Idea Notebooks

1. Idea Notebooks Presented by: Lila Jorge Patricia Krivac Stacey Shubitz Thursday, June 8th, 2006 Professional Development Day

2. The 5 W’s of Idea Notebooks • WHO • Students K-7 • Faculty • Administration

3. The 5 W’s of Idea Notebooks • WHAT: • A place to find & collect new ideas

4. The 5 W’s of Idea Notebooks • WHEN (pick what works for you): • Morning lineup/sitting in auditorium • On the way to assemblies • Transitional times/early finishers (in class) • Recess during inclement weather • Waiting for after school to begin • In the morning, evenings, weekends, vacations

5. The 5 W’s of Idea Notebooks • WHERE (pick what works for you): • Classrooms • Hallways • Auditorium • Cafeteria • Playground/Yard • Field Trips • Subway or bus • At home

6. The 5 W’s of Idea Notebooks • WHY: • “We can’t give children rich lives, but we can give them the lens to appreciate the richness that is already there in their lives. Notebooks validate a child’s existence.” --Lucy Calkins, Living Between the Lines, 35

7. The 5 W’s of Idea Notebooks • WHY: • To provide a place for students to practice writing. • Generate texts • Find ideas --Aimee Buckner, Notebook Know-How, 5

8. The 5 W’s of Idea Notebooks • WHY: • To give children a place where writing matters to them. • To develop a love of writing. • To find excitement in the act of collecting ideas that hold meaning to them.

9. Implementation: Option A • Teachers will model how to use the Idea Notebook during the first week of school. • During Writer’s Workshop • Students will carry their Idea Notebook to and from school beginning the first week of school.

10. Implementation: Option B • Teachers will spend about two weeks “talking-up” the Idea Notebook. • Modeling how to use the Idea Notebook. • Countdown the days until the kids receive their Idea Notebooks. • Launch the Idea Notebook with some fanfare in your classroom.

11. What Goes In An Idea Notebook? • Observations of people or situations • Overheard conversations • Sketches • Snatches of talk • Longer entries • Once kids feel comfortable using their Idea Notebook.

12. Early Literacy and Writing Concepts According to the National Council of Teachers of English: • 1. Young children possess knowledge about written language and a variety of forms of writing—stories, lists, signs—from an early age; quality instruction in the primary grades reflects children’s experience and knowledge. • 2. All families engage with literacy and literacy-related experiences.

13. Writing Concepts (cont.) • 3. Writing develops in non-linear ways and takes multiple forms as it becomes more conventional.  • 4. The “language arts” develop in concert. Drawing supports writing, writing supports reading; opportunity to use multiple expressions of language increases language learning and ability • 5. Writing is a social activity; writing instruction should be embedded in social contexts.

14. Writing Concepts • 6. Language learning proceeds best when children use language for meaningful purposes. • 7. Experience with a particular kind of writing is the best indicator of performance; extensive reading and writing within a particular genre or domain increases successful performance. • 8. Writing is effectively used as a tool for thinking and learning throughout the curriculum.

15. Writing Concepts • 9. Students’ writing and language use reflects the communities in which they participate.  • 10. Control of a written and spoken discourse supports personal/political power. • 11. The intent of education is to increase and broaden our use of multiple social discourses, as well as to understand the implications of their use.

16. Considerations for Early Childhood Writing • Children need to know that writing is a social process that brings people closer. • Writing has many purposes and forms. *** • Oral stories drawn from their own lives is quintessential in the writing process. • Students need to think of themselves as authors. • Teachers need to model all the many ways we use writing.

17. Differentiation • Sketching and labeling are the two best ways to get them started. • Give the students time to share their notes or write to a partner/teacher. • Capture students’ stories during centers, as students unpack/pack, return from trips or vacation and create conversations on these moments.

18. What does it look like? • Faculty/Administration: • Continue to use your Blueline Notebook (aka: your Writer’s Notebook) for this purpose. • Grab an Idea Notebook, like the one your kids will use, and carry that around if you prefer! • Students: • That’s up to you. • You’ll get to choose from a few small notebooks; whichever one suits you and your students’ needs best.

19. So the kids are writing in little notebooks… now what? • Idea Notebooks should be semi-private. • Encourage your kids to share their entries with a writing partner or the class. • Give students time to transfer Idea Notebook jottings into their Writer’s Notebook so they can develop good jottings/sketches into seed ideas.

20. Next Steps • Select an Idea Notebook. • Develop short lessons to model the way to create entries in an Idea Notebook. • Decide how you’ll promote the use of the Idea Notebook with your students.

21. Questions/Comments • Does this mean kids can’t carry books with them like they used to? • Will there be Writing Certificates (similar to Reading Certificates)? • How do I prevent my students from using their Idea Notebook for writing notes to friends? Tearing out pages? • How do I assess the Idea Notebook? • Should time be allotted during the school day for students to write in their Idea Notebook or should this be done on-the-go? • Do I have to carry a Writer’s Notebook with me everywhere I go? • What happens if a student loses his/her Idea Notebook? • What do I do if my students run out of pages in their Idea Notebook? • Anything else that’s on your mind…

22. A final word about goals… • We are striving to become a community of writers at P.S. 171. • If we show the kids that their writing matters, then we’ll be on our way to building a thriving community of writers this fall.