Q+A: How Can I Make Informal Notebook Writing More Effective and Meaningful?
Q:I am in need of a Notebook Time Revamp. Many of my students are not taking it seriously and while I don't mind doodles/drawings, SO MANY choose to doodle and draw. I've incorporated photos, infographics, sentences, art, statistics, etc. I've tried using NB Time for noticing grammar patterns and discussing why authors choose particular patterns over others. How can I ensure that students are actually trying new things in their notebooks? - Traci
A:
It’s critically important for notebook work (in the past, I’ve called it “notebook time”. For you, it might be journaling. It’s just regular, informal writing) to be risk-free. As soon as we start applying grades to this work, everything changes. To borrow (backwards) from The Real World, students stop being real and start getting polite. There is no more risk-taking. No more trying-things-that-might-not-work. No more authenticity. We suddenly start seeing school writing again.
But our students are conditioned to see grades as the only measure of accountability. And without grades, they think everything becomes optional.
We need ways to encourage participation and accountability that are more intrinsically motivated and don’t use shame or grades to force students into compliance.
Resources for Notebook Work
Before we get to some strategies that have worked for me, I want to give you a bunch of resources for the kind of notebook work my students do — informal writing inspired and guided by tiny mentor texts:
A brilliantly practical post about using notebook time on a daily basis in a secondary class by Scott Bayer (@LyricalWordz)
The long lost notebook time folder from ye olde Mentor Text Dropbox (Shhh! Don’t tell!)
8 Strategies for Making Notebook Work More Meaningful
You will always have some students who get more out of notebook time (or any classroom routine!) than others. We do regular notebook time to help student generate ideas for future pieces of writing and to build writing muscles and stamina. If you most hesitant writer struggles to scribble a few words down during notebook time, think how much harder a larger piece of writing will be!
So, we persevere. And in the name of perseverance, here are 8 go-to strategies that have helped me boost notebook work engagement in my darkest teaching hours. Remember: the name of the game here is positive peer pressure and low key accountability that will, hopefully, entice students toward more robust participation.