Notebook Know-How



Notebook Know-How

Aimee Buckner

Mini lessons to support the use of reading/writing notebooks in the classroom:

|Launching Strategy: History of a Name |

|How: Students put their name or family name on top of a notebook page and write about it – how they got their name, what they like about |

|their name, what they don’t like about their name, |

|Why: The naming of something or someone is significant for writers. Understanding the history of a name leads to deeper understanding of that|

|topic. |

|Extensions: Read aloud Friindle by Andrew Clemens: ponder names of characters in read-aloud books, consider the names of inventions or new |

|products, |

|Launching Strategy: Writing from a list |

|How: Students make a quick list based on a self-selected topic. List topics might include things they are experts on, best events in their |

|lives, worst events. Favorite words. They star off highlight things on their list that they could write more about. |

|Why: This is an easy, reasonable task even for students who struggle as writers. It is a strategy that can be used again and again for |

|generating idea topics. |

|Extensions: Lists can be used when students and drafting any written piece, to dive deeper into the topic, to collect words, quotes, trivia |

|that can be used later in a piece. The possibilities are endless! |

|Fluency Strategy: Daily Pages |

|How: Provide students with 10 -15 minutes at the beginning of each day simply to write whatever comes to mind. This writing should be |

|predictable and dependable so that it becomes part of their writing habit. |

|Why: In order to get to our more thoughtful and creative selves, we need to clear out the cobwebs that life leaves in our heads and that |

|cloud our thinking. The everyday bus incidents, the sibling rivalry, homework anxiety, and soccer practice have to be thought through before |

|students are able to think more deeply and write more fluently. |

|Extensions: Students can continue this practice at home on the weekends or over holiday breaks. Students might also do daily pages at the end|

|of the day to reflect on the school day in addition to the morning pages. |

|Fluency Strategy: Writing off Literature |

|How: Begin by telling students that after you read, you want them to write. Share some favorite picture books, poems, or novels with your |

|class that leave the reader thinking even after the text is finished. Then, as you finish reading aloud, without a sound or another |

|instruction students begin to write. Sometimes teachers may want to focus the writing with a prompt, but take caution when doing that- often |

|students think far beyond what is expected of a ready –made writing response. |

|Why: Good literature caused people to think, relate, and dwell in the story. As writers, we must also be readers, and allow ourselves to be |

|affected by what we read. If students are to write about their experiences in a way that will engage an audience, they must allow their own |

|reading to engage them. |

|Extensions: Students may want to write a memory that was spurred by the story. You can use wonderful student writing, with permission, to do|

|the same. Read editorials aloud and ask students to respond. Read newspaper articles that spur your own thinking and allow student to write. |

|Fluency Strategy: Writing from a Word |

|How: Choose a noun, any noun, and put it at the top of the page. Ask your students to write for 10 minutes or so. If your class is still |

|building their writing stamina, make it 5 minutes, but no less. During this timed writing, students are asked to think about their word and |

|start writing. The goal is to write for the entire time, even if the topic meanders away from the original word. |

|Why: When writers have writers block, they often need help getting through that stage. This strategy is easy to use and easy to remember how |

|to do. Plus, it doesn’t matter if you stay on topic; it is totally stream -of -consciousness writing. Students are amazed not only at the |

|amount of writing they do with this strategy, but also at the topics that pop up in their writing. |

|Extensions: This strategy can be extended to any kind of words: verbs, adverbs, adjectives, etc. |

|Read to Write Strategy: Mapping the Text |

|How: Use an excerpt from a story that children have already read or heard. Give them each a copy of the text for their notebooks. Read the |

|excerpt aloud twice. The first time the students listen the second time they can begin to write on the excerpt. They circle words they like |

|or phrases that grab them. Whatever they notice about the writing, they make a mark nearby somehow. |

|Why: This exercise gives students practice in the craft of reading like a writer. It allows students to take a step back and look at how the |

|images and mood of the passage were put together. |

|Extensions: Have students play with some of the words and techniques they discover in their own writing – first in their notebook and |

|eventually in drafts. |

|Read to Write Strategy: Poetry Pass |

|How: Find three or four poems of a poet you love. Retype them on one page of legal size paper, leaving plenty of room between and around the |

|poems. Give each child a copy of the poetry. Read through the poems twice – the first time for listening and the second time to begin mapping|

|the poems. After a few minutes, have each pass his or her paper to someone else. Kids take a moment to read the comments already on the page,|

|and then they begin to mark the poems again. After a few minutes, they pass again, and repeat the process. |

|Why: Using poetry is a quick and manageable way to invite children to look at a writer’s craft. Many of the same techniques used in poetry |

|can be used in prose – specific word choice, rhythm, repetition, metaphors, etc. |

|Extensions: Students cut out a poem from the poetry pass sheet from which they learned a lot about writing. They glue it into their |

|notebooks and reflect on their learning that day. Students try to emulate the style in their own poetry or prose. This can be done again and |

|again with different poets, styles of poetry, and even short excerpts of prose or non-fiction. |

|Expanding Topics Strategy: 3 Word Phrases in 3 Minutes |

|How: Students select a topic to focus on as they write. For 3 minutes, they list as many three-word phrases about the topic as they possibly |

|can. |

|Why: This strategy helps students focus on parts of a larger topic. By limiting the phrases to three words, students are forced to be |

|specific and choosy about what they write. It’s also a good exercise for building fluency because a timed writing requires quick thinking. |

|Extensions: This strategy can be used for anything a writer wants to think more deeply about: a character, a setting, a feeling. It can also |

|be used across the curriculum to help students isolate important information. For example, in Social Studies you might want to do this with a|

|broad unit topic such as the American Revolution. |

Rubric Sample:

|Grade |A |B |C |D |

|Flexibility and Fluency |All entries are completed |Many are completed as |Entries are left |Entries are underdeveloped. |

| |as assigned. Writer uses a|assigned. Writer uses |unfinished. Many |Little or no variety in |

| |variety of strategies c |some variety of |strategies and topics do |writing strategies or topic. |

| |and topics. |strategies and topics. |not vary. | |

|Thoughtfulness |Entries are thoughtful and|Many entries are |Little to no reflective |No thoughtful writing is |

| |reflective. |thoughtful and |thinking is evident. |evident. |

| | |reflective. | | |

|Accuracy |The writer practices |The writer practices |Writer does not give |The entries are difficult to |

| |proper grammar, mechanics |proper grammar, mechanics|attention to proper |read because there are many |

| |and spelling consistently.|and spelling, most of the|grammar, mechanics or |errors in grammar, mechanics |

| | |time. |spelling. |and spelling. |

|Effort |The journal is neat, |The journal is mostly |The journal is mostly |The journal is not kept up to |

| |organized and up to date. |neat, organized and up to|unorganized and out of |date and the entries are not |

| | |date. |date. |organized. |

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