.

7

What does inclusion mean?

More practice: warm-up

1

What goes inside a heart map?

2

What does brainstorm mean?

3

Name one subject you could get a writing idea from.

4

Which is a smaller, better topic: Sports or My first goal in ringette?

5

Name the five senses you can use for details.

More practice: on your own

1

Expand this idea with two details: The hockey game was exciting.

2

Turn this science topic into a wonder question: Light and sound.

3

Write one idea for a text about welcoming a new student who is learning English.

4

Why are lived experiences good writing topics?

5

Your friend says I have nothing to write about. Give them two strategies to try.

Challenge

1

Use the question Why does it matter? to expand: I helped my neighbour shovel snow.

2

Choose a topic about diversity, equity or inclusion at your school or in your community and write a one-sentence plan with a purpose.

3

Explain how talking to a partner can help you develop ideas.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which is a lived experience you could write about?

2.

Which topic is zoomed in enough to write about well?

3.

Which question uses a fairness lens?

4.

Which sentence has the strongest details?

5.

What is a heart map for?

6.

What does equity mean?

For parents and teachers

Big idea (D1.2): Grade 4 writers generate and develop ideas and details on many topics, including topics about diversity, equity and inclusion and topics from other subjects, using a variety of strategies and their own lived experiences. This lesson connects to student voice and agency (A1.2), using language across subjects (A3.1) and identity and belonging (A3.2).

How to help at home:

  • Share family stories at dinner. These are a rich source of writing ideas.
  • Keep a small "idea notebook" on the fridge for wonder questions.
  • When your child says "It was good," ask What did you see? hear? feel? Why did it matter?
  • Talk about fairness in everyday situations (taking turns, who can get into a building easily) without lecturing. Let your child notice.

Common difficulties:

  • Topics that are too big ("hockey"). Help your child zoom in on one game or one moment.
  • Lists of details with no feeling. Add the question Why does it matter?
  • Writing about other people without care. Remind your child to describe people respectfully and ask before sharing family stories.