Notebook writing


 

    Developing student writing is something that I will be focusing on in my ELA classroom.  Notebooks will be one way that I plan on introducing ways for the students to work through writing styles.  Two types of entries that I am really interested in introducing to my class are: Reaching into a memory and Writing with only your ears.  These two types of entries are particularly interesting to me because I feel they will allow the students to reach into themselves.  By reaching back into a memory, they will be recalling situations that they have experienced.  They will learn how to develop those thoughts and feelings into words.  I will explain that it does not need to be anything grand, just something that they remember (that relates to the prompt) and want to write about.  This will take away the pressure that students sometimes feel when trying to write a paper. 

Writing with your eyes just seems fun.  There’s not premise or expectation of what will be written.  The student simply needs to be present and aware of what they hear around them.  There is no right or wrong answer.  They will have the freedom to not make any sense because they are only following the lead of what they are hearing.  Again, training them to put words to something they are hearing, feeling and experiencing. 

In my Bomer textbook, the author explains intentional strategies versus assignments with respect to writing in the classroom.  From this explanation, I concluded that these notebook entries needed to be assigned intentionally.  Students respond differently to something they are being made to write about and something that they are recalling.  Entries should be assigned with the intent of the students having the ability for further exploration.  The student should feel like their notebook is a place to develop their personal thoughts and experiences. 

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