Thursday, August 2, 2007

Notebook Know-How Chapter 2

This book was recommended by a couple of the supervisors at the Reading Clinic. I have had it for a few weeks, but only started reading it today. I am trying not to highlight too much (but it is hard). I am folding down lots and lots of pages with ideas I want to remember or be able to go back to. I think I am going to use some posts on my blog to keep track of some of the things I want to remember from this book (I have only completed the first 2 chapters and can't wait to write things down and keep reading).

Chapter 2: Launching the Notebook
1. Begin by storytelling . . . "oral storytelling allows children to tell about themselves and their experiences, and helps me take note of oral language skills while learning about each child." Read picture books with the class to get off to a good start.
While students are involved in storytelling, the teacher should be taking notes in her notebook. If or when students ask what she is doing . . .writing down things I want to remember

2. "Have them tell stories to each other, keep notes and ideas in your own notebook, share them with your kids, and wait for the right moment, when ut seems that everyone has a story to tell."

"We can't all talk at once, and we don't have time to hear everyone's story, but I do have a way for them to save their stories so they won't forget. Each one of you is getting a notebook today. This notebook is for your stories, ideas, and thinking."

3. Notebook Organization: "I ask the students to have 2 starting points. Students write from the from of the notebook . . .with their daily, self-selected topics." "The second starting point is from the back working toward the friont. here we keep notes from lessons, such as revision strategies, editing strategies, and grammar notes."

4. Strategies for Beginning Notebook Writing (page 15)
"These strategies help writers look at their lives and world in a way that seeks out stories, poems, and ideas."
No-fail strategies:
  • History of a Name (pg 15)
  • Writing from a list(pg 17)
  • Questions (pg 20)

5. After using these strategies to launch the notebook, then begin introducing strategies to help maintain the notebook:

  • Daily Pages (pg 23)
  • Writing off Literature (pg 24)
  • Obsrvations (pg 26)
  • Writing from a Word (pg 27)
  • Rereading and Highlighting (pg 29)
  • Lifting a Line (pg 30)

"There are countless books to inspire writing that work with strategies rather than prompts. As important as teaching some notebook strategies is, however, it is important to allow students to find their own ways of keeping a notebook. I try to limit the number of strategies I teach ad then I just let the kids go.) pg 31

6. A few guidelines help keep even the best students focused and on task. On pg 33, there is a chart of expectations for both the students and the teacher. This is given to students and parents so everyone is clear on who is doing what.

**KEEP IN MIND THE MOST BASIC GOAL OF THE NOTEBOOK: FOR STUDENTS TO BE INDEPENDENT WRITERS**

1 comment:

Dave Koppenhaver said...

How might you connect to technologies you learned in here?