Using notebooks

Ok, so what's all this talk about notebooks in Writer's Workshop? Well, actually, the use of notebooks follows along the line of what real writer's do. They make entries into a notebook so they don't forget the small stories happening in their lives and around them daily. Writer's workshop uses this approach with students.

Students (in grades 3-5) all have a composition book to use as their Writer's Notebook. In the beginning of the year, they decorate the cover with photos and anything else to personalize it to them. The notebook is used to make "entries", the name used for the writing they do on a daily basis during independent writing time. The notebook is mostly used during the first two weeks of a unit of study. The last two weeks of the unit have the child working on notebook paper while drafting, revising, editing and publishing their one piece.

Notebooks are used to keep all sorts of entries written in all sorts of genre. A student might choose to write a poem, start a report of factual information, free-write on a touching moment or a special memory. Notebooks are also used to collect lists of special moments the child could write about. The students list moments related to a feeling. They might list 3 happy moments, 3 sad moments, 3 exciting moments, 5 things I cannot live without or 3 honest moments.

Notebooks can and should contain a full range of a student's thinking. Special memories, things the student has an opinion on and things the student actively thinks and wonders about are all appropriately written about in the notebook. The notebook is the place for students to try out different kinds of writing and thinking.

Mini-lessons can be done to increase the student's strategies for getting started in their notebook. You might create a list on chart paper that gets posted in the classroom. Students could even copy the list of strategies in their notebooks to refer to. Ideas can include writing about a special object, person, place, event, opinion, etc. Teach students to free write to increase their fluency in getting their thoughts and ideas down on paper.

Just as your students keep a notebook, you too should be keeping your own writer's notebook. Develop your own writing along with your students. Most of us were never really taught well how to be a good writer. As you teach the craft of writing to your students, practice what you preach in your own notebook. Your students will love knowing you are a writer too and you will be inspiring to them.

I have read where it is a good idea to have the students write only on the right hand page in the notebook, leaving the back of the page (left side when notebook is open) empty. This allows some empty space for going back and expanding sections or applying a craft learned in a mini-lesson to excerpts from the notebook writing. You also will want to encourage your students to write in pen. This allows you to see editing and revising that they do. Teach them to cross out and write new words in the space above and also to use the "carat" to insert new thoughts.

Your students will most likely go through two notebooks in the course of a year. The writer's notebook is a treasure of ideas, thoughts, opinions, memories. It will be something your students will want to save and keep forever.

Teacher Talk - What's working, what isn't?

We devoted a staff meeting on October 24, 2007 to discussing the launch of Lucy Calkin's in our building. We separated into two groups, K-2 and 3-5. Each group discussed and answered three questions about the initial launch of Lucy Calkins...

• What is working?


• What isn't working?


• What do you need more help with?
  

I conveyed to the staff that the last question would help me in developing future staff development for them. I also would have information to bring back to the Literacy Leader district level meetings.

Here are the key ideas from each group for each question:

What is working?

The K-2 group...

• mini-lessons


• pulling sticks for sharing


• high frequency words around the room


• CD templates are very helpful


• posters for classroom

The 3-5 group...

• 4 days Lucy Calkins, 1 day writing to the prompt


• portfolios


• mini-lesson follow up and writing in notebooks


• process writing


• sketching, then writing is working very well


• take one paragraph and elaborate; create a picture

What isn't working?

The K-2 group...

• staple work in corners not on bottom of paper


• Kdgn. not ready for red dot, green dot at the beginning of the year; will fit in by end of unit)

The 3-5 group...

• concerns about Lucy Calkins conflicting with writing from prompts


• students need more motivation to get started and elaborate on more detail
  

What do you need more help with?

The K-2 group...

• in-service on conferencing with students


• Lucy Calkins training for parent volunteers


• books that go with mini-lessons
  

The 3-5 group...

• determining grades for marking period


• what is the best rubric to judge daily performance?


• assessment is a major concern

Frequently Asked Questions

How can all of the Grade 3-5 (or grade K-2) teachers be teaching from the same units?
This question surfaced frequently in my building. The answer is that the lessons are all multi-level. By this I mean that they are open-ended enough to allow teachers to delve into the mini-lesson more in-depth or less, depending on grade level. Also, the topics that are used to model the mini-lessons will be different for each teacher as they draw from their own classroom's or own personal experiences to generate writing. The mini-lessons are always based on excellent skills or strategies that will be taught at one level and then taught again or reviewed at succeeding levels.

How often does Writer's Workshop need to be scheduled?
You should schedule Writer's Workshop every day, five days a week to have maximum impact. You can cut it down to four days if necessary, but less than that is not recommended.

Will my children like Writer's Workshop?
You will find that your children will love the writer's workshop framework. They will also love writing now that they are able to choose their own topics and write about things they really care about.

Are mechanics taught in the Units of Study?
Yes! Many mini-lessons are devoted to mechanics or grammar. Children are taught capitalization, punctuation and all the other mechanics rules periodically throughout the mini-lessons. Because they are writing authentically, they are much more motivated to apply what they've learned.

I question devoting so much time to Writer's Workshop. Are my children losing out in other areas like reading?
Writing and reading have a reciprocity with each other. This means that when children write, they are practicing and applying their reading strategies and vice versa. Think about it. As children write, they are continually re-reading their writing. They are also reading as they proofread, read other children's drafts, scan their notebooks for seed ideas to draft, etc. The time put into writing will pay off across the curriculum by scaffolding your students' skills.

Provisioning a Room

Once you decide to implement the writer's workshop approach, you need to give some consideration to provisioning your room.

Here are some of the basic things to get in order to implement writer's workshop more effectively in your room:

• Writer's Notebooks - All students in grades 3, 4 and 5 will need a writer's notebook to write their daily entries in.



• Folders - Students in Grades K-5 will need a pocket folder. Grades K-2 use this to keep their daily entries in. Grades 3-5 will use the folder for their drafts, charts, rubrics, and published pieces.



• Chart Paper- Lucy has many charts that are created by the teacher. You will need large chart paper on hand to create these charts and also for modeling many of the mini-lessons.



• Markers/Pens/Pencils - Lucy says in her K-2 book, "The Nuts and Bolts of Writer's Workshop", that the use of fine line markers for kids to write with can be very motivating. For Grades 3-5 she mentions using colored pens such as green ink ones. Pencils can also be used.



• Paper - Get ready to have lots of paper used. For the lower grades, you will use lots of ditto paper as you run off and prepare the writing templates included on the Resource CD in the Units of Study. Notebook paper is used for drafting and publishing in Grades 3-5.



• Writing Center - Consider creating a writing center in one area of the room. Provision it with paper, pens, staplers, scissors, markers, and anything else students may need as they write.



• Word Walls - to help increase the number of sight words children are able to write fast and fluently.

The basics listed above will help you launch writer's workshop effectively. Make sure your students understand how and when all items are to be used. If you are using Units of Study, the use of the items is taught throughout the mini-lessons in the Launching Writer's Workshop units.

Lucy believes...

What are some of Lucy's strong beliefs about Writer's Workshop?

Stamina and Rigor

Lucy believes that the writing program needs to be rigorous. When she speaks of stamina, she means that children need to build up their ability to write fluently and for long periods of time. It is the teacher's job to work toward building the stamina of her/his children. You may need to start by having the independent writing time be 5-10 minutes if your kids are younger and have not been required to write for extended periods of time before. You should, however, work quickly toward increasing the time expected of them to write fluently. Your job is to get them writing and writing fluently for increasingly longer periods of time.

Promote independence in children

Children are taught and expected to be independent in writer's workshop. Once independent writing time starts, they need to know what they are expected to do and get going doing it. This means they need to know where all supplies are. They also need to know that it is not okay to interrupt the teacher if she is conferencing. They should be busy writing for this period of time. Children actually thrive with this independence and it frees you up to get some serious conferencing done with students.

Keep workshops simple and predictable

The writer's workshop has a set format to it. It always starts with a mini-lesson with the large group gathered on the floor in front of the teacher. It continues on to independent writing time and closes with the large group back together again for sharing. There is an ebb and flow to it. Large group, small group....large group. The children learn the routine and without question, should know what is expected of them. They should be able to get busy without direction from the teacher once the routine is taught and established.

All lessons are multi-level

A great benefit of the Units of Study is the fact that the lessons are all multi-level. They are very open ended. Since the students are choosing their own topics and writing at their own level, the lessons are truly differentiated for all the different levels in your classrooms. Finally! With all of the mainstreaming and the wide range of levels common in classrooms, this is truly a curriculum that will fit all.

Writing is the ONLY option during writing time

This is a biggie! Students are taught that they are never finished in writer's workshop. This is a paradigm shift from the traditional way many teachers have taught writing. In the past, you may have given a prompt and instructed the kids that this was the day for them to write their rough drafts. You know how it went from there. Johnny finished in 10 minutes and Suzie was still writing an hour later. The kids that finished early needed something to do to fill in the time waiting for others to finish. This is the beauty of the workshop way. During workshop time, children keep writing the entire time. They are all at different levels and stages of writing. Some may be publishing, others are working on rough drafts and still others are conferencing with the teacher. Children are taught early on that they are never done. Teachers will repeatedly say to them, "When you're done, you've just begun". They are directed to go back to their writing and either add to the pictures, add more detail, or perhaps start another piece. The main issue is they must get busy doing something with writing and only writing.