Welcome to YourWriter's Notebook!

What is a writer's notebook you may ask?

*a notebook that is all about you!*write, write, write*take risks and try new things*explore topics*vent, vent, vent *get your thoughts down*all different types of writing*practice, practice, practice*ask questions*scribble, sketch, and draw *reflect, reflect, reflect*a place for IDEAS*a piece of you!

What goes in a writer's notebook?

*Life...yours*lists of all things*notes, memories, and emotions*fragments, drawings, photographs, thoughtshots*post cards, lyrics, questions, notes*doodling and responses *quickwrites*attempts at poetry*scratch outs, cross outs, messy writing*writing in the margins*favorite quotes, dialogue, and pieces of text *whatever you can imagine...

   What do we do with what we write?What is the end result?

*some entries we will expand on and turn into drafts*return to previous entries and reflect on what was written*experiment with different pieces of text*look through the notebook to see growth as a writer*share with your teacher! *share with friends and parents!*save and enjoy later

Writer's Notebook Guidelines

1. Have your notebook close at hand so you can write in it. Take it home and bring it back to school. Keep it safe.

2. Write in your notebook in and out of class. Write in it often. The more you write in it, the easier it will be and the better writer you will become. Feel free to use your notebook as a journal as well as a classroom writing tool.

3. Always date your entries and begin each entry on a new page or with enough white space to come back and write some more.

4. Only write on the right side of the page. The left side is forexperimenting, reflecting, and adding later thoughts.

 5. The last quarter of your notebook will be used for taking notes. Please turn to that section and write NOTES at the top of the page.  6. Turn to the last page of your notebook. This page will be used for reading suggestions. At the top of the page write: MY BOOK SUGGESTIONS. Anytime that you hear of an interesting book from a book talk, Mrs. Ball, Mrs. Barker, or a friend, you can write it on this page.7. Cross-out; don't erase. Erasing slows down the flow of writing. Don't try for the perfect notebook - this is more about taking risks as a writer. Also, you will have a record of your thinking if you don't erase, and it may be something you want to use in the future.

 8. It's okay to make mistakes! Spelling and punctuation are not the focus - it's more important to get your ideas down on paper.

9. Don't tear anything out; don't throw anything away. You never know when you might want those ideas down the road. 10. Never criticize your writing. Don't allow that voice inside your head to tell you that it's no good. It doesn't have to be a masterpiece, just honest writing.

11. Respect the privacy of others by not reading their notebooks without permission. 12. If there is an entry that you would like to keep private, please fold the corner of the page over.

 13. Remember that your writer's notebook is a work in progress. 14. Last but not least, make your notebook a reflection of you!Decorate it, add pictures, color it, etc.

What do I need to do in order to have a successful writer's notebook?

 Notebook writers learn to observe carefully (by using all of their senses), gather interesting information, reflect on

experiences, record life's big and small events, explore creative ideas, take risks, and write from the heart.

 

 Let's see some examples of writer's

notebooks!