Last month, I was put on brain rest for two weeks in order to get better after having a concussion. Brain rest in my world meant no driving, no news (print, online, or TV), no decision-making, and very little computer use. (It was supposed to be no computer use, but I was able to negotiate… Continue reading Connect Your Thoughts in a Writer’s Notebook + Giveaways
Category: writer’s notebook
Instagram Can Help Treat Writer’s Block
Encourage students to snap photos and save on Instagram, which they can revisit later when they need writerly inspiration.
Writer’s Notebooks
Last week I had a conversation with a middle school teacher who has spent her summer studying writing workshop and is excited to make writer's notebooks the backbone of her writing instruction. This is my tenth year as an instructional writing coach and I've had the opportunity to see teachers put notebooks in action hundreds… Continue reading Writer’s Notebooks
WN Collecting Idea
Writer Jordana Horn went into her son's class, filled with seven and eight year-old kids, earlier this month to lead a session on journaling. She asked the students to write what they don't 'get' about adults and what they will definitely do/not do when they are adults. She transcribed part of the conversation she had… Continue reading WN Collecting Idea
Introducing Throwback Thursday
Peruse some of our past posts that will help you and your students find more things to write about.
Hosting a notebook SOLSC for your students?
Even if your students won't be blogging in March, you can still dip-in & dip-out of the Classroom Challenge in one of two ways.
Making Writer’s Notebooks Personal
In my last post, there was this comment: Heather on Saturday August 4, 2012 at 1:06 pm said: Thanks for these ideas! But I really can’t wait to read about your ideas on writer’s notebooks on Monday! I need to breathe new life in to them in our classroom…I do not feel that I have found a way… Continue reading Making Writer’s Notebooks Personal
Blogs & Microblogs in the Classroom
"The act of telling your story and sharing part of your life with somebody is alive and well—even more so than at the dawn of blogging.” --Lee Rainie, director of the Internet and American Life Project This is my final post about the Saturday Reunion I attended back in March at TC. I'm slightly ashamed… Continue reading Blogs & Microblogs in the Classroom
Deeper Thinking About Notebook Work
This week I had the opportunity to interview author John Claude Bemis. This is is latest book: I asked him about notebook work and his response led me to a deeper understanding of the importance of notebook work. John said: I jot ideas down in the notebook, not because I’m worried I’ll forget them, but… Continue reading Deeper Thinking About Notebook Work
Get out of a Writing Rut
I keep a private, family-only blog about my daughter's daily life. I began keeping it about a week after she was born. Unless we were out of town, I blogged each and every day of her life. By the end of 2011, I was getting pretty tired of blogging. In fact, I began to find… Continue reading Get out of a Writing Rut
I’ve been studying sentence structure…
I was watching or listening or reading something this week --- I don't remember what -- but the message was: You can't be a writer if you're not a reader. True. (And probably the reason I don't remember who said it since this little tid-bit is fairly common knowledge.) The person went on to say:… Continue reading I’ve been studying sentence structure…
Twitter Tips
A few days ago Linda Baie asked me to share some ideas for using Twitter. I remember thinking the same thing. Remember the reason I started tweeting in the first place? I wanted to learn a new genre. What I didn't know I would find was incredible professional development and relationships with a variety of… Continue reading Twitter Tips

