On Hand: Whiteboard.

Mini-Lesson: At times your class will be buzzing with the energy of winning topics, and then there will be lulls when it seems as if all the familiar subjects have been beaten to death. In these instances (or when you're getting your writer's workshop up and running) modeling an idea map always reignites students, prompting fresh and lively narratives.

            Tell students that you came to school not knowing what you were going to write today. So, you've decided to create an idea map. Draw the rough outline of a map on the whiteboard.

            Now tell them that in order to create an idea map, you need to select a place you know well: your kitchen, the playground, your backyard, your daycare, or your grandmother's home-any of these will work as long as it's a place where you've spent lots of time.

            Choose a setting and begin to sketch the physical landmarks on the map. Place and X each and every time your drawing prompts the recollection of a story. For example, if I were drawing a map of my kitchen, I would say: "The cupboards go here. Oh! When my children were small, and I needed to accomplish something, I would open the cupboard doors and let them pull out all the pots and pans-X marks the spot. I have a story here." I keep filling in the map this way, recalling the day I was pureeing soup for guests and the cover came off the food processor, covering the walls with soup, or the time the taco shells caught fire in the oven and we had to call the fire department. Even my daughter's drawing on the front of the refrigerator suggests a story.

            When you have marked your map with four or five Xs, invite students to draw an idea map of their own.