GTPS Writer's Notebook Project » Writer’s Notebook

Another Positive Experience

giaquintoa — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 23:56:07 +0000

Last week (or was it the week before), I visited Paul Albert’s/Karen Wagner’s 6th grade class and introduced “three-in-three.” First, I shared with students a three-in-three I had written on demand in another class. I allowed this class to give me a topic and “summer” was chosen. I wrote for three minutes, trying my best to produce interesting, thoughtful three-word phrases. The students watched attentively and, I must admit, I felt the pressure to produce. When I was finished, I reviewed my list with students and then asked the students to select their own topic and create their own three-in-three. Some students thought of a topic immediately while others needed some help (photos on their writer’s notebook covers were a great source for topics). The students wrote furiously for three minutes and then eagerly shared their lists. I was so impressed with their ideas which included alliteration, onomatopoeia, vivid descriptors, repetition, and actions. The students seemed pleased with their entries. Another rewarding writer’s notebook experience! Thanks to Paul and Karen for sharing their class time and students with me.

Authors Really use Writer’s Notebooks

giaquintoa — Thu, 15 May 2008 19:28:46 +0000

Last night I spent some time at Smithville School where Suzy Kline, author of the Horrible Harry series, was sharing her experiences as a writer with students, parents, and staff. Suzy’s presentation totally engaged everyone in the room regardless of age, profession, whatever. For me, the sterling moment came when Suzy actually held up her own notebook and talked about how she carries it with her and makes notes to record experiences. In fact, she had several notebooks, a scrapbook, drafts…Even better, Suzy gave examples of things in her notebooks that she actually used in her published books. What a moment! Although I was already sold on writer’s notebook, Suzy Kline’s presentation affirmed my belief that the time we have spent developing and implementing writer’s notebook is worthwhile.

I would be remiss if I did not mention that Smithville School is acknowledged in Horrible Harry and The Goog with the Smithville boiler room being the source for an illustration. You’ll have to read the book to understand this reference. Kudos to Smithville School and heartfelt appreciation to Suzy Kline!

Writer’s Notebook and Technology Collide in Room 10!

Jenna Wyks — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:00:04 +0000

This week, we combined two of my favorite things going right now: The Writer’s Notebook and Voicethread. It all began about a week ago… I took my third graders to the computer lab to show them how to create pictures using Max Write. Their pictures were then saved, printed, and placed in the “Marvelous Mini-Lessons” section of their Notebooks. The next day, we read two stories that featured several similes (Quick as a Cricket and Owl Moon). After reading, students had to create a list of 20 sentences that each contained a simile to describe their picture. Then, they worked with a partner to rework and refine their sentences. Next, they uploaded their pictures into Voicethread and they had to “gimme” their ten best simile sentences which were recorded onto their Voicethread picture. What was so awesome about this lesson was how diligent the kids were about writing their similes. Since it was going to be on the Internet “for all the world to see,” they worked so hard to create really great similes so that they would look like “a really smart bunch of third graders!” You should have seen how many thesauruses and dictionaries were being passed around!

~ Jenna Wyks, 3rd Grade, Smithville