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The Reading/Writing ConnectionUsing Picture Books to Generate IdeasWriters need to find the stories that are important intheir lives. Sometimes the literature we read can helpthem uncover those stories. Picture books, poems, andshort texts are a major inspiration for students to begintelling their stories. Carefully chosen texts can“magically awaken the stories that lay waiting to betold.” (Davis and Hall, p. 56)When selecting texts to read aloud, try to choose books to which yourstudents will relate, to enable them to see their experiences in new ways.Choose books that have characters that will inspire students and experiencesthat make the children understand the importance of their own experiences.The books we choose also provide a model for students to internalize the ebband flow of the way stories are told, to help them become better oralstorytellers. We want them to transfer this sense of story to the writing oftheir own stories.As writers make connections and begin telling their stories, we need to showthat we value their experiences and encourage them to share the details ofeven the smallest of stories. Ask students to tell their stories in a way thatshows why this story is important to them. Encourage listeners to be a goodaudience and ask probing questions to motivate the storyteller to get to theheart of their story.Highlight connections students might make that are surprising and, at firstglance, seem unrelated. This teaches children that our minds are makingconnections all day, every day, and that every connection has the potential tobe a story with importance and should be written in the Writer’s Notebook.We want to push students to make interesting connections and to ponder themeaning of those connections.A Minilesson:Choose a powerful picture book and chart the possible different ways toconnect to the story. For instance, one writer might relate to a similarexperience and tell that story. Another might relate to the topic. Still anothermight relate to the feelings evoked by the book. Others might connect to thebigger issues underlying the story. Some might connect to a word or phrasethat triggers a response. One might relate to a particular character thatPage 5