Saturday, January 24, 2009
Writer's Notebook ch.1&2 group a 650pm
View the first sample chapters (available on line) Using the Writer's Notebook in Grades 3-8: A Teacher's Guide at (http://www1.ncte.org/library/files/Store/Books/Sample/35006chap1-2_x.pdf) and begin your writers notebook then post entries on Class Blog. Engage in an online discussion group on our class blog. Please read designated chapters and 1)propose “meaty” fat questions to discuss, 2) make connections to your teaching and work with students, and 3) make connections to your work as a writer (ie Keep your own notebook and share your response to it), 4)Please respond to two of your classmates’s entries in your study group, 4) Consider how what you have learned from this book might support the work of your integrated language arts unit.
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While I was reading, I was thinking of how many times I had started a diary or journal and then put it aside after a few days. I guess too many times to count! I like that the writer's notebook has no rules! I am excited to try using this to help improve my own writing and thought process as a writer. I think it will be a helpful way to collect important information that I want to look back on to improve my professional career or own personal life. I am excited about the challenge and ready to see what obstacles come my way in order to make this writing strategy a success.
Prior to reading, I had initial thoughts and questions concerning the writer's notebook for my first graders. These concerns were similar to the feelings I had after reading the two chapters.
My main questions were... In first grade how do you prevent the writer's notebook from turning into just a diary or a scribbling pad? Is it okay for some students to include only illustrations if they are not ready to write? Would the writer's notebook hold the same effect for those students? At what age is it appropriate to begin a writer's notebook? Thinking about my first grade class; I have some students who would be ready and excited to start the notebook a few times a week. Since I teach in an inclusion room, I can think of 5 students who would just sit and stare at it, unless I was guiding them. What would the balance be for these students to make them feel successful independently?
I like how the writer's notebook provides the freedom the students need to be successful independent writers. Some positive aspects of the journal consist of how there are no rules for the students to follow. This is a great tool for a student who just sits and focuses on spelling words correctly instead of writing down their thoughts. I like how the notebook integrates other content areas so the students could use it to collect ideas for projects and reports.
As I was reading, I could connect with Carl Anderson and his feelings about the writer's workshop model. My school also uses this approach, which I feel allows the students to freely write about topics of their choice. It has many similarities to the writer's notebook because of the independence it allows, along with the one on one conference time I am provided with.
Much like Kim, I have also had many journals/diaries in which would hold my thoughts and ideas. Unlike the model discussed in the book, my writer’s notebook was a place for me to vent. I have never thought of myself as a writer, thus did not go back and develop my thoughts or ideas into larger pieces of writing.
Instead, I kept them on the pages where they were first written. As Elliott mentioned, most of my writing was in the form of a diary and not used to develop myself. After reading chapter 1, I understand the true purpose of a writer’s notebook and know that it is much different than a diary. In the words of the author, “it is a place to write about experiences, observations, thoughts, and reactions … a place to collect seeds by recording bits and pieces of our lives…” As I begin my own writer’s notebook, I understood what she means and am excited to being my journey as a writer.
As a teacher, I feel I am becoming more of a writer than I have ever been. By modeling effective writing strategies and writing pieces for my students, I feel that I too am developing as a writer. I shared my writer’s notebook with my students and asked if anyone was interested in their own writer’s notebook. Surprisingly, all but one challenging learner in my class, said yes! Unlike our “writing journal” that has some rules, I said that the writer’s notebook does not have to follow all the rules of their journal and can be a place for them to write when they have “free” time. The next day, I arrived with 20 brand-new notebooks. The students were allowed to personalize it to make it their own, as suggested in chapter 2. It’s only been a few days, but so far, I have seen students complete their reading workshop and writing workshop tasks more efficiently, as they are anxious to write in their notebooks.
So my first question is: Should I ask to read students’ notebooks and if so, when? (I already conference with students during Writer’s workshop)
I explained to my students that it is a place for them to “just write” and not worry about grammar or spelling. I also reminded students that they do not need to share their journals if they do not want to. (I might want to check them periodically, though)
Even though Elliott introduces the writer’s notebook prior to writing workshop, I felt that students were still as interested in the notebook … as it doesn’t have many rules! Next year, I am thinking about starting the writer’s notebook during the first month of school. I think it would be a great place for students to write or draw their thoughts.
To answer Kim’s question, YES, I think it is great to use a notebook in grade one and why not? I told my sister about it and my 4-year old nephew just started his own version of a writer’s notebook. Even though there are some guidelines of a writer’s notebook, I don’t think we should enforce them all in first grade (compared to fifth grade), as students are so new at the writing process. In know most of my students do not have many opportunities to write at home as they are lacking the materials to do so, therefore, I feel this will benefit them greatly as unlike my nephew, they do not have the chance to develop as writers at home.
However, there does need to be some guidelines for first graders … 1. No scribbling! (I agree with you!) By modeling (as always) and sharing our writer’s notebook, I think the writer’s notebook will benefit students thinking and writing, as they are deepening their ideas by writing them!
My second question goes along with Kim’s: Is it okay that students just draw? I know for beginning first-graders, drawing is how they express their thoughts. Should we continue to “allow” this as they year progresses?
To answer Kim’s other question about having ALL students feel successful … why not just have them do what they can do? Even though I just started the writer’s notebook with my students, my students with IEP’s and academic modifications like to write in their notebooks. They see it as a risk-free task and like to just write letters. Even though they are not strong writers, I noticed they do pick up their notebook as it has “no rules”. Again, it has only been a few days, so we’ll see how the notebook develops throughout the remainder of the school year.
As I continue to use the writer’s notebook, I will share my entries with students in hope that they will be encouraged to write ideas or ask questions in their notebook. I love how students’ thoughts can be used as seeds, in which I hope the seeds with develop into their personal narratives or stories during our writer’s workshop. I’m excited to read and discuss how we can effectively have a writer’s notebook in a grade one classroom!
Understanding the true important of students’ output vs. input, I want to include more writing in my integrated unit. By incorporating writing, I think students will be able to personalize not only their notebooks, but their learning. Hmmm….. I’m thinking a hibernation notebook!?!
After leaving my first blog comments, I thought about how the writer's notebook will play an important role in my first grader’s development as a writer. Like Jess, I decided to model how I created my writer's notebook, to prepare my student's for the notebook they would be using. I too went to the store and purchased unique notebooks in a variety of colors. The first day I allowed them to decorate the covers with glitter glue and markers to make them individually special.
My first grade students have been using their notebooks for only two days now, yet I notice the excitement each time I ask them to take their notebooks out. I explained the purpose of the notebook and both days have modeled using my notebook as a guide. My students have commented on the, "No Rules" aspect of the notebooks. One student said, "I can write down anything I think of and have fun doing so."
Jess proposed the question, "Should I ask to read the notebooks?" In response, I told my students that they could put a post-it note on two pages that I could see, when I look at them once a week. I would only view the pages with the post-it notes so their other writing was for their eyes only. This strategy helped some of my students feel more confident about their writing. They knew I was not grading them on the notebook so the freedom belonged to them.
After writing my proposal, I am excited to incorporate my writer's notebook into my integrated unit. One focus will be for my class to keep a daily observation journal. I think the writer's notebook will lend itself well with this part of the unit. My class will have extra practice using a notebook to collect their thoughts, so they will be prepared when we begin the life cycle unit.
I read the text and am excited about the possibilities of a Writer’s Notebook, especially for me. Like Kim and Jessica both said, I have not been able to maintain a journal or diary, though I have tried many times. I am an avid traveler, and always try to start a new journal when I go on a trip. Yet when I go back to read my entries, the writing seems boring. It is more like a schedule of the day than a place that I write down thoughts and reactions. It is not that I am not having any deep thoughts or connections, but I think I feel pressure when I begin to write. I know that Elliot said that it is important not to judge the writing in the notebook, and that is something that I struggle with.
As far as a connection to my teaching, I feel excited to start something like the writer’s notebook in my classroom. Right now, I use Lucy Calkin’s units of study, and I really teaching it. Like the notebook, the students are able to write personal experiences and reactions, and are not given any constraints from me about the topic of their writing. What is different, though, is the ability to “plant seeds,” as Elliot said. The writers’ notebook seems like it would be a terrific compliment to this model because students would have a place to develop their ideas to create even more meaningful writing.
I see the benefit of giving students a place to respond without pressure or rules. I would definitely like to add this component to my integrated unit, just as Kim and Jessica said. It helps students create a better understanding when they can formulate their own thoughts and reactions without the pressure of assessment or judgment.
In response to what Kim and Jessica both said, I think that the writer’s notebook is a wonderful thing for students, if only to give them a place to write “without rules”. But in response to Jessica’s question about whether or not to allow them to draw instead of write, I think it is important to keep the notebook rule free. The way to handle that problem might be to show the students how writing in their notebook instead of drawing helps them when it is time for more formal writing. Show the benefits and hopefully that will bring them along.
So now here is my big question: Do you think a teacher needs to be a writer to effectively teach writing? This is something I have struggled with in the past. I have gone to workshops that tell me to share my writing with my students. Yet what if, like I mentioned earlier, I do not feel like a writer myself? With this new knowledge of how the writers’ notebook can be different from the journals I have tried in the past, I am excited to give it another go and have already made a few entries. But what if I never feel comfortable as a writer? Isn’t it possible that some people are just not writers? And if so, can they still be teachers of writing? I am not so sure.
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