Grade by Grade
D. Composition: Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts · Creating Complex Texts

Generating and Developing Ideas from Many Sources

D1.2 A3.1 A3.2About 45 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can use several strategies and resources to generate ideas on a variety of topics.
  • I can develop an idea with details that fit my purpose, using my own lived experience and what I learn in other subjects.
  • I can write about topics related to diversity, equity and inclusion with care and respect.

Words to know

generate
To come up with many ideas.
develop
To grow an idea by adding details, examples and explanations.
lived experience
Something you know from your own life.
resource
Something you can use to get ideas or information: a book, a website, a person, a map, a museum.
freewriting
Writing non-stop for a few minutes without worrying about mistakes, to see what ideas come out.
diversity
The many differences among people, such as languages, cultures, abilities, families and beliefs.
equity
Making sure each person gets what they need to have a fair chance.
inclusion
Making sure everyone is welcomed and can take part.

Remember from Grade 5

In Grade 5 you developed ideas with the right supporting details for your purpose: facts, examples, anecdotes, quotations and sensory details. You used strategies like interviewing, observing and asking the 5 Ws.

In Grade 6 you will use a wider range of strategies and resources, write on many kinds of topics (including topics from science, social studies and the arts), and go deeper: asking why and so what? until an idea becomes interesting.

Strategies for generating ideas

  • Freewriting: write for 5 minutes without stopping. Circle anything surprising.
  • Questioning: list 10 questions about a topic. The most interesting question can become your focus.
  • Mind map (web): put a topic in the centre and branch out.
  • Lived experience: list moments you remember strongly: a first time, a mistake, a proud moment.
  • Cross-subject connections: what are you learning in science, social studies, math or the arts that you want to explain or argue about?
  • Talk: interview someone who knows the topic from experience.
  • Read, watch and observe: notice details in books, videos, your neighbourhood and nature.

Strategies for developing an idea

Once you choose an idea, grow it by asking:

  • Why does this matter?
  • So what? What should my reader understand, feel or do?
  • What's an example? What's a detail only I know?
  • Who else sees this differently?
Thin ideaDeveloped idea
Winter is fun.Winter is the season when my whole family is outside together: building snow forts after the first big snowfall, and skating on the community rink while my little brother clings to a plastic chair.
Recycling is good.When I counted for one week, my family put out about the same amount of recycling as garbage. Sorting properly keeps those materials out of the landfill, so it's worth learning what goes in each bin.
Everyone should be included.When our class learned to play sitting volleyball, a sport played by Paralympic athletes, everyone could play together. Changing the rules of a game is one way to make sure no one sits on the sidelines.
Developing an idea means adding specific details, examples and the why. (The recycling count is a pretend example.)
"Winter isfun."Who?my whole family, outside togetherSpecific detailssnow forts after the first big snowfallOnly I knowmy little brother clings to a plastic chairA developedidea!
Developing a thin idea: add who, specific details and a detail only you know, and "Winter is fun" turns into a picture the reader can see.
Worked example

Let's develop an idea using three strategies

Assignment: write a personal essay about something that connects your family to its community.

  1. Freewrite (5 minutes): ...we always go to the farmers' market on Saturdays... my grandmother talks to the vendor in Tagalog... we buy too many apples...
  2. Circle the surprise: my grandmother talks to the vendor in Tagalog. That's a detail only this writer knows.
  3. Question it: Why does that matter? → It makes my grandmother feel at home. The market is a place where languages from many families mix.
  4. Interview: ask Grandma: What do you like about talking with her? She says: It reminds me of the market where I grew up.
  5. So what? → A community can make people feel at home when it welcomes the languages they bring.

The idea grew from we go to the market to a focused essay about belonging and language in a community, with details from lived experience and an interview. (This family is a pretend example.)

Family +communityfarmers’ marketon SaturdaysGrandma talks tothe vendor in Tagalogwe buy toomany apples"It reminds me ofthe market at home"thick border: a detail only I know
A web of the freewrite and interview ideas. The detail with the thick border became the focus, because only this writer could tell it.
Worked example

Let's find ideas in other subjects

You're asked to write an informational text on any topic from another subject.

  1. Science: How does a lever help us lift heavy things? Why do some materials let electricity flow through them?
  2. Social studies: How have different communities contributed to Canada? What does a member of Parliament do?
  3. Health: Why is sleep important for growing bodies?
  4. The arts: How do dancers tell a story without words?
  5. Pick the question you're most curious about and that you can find good sources for.

Writers find topics everywhere. A question from another subject often makes a strong informational text because you can research it and you already know some of the vocabulary.

Writer's warning

Freewriting rule: don't stop writing for 5 minutes. Side effect: you may discover you have very strong opinions about socks. (Circle that. It could be an essay!)

Writing about diversity, equity and inclusion

When you write about people and communities different from your own:

  • Learn from people's own voices, such as books, websites and interviews made by members of that community.
  • Be specific. Write about real people, places and practices, not about a whole group as if everyone were the same.
  • Ask permission before sharing someone else's story, and quote them accurately.
  • When writing about First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples, remember they are many distinct, living nations and communities today, each with its own languages and traditions.
Hands-on activity

Idea bank jar

You need: a jar or box, slips of paper and a pencil.

  1. This week, every time you notice something interesting (a question from school, a funny family moment, a news story, something in nature), write it on a slip and put it in the jar.
  2. Try to get at least 10 slips from different places: home, school subjects, books, conversations, your neighbourhood.
  3. At the end of the week, pull out three slips. For each, write: Why does this matter? So what?
  4. Choose the one that grew the most. Do a 5-minute freewrite about it.
  5. Ask a family member one interview question about it, and add their answer to your notes.
  6. Keep the jar going all year; it's your idea bank.

Your turn

1

Name four strategies for generating ideas.

2

What is freewriting?

3

Develop this thin idea with a specific detail: My dog is funny.

4

Give a topic from science that could become an informational text.

5

What question helps you find the deeper meaning of an idea?

6

Give one way to be respectful when writing about a community that is not your own.

7

What does equity mean?

More practice: warm-up

1

What does generate mean?

2

Name a resource that is a person.

3

Is a mind map a strategy for generating ideas? Yes or no?

4

What is lived experience?

5

What does inclusion mean?

More practice: on your own

1

Write three questions you could ask to develop the idea Our park needs a ramp.

2

Which detail develops the idea My street changes in fall better? A) It's nice. B) Red and orange maple leaves pile up along the curb, and our neighbour rakes them into a mountain for the kids.

3

Explain why an interview can make writing stronger.

4

Turn this general statement into a specific one: People from other countries bring their food.

5

Freewrite results: hockey... cold mornings... Dad drives... I missed the net again... coach said keep going. Which detail is most promising for a personal narrative, and why?

Challenge

1

Develop the idea Libraries are important into a focused main idea using Why? and So what?

2

A student plans to write All Inuit live in igloos. Explain what's wrong and how to fix the plan.

3

Choose one topic from another subject and show how you would develop it into an essay with a main idea and two supporting details.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which is a strategy for generating ideas?

2.

Which detail develops the idea Our class garden was a success?

3.

Which question best helps you find the deeper meaning of an idea?

4.

Which is the most respectful way to learn about a First Nation's traditions for your writing?

5.

Which is lived experience?

6.

Which is an example of inclusion?

For parents and teachers

Big idea (D1.2): Grade 6 students generate and develop ideas on a variety of topics, including topics related to diversity, equity and inclusion and topics from other subjects, using a range of strategies and resources, including their own lived experience. This connects to Strand A: applying literacy across subjects (A3.1) and identity, belonging and diverse perspectives (A3.2).

How to help at home:

  • Share family stories; they are rich material for writing.
  • When your child says I have nothing to write about, ask three questions about their week. Something will spark.
  • Encourage curiosity: What do you wonder about that?

Common difficulties:

  • Vague ideas ("it was fun"). Ask: What exactly happened? What did you see or hear?
  • Generalizations about groups of people. Gently point out the difference between one person's experience and a whole group.
  • Stopping at the first idea. Encourage generating many ideas, then choosing the best one.