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!
I'm not a teacher, but am I a TOTAL geek for wanting to do these activities? I LOVE that you're focused on bringing out their introspective and creative sides. Writing activities are so great for kids to learn about themselves, and writing is a skill we MUST develop! Great entry, I'll share this with my teacher friends on facebook!
ReplyDeleteYou are totally not a geek! I think you should go right ahead and start your own writer's notebook. In a lot of the research I did for this, I kept reading that most famous authors use writer's notebooks in their own lives. I've really enjoyed using mine.
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