Using Observations in the Writer's Notebook

After this first week of school, I think I can say my students LOVE using Writer's Notebooks. Today, one student didn't want to pay attention because she said she wanted to write about zombies in her notebook. After we finished a quiz today, a boy got out his notebook and continued working on a writing project even though we finished it yesterday. He wanted more. Yesterday, two boys begged to take their notebooks to recess to write some more.

Yesterday we listed our observations or wonders in our notebooks. At the top of the page we wrote "I Wonder..." and then listed all the things in life we wondered about. I shared my list first to get their brains rolling. They LOVE to hear what I write first. I don't know why I never modeled my writing for my students in the past. It really is the best way to teach writing. The only danger is they end up copying your work to some extent. I guess I do the same thing to my mentor authors as well. Maybe that's what we're supposed to do.


At first, some students balked at writing down things they wonder about. Some students claimed they didn't wonder about anything. Others filled up more than one page. Some of the great observations from my students were: "I wonder why God made my face so handsome." How about "Why are bubbles round and not square?" Or "Why does the Easter bunny unnaturally produce eggs?" I really liked this insightful one, "Why would someone invent cuss words?" The classic: "I wonder what my little brother's IQ really is?" A conspiracy theorist: "Why won't the government tell us what is in Area 51?" Or, "Why is Santa Claus fat?"

Of course some of these could be answered. The purpose of this exercise was to first of all, get the students excited about writing. I also wanted them to create a space where they can start gathering ideas for future writing projects. Since we're in the beginning of the year, we need to build up our notebooks so we have something to work with later in the year.

Today we started working on our heart maps. They LOVE this project so far. Even the reluctant students are jumping on board.

On Monday, I plan to teach them how to use their notebooks to record their personal thoughts in what is called the "daily pages." Daily pages are basically the same thing as journaling. We'll see how it goes! I'll keep you posted. As always, if you have suggestions for how to use writer's notebooks in the classroom, please leave a comment!

Introducing the Writer's Notebook

I have officially completed my first two days of my 4th year of teaching. They were utterly exhausting, but incredibly rewarding.

This year I decided to introduce the concept of the Writer's Notebook in my 6th grade classroom. So far, so good. On day one, I showed them my writer's notebook. They were enthralled with the markers I used to make my Heart Map and "I" chart. They keep begging to do that, which makes my heart sing. (Even though I know they are mostly interested in using markers.)

The first activity I had them do was "History of a Name." I got this idea from the great book entitled Notebook Know-How: Strategies for the Writer's Notebook by Aimee Buckner. They had to write about the history of their name. Since it was the first time I had them write this year, I let them include anything relating to names. Some students really ate up this activity. Others were more reluctant. They didn't seem to be able to pull ideas from their brains. I'm really hoping it becomes second nature to them as the year goes by.

Today I had them prepare a list so they can "Write From a List" later in the year, which is another of Buckner's strategies. They had to list their top 10 best life events and top 7 worst life events. Some of them struggled to come up with enough ideas. I really don't think some of them ever reflect on their own lives in this way. It's something I hope to help them develop. Once they got the hang of it, though, they were begging to share with the class what they wrote. One of my toughest boys, who has a terrible attitude normally, accidentally blurted out to the whole class that he was going to put "Having Mrs. Rhine as our teacher" on his best events list. He was being completely sincere when he said it. It absolutely melted my heart!

Tonight, I've been reading some more of Buckner's book. It's been excellent. I often have a hard time truly relaxing in the evenings. I end up browsing through the same old posts on Facebook when I really have all sorts of fun things I could be doing instead. I really want to improve this aspect of my life this school year. So tonight I brewed a cup of tea, grabbed my book and highlighter, created a piano solo station on Pandora, and sprawled out on the couch. It was divine. Much better than endlessly browsing Facebook! That's for sure!

Let me know if you've tried Writer's Notebook in your classroom. I'd love to hear your ideas!