ND correspondent Helen Womack takes us through her process of going from a blank page to a published article in this piece on confronting writer’s block. How can we help students find their voice?

Exercise: Read the article with your class, then have students brainstorm pitches that they can submit to News Decoder. How might their initial ideas be transformed into a publishable piece? Consider: global/local relevance of pitches, at least two sources to interview to investigate the topic, students’ unique angle on the topic. Students should then submit a pitch for an opportunity to work with our editors to be published on our global news site.

For further tips on interviewing and drafting, direct students to our asynchronous E-Learning courses. If you’re not a member of our school network, contact us to learn more about these members-only resources.