Diverse Notebook Entries & Intentional Strategies for Writing

     I've often been amazed by the writing styles of people and how, 

unlike myself, they are able to get their words on paper with such ease and clarity. 

Actually, I'm not really sure if it is with ease, but it certainly reads as effortless. As an 

educator, it is important for me to support students in growing their writing 

strategies. I want my students to feel confident in their writing abilities because I 

know that when you don't feel like you are good at something, you avoid it. But if 

you avoid writing, then you will not get good at it. The idea of writing to think 

makes so much sense as it would give students the necessary specifics to improve 

their writing. 

    One type of entry that stuck out to me is to start with little, nearby things. Vinton

says that writers aren't people who have more ideas than other people, instead,

they are people who have learned that you can start with anything. For example, 

they might take something "insignificant" near them, a coffee cup, and follow it 

to something meaningful. When you try to find the words in your head, but are not 

finding it, you can engage with something around you. This is actually encouraging

to me in my writing journey because I too can look around and start there. This is 

a great jumping point for the students I work with. When we focus on composition,

we can walk outside and use nature to get them engaged if they are having 

difficulty finding the words in their head. The second type of entry that I would use

with my students would be thinking about a person. Many times it is easy to limit 

what we write about because we narrow topic choices. Focusing on particular

people can offer lots of choices like writing about their personalities, physicality, 

stories, and relationships. Thinking about other people is powerful- like what they

are like, and what makes them who they are. This type of writing can help 

students grow as readers because it can help them develop more complex ways

of thinking about the characters in their own lives. 

    Bomer makes it a point that student notebooks should be student lead-

meaning students should feel they have control over their notebooks. We want 

students to take ownership of their writing and not tell them what each entry

must be about. Notebooks should not become a place filled with assignment 

after assignment, but rather give students choices to create, imagine, dream,

and initiate their writing.