Supporting ALL Students in the Brainstorming Process

The writing process is a necessary skill that all students should be able to master; however, many of our students struggle with getting their ideas to paper. In order to help all of our students, perhaps we need to rethink the way we have our students organize their thoughts.

Here are a few creative ways to help your students succeed and master the art of brainstorming:

Low-Tech Idea: Post It Notes
Have students brainstorm ideas about their particular topic on post-it notes of any size. Then have them arrange and organize their thoughts by moving and sticking them in different locations on their desk or paper. This is a great way to get your hands-on learners moving and thinking at the same time.

High-Tech Idea: Story Me App
Visual learners live by the quote, “a picture speaks a thousand words.” There is much truth to this. This type of learner often can think through visuals and not necessarily words on a paper. Perhaps you could use the
free App called Story-Me to create a story board or comic strip to help aid in the brainstorming process.

This type of learner often needs to actually see the “big picture” when completing complicated tasks. Story-Me gives students the ability to quickly piece collaged images from their camera roll with speech bubbles and captions. Best of all, there is no need to create an account and you can easily share completed comics through email, social media, or saving it on your iPad’s camera roll.

Not only does this provide students with another way of demonstrating knowledge, it engages students in the writing process in a whole new way.