Keeping a Writer’s Notebook, Amanda Quinn
4 February 2021
This teacher CPD session explores how to use writer’s notebooks in the classroom. It introduces the idea that a notebook is for the writer alone and should not be marked or assessed.
It offers examples of real life writer’s notebooks to demonstrate their potential uses. Teachers are asked to consider the benefits of students keeping a writer’s notebook. They also examine the positive effects of keeping their own notebook and why they might write alongside students in the classroom. To experience this, teachers complete a ten minute writing exercise taken from a list of notebook writing prompts. They think about a time they visited the sea and write a piece which begins, ‘I remember…’. After the exercise they are invited to share a word, phrase or sentence from their piece if they want to. The exercise is designed to demonstrate that notebooks are for exploring and experimenting and that the writer can decide whether or what to share.
The session concludes by looking at the results of research into the benefits and practice of using writer’s notebooks in the classroom.
We hope you enjoy exploring writing on your own and introducing the practice to your pupils.
