Catching Foxes

The Writer's Notebook

“Writer’s notebooks have been written about extensively and called by many different names: scrapbooks, life books, journals, and day books.  It’s not the name that unifies these but rather the principle behind their use.  A writer’s notebook creates a place for students to save their words – in form of a memory, a reflection, a list, a rambling of thoughts, a sketch, or even a scrap of print taped on the page.  A notebook can become whatever the writer makes it to be. As teachers, we can guide its use, present strategies, and even mandate entries if we wish. If the notebook is to be a useful tool however, it must be useful to the writer first and the reader (teacher) second.”