PRESENTED BY: CHRISTAN WILLIAMS 6 TH GRADE ELA JUNE 18, 2013 Digging out the Crystals: Using Writer’s Notebooks to Enhance the Writer’s Workshop

Turn and Talk: Do you currently use a Writer’s Notebook with your students? If so, how do you use them? How are they organized? If not, what’s something you hope to learn about them during this demonstration?

Turn and Talk What are your roadblocks with using Writer’s Notebooks?

Instructional Roadblock I’ve always used Writer’s notebooks in my classroom. Mostly, they’ve been used for students to collect ideas on “seed pages” for future writing. The writer’s notebooks became the back-up work for independent writing time—something that was not used frequently during our units of study in the Writer’s Workshop. Some students even used it for drafting with little to no planning. My goal is to understand how to more effectively implement the use of Writer’s notebooks as a multi- functional tool that enhances and personalizes the Writer’s Workshop experience for my students.

Objectives: What are Writer’s Notebooks? How can Writer’s Notebooks be used more effectively to help students become better writers? What strategies can be used to help students create more meaningful pieces of writing through the use of Writer’s notebooks? How can Writer’s notebooks aid students in becoming more reflective writers? How can Writer’s notebooks be assessed?

Are you ready for a learning journey into the world of note booking? Take out a sheet of paper and get ready to dig out your own personal crystals.

What it is… What it isn’t… A place for writers to explore and rehearse the art of writing A place for writers to save their words; an empty ditch, waiting to be filled A place to keep a list of strategies studied in Writer’s Workshop A place to include examples of good writing from other texts (mentor texts) A place to keep notes on mini lessons A place for students to try strategies introduced in mini-lessons A place to collect what you notice during close study as a reference tool An essential tool for writing conferences A notebook that most suitably reflects the writer A journal (“A day in the life…”) A diary A place for solely drafting or publishing A scrapbook Writer’s Notebooks

Considerations for Launching the Writer’s Notebook From Aimee Buckner’s Notebook Know-How

Notebook Setup Student (and teacher) friendly Mini-lessons and toolboxes in the front/back Student writing in a separate section Table of Contents Dated and numbered pages If using a binder, tabs could be useful for organizing

Introducing the Notebook Picture Books Heart Map Neighborhood Map History of a name Lists I-chart Questions I Wonder ABCs of Writing Discuss a writer’s life, why we write and our writing territories Teacher models using a notebook Students personalize their notebooks Set expectations for the notebook from the beginning Keep the notebooks organized for easy reference

Let’s Try a Strategy: The Neighborhood Map Draw a sketch of the neighborhood you grew up in or have the most memories in. Try to label the “hot spots:” places in your neighborhood that you remember a particular event vividly Consider how can your map be used for your writing.

Writing Territories TopicsGenresAudiences

Going beyond “Seed Pages” to Strategy Lessons Develop a topic by noticing patterns in the notebook Daily Pages Writing off literature Writing from a word Observations Re-reading and highlighting Lifting a line Favorite collection Writing from another POV Interviews Listing the possibilities Researching to develop an idea Turn and talk: How can we apply these strategies across the content areas?

Living Like a Writer… “Don’t be afraid to live like a writer. Writers explore. There are two whole universes for you to explore— the one on the inside, and the physical one on the outside. Take your choice; inner or outer. Or best: both.” -Ralph Fletcher Breathing In, Breathing Out

Meaningful Mini-lessons Notebook setup Purposes for writing Audience Structure Craft Genre  Tabs for each genre  Noticing chart with craft features  Multi-genre studies Word Choice Stamina Vocabulary  Connotation/Denotation  Personal word bank Revision strategies (toolbox)  Beginnings  Endings  Sentence structure & variety Back up work Close study of the writing process  Put it away and come back later

Understanding Genre Structure Literary Nonfiction What I can expect Elements of Literary NonfictionWhat I Need to as a readerKnow as a Writer From Notebook Know-How by Aimee Buckner

Self-Selected Genre Studies Too many genre studies, back to back, can limit students’ opportunities to be initiators of writing Give students time to explore self-selected topics and genres of writing  More willing to take risks and more likely to become life-long writers, when they are given the right to see that writing can be used for personal objectives Accountability is key  Student planning sheet (handout)

“It’s not what a piece of writing is about, but how it’s written, that makes good writing good.” -Katie Wood Ray, Wondrous Words

The Reading-Writing Connection “I learned to write from writers. I didn’t know any personally, but I read.” - Cynthia Rylant So, what do gain from writers? An understanding of craft, structure, genre, purpose, style, etc. Chart authors styles Collect compelling words Chart interesting leads  Try 10! Mapping the text

Author Style Noticing Chart AuthorStyleExampleText Reference

Reflective Writers Re-read notebook entries daily Encourage students to share what strategies they attempted in their writing Set goals for writing Writing across the curriculum tasks (digging deep)  How-to writing  Feature articles  Poems with 2 voices  Historical narratives Self-assess writing  What parts will the reader enjoy?  Are there any parts where my reader might get confused?  Have I left out any information the writer needs in order to understand what I’m trying to say?

The daily practice of craft sharpens the writer’s vision and tunes the writer’s voice. Habit makes writing easy. -Don Murray

Notebooks as an Assessment Tool Formative Assessments  Writing process, writing techniques, initiating writing Self-evaluations (see handout) Accountability rubric  Consider your goals and values for the notebook  Is organization important?  Do you value students’ process of writing—tied to the unit of study?  Do you want to see evidence of how the notebook helped them thoughtfully draft and plan? Portfolio Assessment Parent conferences

THEN NOW Student ownership Composition notebooks – don’t tear out the pages! A place to collect ideas A place to practice writing  Try it; no risks No notes Images welcome Student ownership (i.e. personalizing)  “If the notebook is to be a useful tool, it must be useful to the writer first, and the reader (teacher) second.” Aimee Buckner, from Notebook Know-How A place for writers to save their words and collect others: “memory, reflection, sketch, scrap of print taped to a page” – Aimee Buckner Practice writing in any form Find ideas Can and should be teacher guided A place to build writing fluency A place of discovery A safe place for students to write Multi-purpose tool: reflective, assessment, reference, collaborative GOAL: to develop INDEPENDENT writers Reflecting on the Journey of Writer’s Notebooks in the Classroom…

Why use Writer’s Notebooks? CCSS places emphasis on:  Three types of writing (narrative, informational, persuasive)  The writing process  The quality of student writing  Writing as integral  Writing across all disciplines for real purposes Anchor standard 5: students should be able to “develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising and editing” with expectations for revision and independence increasing with age. Anchor standard 10: students will “write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection and revision) and shorter time frames

Turn and Talk How can you make Writer’s Notebooks work in your classroom? Discuss specific example and be ready to share.

Works Cited Anderson, Carl. Assessing Writers. Heinemann, Atwell, Nancie. In the Middle. Heinemann, Buckner, Aimee. Notebook Know-How. Stenhouse Publishers, Calkins, Lucy, Ehrenworth, Mary., Lehman, Christopher. Pathways to the Common Core. Heinemann, Fletcher, Ralph. A Writer’s Notebook: Unlocking the Writer Within You. HarperTrophy, 2000.