“I don’t know what to write about!” Writing Territories + 18 Topics You’ll need: your journal + a pencil/pen

Writing Territories Journal Section Find the next place you have space in your quarter 1 entries for a full blank page Title this section as your “Writing Territories” When I say go, fill the page with as many topics as you can in 5 minutes (list or columns) Topics = things in your life that…. You have knowledge or experience with, OR Things that you are interested in

Ms. Zero’s Writing Territories (Sample) My mom UCLA “The Bacon Incident” My dad UCSB Google Drive My sister Crafts VHS My fiancé Princess Diana’s death Going for walks My cat, Merlin Living in a college dorm Rollerblading My pet history Dancing The beach The house I grew up in Singing Living in the Ventura area but not growing up in the Ventura area Music Drawing Food Learning to use a computer Taking the bus Reading England The 1960s and 1980s Writing Shakespeare The Beatles Alex’s cancer Poetry Space More funerals than weddings Southern California (LA and Orange County) Interested in science but not very good at science classes My concert history Playing instruments (guitar, piano, clarinet, bass clarinet, drums) My high school, Troy Keeping a journal Insomnia Memory boxes Marching band Not wearing shoes Cactus Tutoring stories Making my own clothes Fear of rollercoasters  Traveling Learning to drive Being an introvert South America White water rafting Being half-Albanian Chile My math allergy Being a grandchild of immigrants Teaching in Chile Memorable teachers Coffee and tea Memorable students Learning Spanish History of what I eat for breakfast

Share out Go back through your list and cross out anything that’s doubled and maybe add a couple more if they come to mind Put a star next to your favorite 10 items Share your list with your partner(s) Start with the starred items Share the rest if you have extra time

Classroom Writing Territories We’ll whip around the room Everyone shares one item from their list Use this as an opportunity to add any more that come to mind for your own list but also to appreciate the diversity of writing territories we share

Put this on hold… We’ll do some more work with this very soon. For now, tuck away your journal.

1 Topic = 18 Topics Attach the handout I’m giving you into your journal