After the Writer’s Notebook training in the Spring I began the writing activities. I was shocked at how excited the children were to write in their binders. Even my most reluctant writers were anxious to start the new writing activities and everyone wanted to share what they wrote. They also were interested in watching me model the activities, as they seem to always want to know information about their teachers. After working all year on picture and poem prompts it was so nice to watch what the writing process is really suppose to be. The children love the activities and I’ve learned so much about each of them when they shared what they wrote in the Author’s Chair. Some of their favorite activities are questioning, list your gripes, three words, and sharing sentences. The question that I had was what am I suppose to do with the information gathered, especially as third grade is the first year for Writer’s Notebook. How do I incorporate it into Writer’s Workshop? After reading other posts, I see that is what we are all working on! I have seen two incidents of transferring the information. Priscilla Muller asked to be Pen pals with my class. When the children started writing their letters I watched as some of them took their Writer’s Notebook to use information they had written about themselves to include in their letters. Not one student came to me and said “I don’t know what to write.” It was a small step but it convinced me that Writer’s Notebook works. I’ve also had students ask if they could go back and answer some of the questions they listed in their binders the day before for one of the activities. They were excited because they had some answers. I never expected them to actually want to go back and answer the questions. Next year I will start Writer’s Notebook much sooner. The bottom line for me is the children not only enjoy the writing activities but are genuinely interested in the process. I can’t ask for more than that.
Terry
Terry-Your post makes all the work worthwhile. To read that students are enjoying what they do and using the notebook in a productive way is absolutely wonderful! The notebook is important in and of itself as well as serving as a resource for students when they write pieces in progress (test prompts or personal choice). Next year, we should see even greater progress with writer’s notebook since it will be launched in September and used all year on a regular basis. We also hope to keep the blog going so that teachers can share writer’s notebook activities, experiences, and student work. There will also be additional written information and follow-up workshops regarding writer’s notebook. I would love to come in and do a lesson with your class. Thanks for sharing! Annette
Terry, we couldn’t agree with you more! We were heavy into Writing Workshop with picture and poem prompts when we received training about the Writer’s Notebook. We were reluctant to introduce a new concept, but also felt that it was important for our kids to learn to enjoy writing. Once we began, the enthusiasm for writing spread like wildfire…ALL of our kids were writing! Each of the activities we modeled went well, but we weren’t sure about the carry over to writing workshop. Students have begun using them as a resource which we think will improve over time. We look forward to the implementation of Writer’s Notebook in September.
Your idea that students enjoy knowing about their teachers sparked an idea that we saw from the Writer’s Prompts in our TIME FOR KIDS. Chris is going to use this in September.
In your notebook, list five things you want your teacher to know about you. Explain why it is important for your teacher to have this information.
We thought this would be a good way to get to know your new students. As the teacher, you could model the lesson with 5 things you would like your students to know about you!
Terry – I could have spoken those words myself! My kids are huge fans of their Writer’s Notebooks. In fact, they’ve just spent the last few mornings “lifting lines” from their Notebooks, putting them into their own journals or papers so that they can continue writing over the summer. I can’t wait to see what happens next year when I launch the Notebooks in September and we have all year to work on them!
And thanks Chris and Kim for the Notebook idea… that’s a great September activity!
Love to see this threaded discussion – the purpose of the blog. Kim and Chris – thanks for sharing another idea!
Joe….I’m excited to start Writer’s Notebook in September too. I’m hoping to see some carry over to the poem and picture prompts. Does anyone have any ideas on how to do that?
Chris and Kim….thanks for the September idea. I’ll definitely try it with my third graders.
My students really enjoyed the activity “Writing From Literature”. I was able to use some of the “Strategies That Work” books for this entry. It was convenient to be able to combine required curriculum materials into one, as none of us ever have enough time!
I received a transfer student in April and we worked on his binder cover. There was no assistance from home, so I took a picture of him for the cover. I also had his sixth grade “Big Buddy” help him print out clip art that expressed his interests to add to the cover. I just thought that was good use of time for everyone.
Terry – I actually think that there’s really nothing special that you need to do to make Writer’s Notebook mini-lessons carry over to the poem and picture prompts. It will just happen naturally. Over the last few months, we spent a great deal of time using our Notebooks. Every couple of weeks or so, I’d throw the kids a timed picture prompt or poem prompt (even after testing was over). In their responses, I often saw evidence of the mini-lessons that I taught through Writer’s Notebook. For example, we spent a couple days on similes and personification in April and May. Ever since then, I’ve seen at least half of my students use (or attempt to use) these techniques in their writing, even without me reminding them. The transfer is definately happening!
Also, I love to hear that you, too, are finding multiple uses for the Strategies that Work picture books! My students and I have read some of those books four, even five times, during Writer’s Workshop, looking for something different each time. I’ve found that picture books are the BEST way to introduce a mini-lesson for Writer’s Notebook. I used this website, http://www.nwrel.org/index.php, a lot to help me come up with Notebook mini-lessons that include picture books. It is dedicated to 6+1 Trait Writing, but so many of the lessons lend themselves perfectly to Writer’s Notebook and I was able to find most of the picture books in my personal or the school library.
Happy Summer everyone!