August 30, 007
Self-Starter: In your notebook on one of your "Writing Territories" pages,
tape the following handout. Then start listing ideas of your own experiences that you could write about. Write just enough words for each experience so when you look back you'll remember what it was. (Using questions is a form of prewriting.)

What's Happened to Me That I Could Write About?
What experiences have made me feel really happy or very sad?
What experiences have been very alarming or really frightening?
What experiences have made me feel proud of myself?
What have been the most difficult tasks I have had to undertake?
What contests or games have I tried hard to win?
What experiences have made me feel ashamed of myself?
What experiences have made me realize that I truly care about someone?
What experiences have made me laugh a lot?

PREWRITING: Collecting Ideas
We are starting to collect ideas for our own "Writing Territories." Students receive another tape-in for the next page of their writing territories in their notebooks.
My writing territories are the range of things I do as a writer. They include genres I write in or would like to try, subjects I've written about or would like to, and real or potential audiences for my writing.

Decide on a story from your own life you'd like to write up, and in Writer's Workshop, get as far as you can creating a rough draft. We will be in the computer lab, if available (there may be technical difficulties), on September 4.