We have all experienced students that struggle to come up with something to write about during independent writing time. The ever popular moan “I can’t think of anything to write abooooouuuuttttt!!!” Teaching kids to overcome this hurdle and write about anything mundane can be difficult. But writing shouldn’t be difficult. It “should” be fun, and when kids turn to their writer’s notebook, it should be with a sense of peace, and joy, and excitement… even when they can’t think of anything to write about. The “Random List” is one way to accomplish this.
A Writer’s Notebook should be many things – we of course use them to write and journal. Many teachers use them to have students take notes or glue notes in. I’ve done that in the past with successful results. Overall though, the writer’s notebook should also be a place of inspiration, a place where students can turn to to get inspiration on what to write.
Cue. The Random List. I’ve done this with elementary students, with middle school students, and even with my high school Seniors. Each and every year, they absolutely love it. So what exactly is it?
What is a Random List:
Well. In short. It’s a list of 50 random things that your students will generate.
How you create it:
Each year, after the first few days of school, when we get a little past the get to know you’s and procedures, my students start the process of setting up their writer’s notebook. We decorate the covers. We set up sections for Day Writes (what I call our writer’s notebook entries), Notebook Responses (a section solely dedicated to responding to literature), and Notes (either hand written or pasted in).
I have my students save two pages in the front of their composition books. The first page is usually for a table of contents or for students to put their name – I usually leave it open to how they want to use the first page. On the second page, I have them fold the page in half (to give a nice straight line) and number 1 to 50.
As they are numbering, I explain that I am going to show them 50 different slides with a short question on each. It is their job to write down the first thing that comes to their mind. I give them about 5-10 seconds for each item.
This is where it gets fun. I used to fuss at my students for talking, but then I realized that they were willingly sharing what they were writing and getting to know the people who were sitting near them. So instead of trying to stop the talking, I fully embraced it and encouraged them to talk, but told them that I would be limiting the time that they had to respond. Once I started welcoming and encouraging the talking, I noticed that those who were blurting out for attention were actually less disruptive than before.
It’s also really fun (about every 10 items or so) to stop the class and have them all share out – especially the slides that ask for favorite candy, or last movie they watched, things that are low pressure easy ways to get them comfortable with talking and sharing in front of their new classmates.
So you go through all the slides – each student will have something that is unique to them. It’s important to encourage them to answer quickly, to use the first thing that comes to their mind, and to not worry about changing things.
How to use the Random List:
After you have made it all the way through the 50 slides, you may be thinking… now what?! My students have this totally random list in their notebook… how do I use tell them to use it?
- Well… remember that one kid who couldn’t think of anything to write about on free write day? Random List. Tell that student to pick something on their list and write about that. Yes. Even if it’s his/her favorite candy.
- Can’t come up with a writer’s notebook prompt for the day. Have them write about #___ and #___ on their random list.
- Want to really mix things up? Point to a kid and ask them to give you a number from 1-50. Guess what everyone has to write about. That number from their random list.
- Put up a spinner on the projector. Set a timer for 1 minute. Within that one minute, they have to use that number in their writing. When the timer goes off, spin again. Now they have to incorporate the next item. Repeat as many times as needed.
- Tell students that you are going to set a timer for one minute. Locate items on the random list that are universal (candy, songs, celebrities, etc.,). Point to a kid and ask them to announce what their item is for #___. Everyone has to start writing and must include that item in the minute. When the timer goes off, pencils are down. Point to another kid and ask what their item is for #__. Set the timer again, and now everyone has to include that item within the next minute. Repeat as many times as needed.
And the beautiful thing is that you can mix and match and randomize the choices as much as you want! You can tell them to write in a particular genre. For example, if #3 is a student’s favorite candy, you could have them write a fiction piece about that candy or a research article. If #17 is “A former teacher”, you could have them write what they remember about that former teacher or make a list of what their favorite characteristics about that teacher were.
You could also mix and match this with my “Write This Story” series and show students a picture from that slide show and have them combine it with something from their random list.
One warning! They will ask to use this ALL. THE. TIME. It really and truly is one sneaky little way to throw in some fun into writing… especially if they are willing to share what they have written. Sharing these silly stories certainly helps to build their confidence and rapport with their peers, which will only help for them to feel comfortable sharing more formal writing later in the year.
You can access the list on my Teachers Pay Teachers Store!