Writer's Notebook/Journal

 Keeping a notebook is the single best way I know to survive as a writer.  . . . It gives you a quiet place to catch your breath and begin to write.” – Ralph Fletcher

 

Recently my granddaughter who is teaching 2^ndgrade shared with me the writing that her students are doing.  I was a bit disturbed to learn that they are working on writing informative paragraphs -- in other words essays -- this early in the school year.  My concern is that they will find writing to be very frustrating. Perhaps one way to offset this expectation would be to have students keep a writer’s notebook/journal.

 

The type of notebook/journal can vary from pocket notebooks to composition books, to online notebooks/journals.  A writer’s notebook/journal is not expected to be graded.  Definitely the teacher can establish goals – number of entries? pages? Perhaps have the student select one of the entries to share with the teacher.  Also, I would also encourage the teacher to keep a notebook to share writing experiences with students.

 

A writer’s notebook/journal provides a place for the student to write thoughts/feelings.  It is a place to for ideas, for questions, for exploring possibilities. Write about favorite books, tv shows, movies, events/memories. Maybe keep a section for favorite words/phrases. The idea is to encourage students to experiment with their ideas, their writing voices.  

 

When my high school students were expected to write critical essays about works of literature, I encouraged them to keep writing notebooks as they were reading.  Writing notes about the author’s style of writing, about the various themes that were emerging, about the point of view, about the characters, setting, etc. made drafting the essay much easier.

 

A favorite resource of mine was A Writer’s Notebook: Unlocking the Writer Within You by Ralph Fletcher. Check it out.  I found so many great ideas that I think work for any age. I especially like this entry from Briana Carlin, a fifth grader:

A notebook is where you keep dew drops from a dew drop morning.  It’s where the sun sets.  It’s the wind in your face at the beach looking out over the water.  A notebook is where you’re playing with your dog.  It’s where you have dreams about walking on rainbows.  It’s where the good feelings and the bad feelings spend the night. 

 

 

Write Out!

 Have you heard about Write Out! ?

Check it out on the NWP website.

    Write Out (#writeout) is a free two-week event, organized as a series of online activities where educators, students, and the public are invited to explore national parks and other public spaces to connect and learn through place-based writing and sharing. The theme of this year’s event is Palettes, Storyboards, and Cadences and will run from October 10-24, 2021 which includes the National Day of Writing on October 20th. 

Yes, you have missed week one, but there's still another week to go and, if you join, you can still use all of the activities with your students. This is the time of year to do a great deal of free writing with your students, and this project totally fits in with learning more about your students, both as people and as writers.

For me, when in the classroom, this would be a great notebook activity. I wasn't looking for polished, finished pieces at this time of the year, but I was looking to build interest and stamina in my students. I was interested in finding out more about them as well as setting a writing tone in class.

Write Out! is tied to a national park theme, so the activities involve a video introduction to many different parks with a writing prompt tied to the park. For example, Golden Gate National Recreation Area is discussed and then the prompt is given: Create a story about someone who passes through an imaginary portal in the park. Where would this magic door lead? 

Students could freewrite on each of the 4 themes, in their notebooks (online or physical notebooks). An option would be to take one of their pieces to a finished product. If you haven't done much with writing yet this year, here's the perfect opportunity to set a tone, try pair-shares with rough drafts/ideas, use writers' notebooks and create final drafts.

Enjoy!

On another note, look for pieces coming up on writers notebooks and publishing student work.

Happy Writing!

Micki