D. Composition: Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts · Writing for Real Audiences

Developing Ideas and Supporting Details

D1.2 A3.2 A1.2About 40 minutes

Learning goals

I can use several strategies to find ideas, including my own experiences.
I can develop ideas about diversity, equity and inclusion, and about other topics.
I can choose supporting details that fit my purpose: facts, examples, sensory details, anecdotes and quotations.

Words to know

strategy
A plan or method you use on purpose to help you do something.

lived experience
Something that has really happened to you or that you know from your own life.

supporting detail
A piece of information that explains, proves or brings an idea to life.

anecdote
A short true story used to make a point.

diversity
The many differences among people, such as languages, cultures, abilities, families and beliefs.

equity
Making sure each person gets what they need to have a fair chance.

inclusion
Making sure everyone is welcomed and can take part.

Remember from Grade 4

In Grade 4 you found topics with strategies like brainstorming and heart maps, zoomed in on small moments, and added details. You also looked at ideas through a fairness lens.

In Grade 5 you will develop ideas: grow them bigger and stronger with the right kinds of supporting details for your purpose.

Strategies for finding and growing ideas

Remember: use your lived experience. What have you seen, done, felt or wondered about?
Ask: interview a family member, a neighbour or a community helper. People are full of stories and knowledge.
Read and watch: books, articles and videos give you new ideas and show how other writers handle a topic.
Observe: notice what is around you. Who can use the school's front steps easily? Who can't?
Question: ask who, what, where, when, why and how about your idea. Each answer can become a detail.
Connect: link your idea to something from science, social studies or math.

An idea web: one topic in the middle, with four strategies around it for finding ideas and details.

Ideas about diversity, equity and inclusion

The curriculum asks Grade 5 writers to develop ideas about diversity, equity and inclusion. These are big words for everyday things:

Diversity: In your class, people may speak different languages at home, celebrate different holidays, and have different kinds of families.
Equity: A student who has trouble seeing the board might get a seat at the front. That isn't the same for everyone, but it is fair, because it gives that student what they need.
Inclusion: At recess, making sure a new student gets asked to join the game.

Good topics come from noticing these things. You can write about them in stories, persuasive letters, reports and poems.

Kind of detail	What it is	Example (topic: our class's languages)
Fact	Something that can be checked	Students in our class speak 9 languages at home.
Example	One case that shows the idea	Amira speaks Arabic with her grandmother every Sunday.
Sensory detail	What you see, hear, smell, taste or touch	The hallway fills with bonjour, hello and boozhoo each morning.
Anecdote	A short true story	When Leo forgot his English words, Mei helped by drawing a picture.
Quotation	A person's exact words	Our teacher said, "Every language in this room is a gift."

Five kinds of supporting details. The facts in this table are about a pretend class.

A note about boozhoo

Boozhoo is a greeting ("hello") in Anishinaabemowin, the language of the Anishinaabe peoples, which includes Ojibwe. It is spoken in many First Nations communities in Ontario, and some communities use other greetings, such as Aaniin. Communities are working to keep the language strong today. If you use a word from someone's language, check its meaning and spelling with a trusted source or a person who speaks it.

Worked example

Let's develop a thin idea into a strong one

Thin idea: Our school should be fair to everyone.

Zoom in: Which part of school? Let's choose the library.
Observe: The top shelves are very high. A student who uses a wheelchair, and many Grade 1 students, can't reach them.
Ask: Interview the librarian: Which books are on the top shelves? Answer: the newest graphic novels, which are very popular.
Choose details that fit the purpose (persuade): a fact (the top shelf is out of reach for many students), an example (the newest graphic novels are up there), and a quotation from the librarian.
Write the developed idea: Our library should move its most popular books to lower shelves so every student, including students who use wheelchairs and our youngest readers, can reach them on their own.

The thin idea became specific (the library shelves), fair (an equity idea) and supported with details that can persuade.

Developing an idea: zoom in, observe and ask, then write a specific idea backed by details.

Worked example

Let's match details to the purpose

Topic: the first snowfall. Which details fit a poem and which fit a science report?

Detail A: Snowflakes form when water vapour freezes in clouds. This is a fact, so it fits the report.
Detail B: The world went hush, like someone pressed mute. This is a sensory detail with a simile, so it fits the poem.
Detail C: My little brother tried to catch flakes on his tongue and fell into a snowbank. An anecdote. It fits the poem or a personal story.
Detail D: Most snowflakes have six sides or six points. A fact for the report.

Facts fit a report. Sensory details and anecdotes fit a poem or story. Choose details that match your purpose.

Just for fun

Why did the writer bring a ladder to the library?

To reach the top-shelf ideas! (A better plan: move the popular books down, like in our example.) 📚

Hands-on activity

Interview for ideas

You need: a notebook, a pencil, and a grown-up or older relative to interview.

Write five questions about their life, such as: What was winter like when you were my age? What languages did you hear growing up? Was there a time you felt left out, or included?
Ask your questions. Write key words of their answers, and one exact quotation in quotation marks.
Underline one answer that could become a story, a poem or a persuasive letter.
Write two supporting details of different kinds (for example, a fact and an anecdote) for that idea.
Reflect: Which strategy gave me the best idea today: remembering, asking, reading or observing?

Your turn

Name three strategies for finding ideas.

Which kind of detail is this? "Practice is how you get better," said Coach Patel.

Which kind of detail is this? The trail smelled of pine needles and wet earth.

Explain equity in your own words with an example.

Zoom in on this topic: Sports.

Ask two who/what/where/when/why/how questions about the idea: a community garden.

Add a supporting fact to: Recycling helps our school.

More practice: warm-up

What is an anecdote?

What does inclusion mean?

Fact or sensory detail? The bell rang at 8:45.

Name one person you could interview to learn about your community.

What is lived experience?

More practice: on your own

Develop this thin idea with one example and one sensory detail: The fall fair was fun.

Is this idea about diversity, equity or inclusion? Our class made a calendar with holidays from every student's family.

Which details fit a persuasive letter about more benches in the park? A: Older people in our neighbourhood need places to rest. B: The clouds looked like cotton.

Why is interviewing a good strategy for developing ideas?

Turn this into an anecdote that supports Kindness matters: a classmate shared a lunch.

Challenge

Develop a topic about inclusion at recess into a one-sentence idea for a persuasive text, and list three details of different kinds you could use.

Explain the difference between equality (everyone gets the same) and equity, using shoes as an example.

A writer only uses ideas from their own life. Why might they also want to read and interview?

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which is a sensory detail?

What is a quotation?

Which example best shows equity?

Which detail best fits a science report on beavers?

Interviewing a grandparent is a strategy for...

Which idea is the most developed?

For parents and teachers

Big idea (D1.2): Grade 5 writers generate, develop, focus and expand ideas and supporting details, on topics including diversity, equity and inclusion, using a range of strategies and their lived experiences. This connects to identity and belonging (A3.2) and to expressing their own voice and ideas (A1.2).

How to help at home:

Be an interview subject. Your child's best ideas often come from family stories.
When your child says "I have nothing to write about," ask who, what, where, when, why, how questions about something they did this week.
Talk about fairness in everyday life: ramps, captions on videos, menus in several languages.

Common difficulties:

Topics that are too big ("sports", "fairness"). Help them zoom in to one place, one moment or one problem.
Details that don't fit the purpose, such as feelings in a science report. Ask: "Is this a fact your reader can check?"
Equity vs. equality can be tricky; the shoe example in the challenge helps.

Please note: The class facts and the library example in this lesson are pretend, written for this site.