The Writer's Notebook-Helping Me Teach Writing More Effectively


The most effective way to teach writing is to be a writer yourself. That way you can better appreciate the challenges and the joys of the craft. As a writing partner, you place yourself in a position of increased credibility. You present yourself as a model of a living, breathing writer. Writers need to be brave, and your decision to become a writing partner, identifies you as a genuine risk taker.

  As a writer, you surely deserve a place to record your reactions to the daily events in the world that surrounds you. Developing your own writer’s notebook is the ideal way to demonstrate your commitment to a writing kind of life.  In this special book of your own choosing you are able to show your students how you react to the world; record your thoughts, your wonderings and harvest your ideas.  There might also be lists (names, places), anecdotes and words. Phrases and short descriptions of people, places and events may also be used to trigger a memory for more in depth writing at a later time. Hopefully your notebook will also become a place where you collect artifacts such as maps, photographs, drawings, news articles and the like, -anything that sparks your thinking as a writer. The notebook contains many beginnings, and from those beginnings longer writing pieces will hopefully emerge.

 This notebook needs to be readily accessible to you and your students. Hopefully, in time it will become an indispensable component of the writing teacher’s life.

 Each writer’s notebook I commence becomes an extension of me. It travels with me, -always accessible in case it’s needed. I consciously write in a variety of settings- some quiet by choice, others noisy and active by choice. - Cafes, planes, trains, classrooms, parks, my study –writing has the potential to happen, basically anywhere.  It is important that student writers enjoy this same level of freedom when it comes to their writing. It would be sad if they grew to only associate writing in a notebook as something you did for a teacher at school.

 Writing in the notebook also needs to demonstrate the writer’s willingness to write across a range of genres. Finding authentic purposes for writing is the first step and then a decision needs to be made as to what form the writing needs to take. Ask yourself, how do writers normally write about this subject/topic/idea? 

 For an increasing number of teachers, embracing the writer’s notebook is seen as a logical first step in developing a more effective writing program in the classroom. A greater issue for many is where do I begin, and how do I sustain the energy and ideas?
Starting Out With Your Own Writer’s Notebook!

 Questions often arise around the types of entries one might gather when starting out with a writer’s notebook- entries that will serve as examples to share with students.  I am not a great fan of prompts, but if you are having trouble getting inspiration, maybe these ideas might prompt your thinking’ around what to write.

 Hopefully, you will be encouraged you to think of a connection to a topic/idea you feel strongly about.  Most importantly, I urge you to dive straight in and start filling your notebook pages with your special words.
‘I begin to clip and capture observations from my life. The pages of my notebook begins to fill with collected artefacts and memories. I know these harvested items have much potential to feed my writing. In time they will sustain my teaching of writing. I just have to be ready to receive them.’
From: Igniting Writing-When a Teacher Writes, Alan j Wright, Hawker Brownlow Education

 Here are some suggestions to stir your writing life into action. Don't feel compelled to use them if you have your own urgent possibilities. Go with them by all means. Your own writing is such a powerful model for your students. I urge you to take the leap forward...

 • Write about the first book you remember reading
• Create a Life Map to show events in your life so far
• Write an entry about one of the items on your Life Map.
• Write an entry over any topic of your choosing. Write about your personal opinion
• Write a response to a book you are currently reading
• Write about the meaning behind a treasured object - what memories do you associate with that object?
• Create a plan for a memoir piece
• Write a memoir including all the sensory details and what you discovered about yourself from that slice of life experience
• Make a list of your personal choosing. E.g. Things that take too much time
• Persuasive Writing - Choose an issue that is important to you, and write an opinion piece
• Respond to an issue in the news
• Write a short narrative about being sick as a child
• Write about a place you would go right now and why
• Write about something that was no fun at all
• Make a list of things you wish to do in the future
• Write about a time when you knew you were in trouble
• How did you spend your pocket money?
• Write from magazine headlines that spark a connection
• Write about an embarrassing moment
• Write about your relationship with weekends
• Write a list about things you don’t need
• Write about noise
• Write about silence
• Write about pretending
• Make a list of questions you wished you had asked
• Write about your feet
• Write about your treasures
• Write about something you wish you could still do
• Write and DRAW about a place that is important to you
• Create a map of a place you recall from your childhood
Writing ideas come to me because I am constantly seeking them out. The more I use my ears, my eyes, my brain and my heart, the greater the store of ideas I have to select from. Ideas create an energy source that is self sustaining. My writer’s notebook never goes hungry. My teaching of writing is the beneficiary.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular With Other Visitors

Writing Opposite Poems

Image
 O pp o s ite  P oem s In his book, ' How To Write Poetry,'  Paul Janeczko presents the idea of opposite poems. Paul suggests they could also be referred to as antonym poems. This is wordplay and it's fun to try. Here are some examples Paul provides to help us see very clearly how these short little poems work. I think the opposite of chair Is sitting down with nothing there What is the opposite of kind? A goat that butts you from behind Paul Janeczko You will  notice the poems are written in rhyming couplets. They can be extended so long as you remember to write in couplets. Paul shows us how this is done. What is the opposite of new? Stale gum that's hard to chew A hot-dog roll as hard as rock Or a soiled and smelly forgotten sock You might notice that some of Paul's opposite Poems begin with a question. The remainder of the poem answer the question posed. Opposite poems are a challenge, but it is a challenge worth trying. Not every thing has a
Read more

Writing About Reading - Reading Reflection Journals:

Image
UPDATED February 2022 Writing in response to literature can be a great way for students to organize their thoughts, explore what they think, and generate ideas. One of the strengths of writing in journals is that it allows students to capture all of those great ideas that generally float off into the air during the discussion.  Journal writing can also become drudgery if students are asked to write too often, given little choice or inspiration in what to write, or if they simply don't have anything to say. While some students eagerly share their impressions about selections they have read in class discussions, others are less comfortable and keep their thoughts to themselves. In an effort to encourage all students to think more about what they read and confidently share their observations and opinions, some teachers are turning to the reading reflection journal and are gaining insights they never anticipated.  The Value of Reflection Journals   Journals assist teachers to gain i
Read more

Learning How to 'Zoom In' When Writing

Image
It is important for young writers to understand that not all parts of a story are equal. There are parts through which a writer moves quickly, and important parts where the writer slows down and lingers a while. This is where the writer might intensify the action or reveal the character’s reactions in greater detail. Young writers need to know that this is a deliberate strategy on the part of the author. The author consciously zooms in. The writer uses a magnifying glass to view a part of the story more closely; to focus on a moment and to slow down time. When an important part of the story is enlarged upon, it   is a signal to the reader, that this part of the story is important. The strategy of ‘zooming in’ goes by many names: ‘exploding a moment’ ‘magnifying a moment’, ‘hotspot’ ‘snapshot’, ‘adding detail’ or ‘slowing the action.’  What ever the name, the idea is the same. The author writes in a way that expands a significant part of the story with the intention of drawing t
Read more

Answering Questions Posed by Young POETS

Image
UPDATED, May 2020 As a frequent visitor to schools I have the great pleasure of working with groups of young, enthusiastic poets and their teachers. When I arrive in a classroom, young poets are often pre-loaded with questions, and most keen to have them answered.  I try to answer as many as I can, but we frequently run out of time, and the poetry caravan moves on to the next classroom. So I am here to answer some of those questions -right here, right now. So here goes: When you were little did you love writing? The short answer is yes. I have always enjoyed words and language. I can't recall a time when I wasn't doing some kind of writing. When did you write your first poetry book? I have had poems published over the years, but it wasn't until 2014 that I had an entire book of poems (an anthology) published. When I looked back through all my notebooks I realized I had hundreds of poems from which to choose. So, 'Searching For Hen's Teeth-Poetry From The
Read more

Slice Of Life Story-The Trials Of A Left Handed Writer

Image
Amazingly I learnt to write using my left hand. An achievement against the prevailing beliefs of the day. My very first teacher saw it as her mission in life to ‘fix’ the poor, wretched little boy suffering from what she clearly diagnosed as left handed disease. She must have thought, 'This child must be re formatted! If he remains left handed he will be forever condemned to writing in a scrawl that no one will be able to read. Ugly hand, ugly hand.' ...They tried to say it couldn't be done, it mustn't be done. They took the pencil out of my left hand and placed it in my right hand. It felt unnatural. It felt weird. It was not right. More to the point it was not left. I was not about to conform. At least they didn't try tying my hand behind my back. Watch me I said. I may be an oddball, left handed scribbler but I am a determined oddball. I mean how boring would the world be if everyone wrote with their right hand? So I dug my toes in –and my hands to
Read more