Writer's+Notebook


 * =Objective:= || =Essential Question: = ||
 * ====Actively foster engagement with the Writer’s Notebook to develop the experience of writing as a practice.==== || ====In what ways can your use of the Writer’s Notebook expand and deepen your experiences and growth as a writer? ==== ||

**Writer’s Notebook **


 * __What Is It?__ **

As part of your experience in this class, you will be asked to keep what’s called a Writer’s Notebook.

In it, you will be asked to informally write answers to various discussion prompts, thus becoming a springboard for conversation in your Writing Response Groups and for full-class sharing. You will also begin exploring ideas for your Place narrative, as well beginning to actually draft the narrative. You will be asked to practice elements of author’s craft in it. To boil it down, you will start to practice being a writer -- in all its various shapes and forms -- in your Notebook.

So, as you can see, it will be a multi-purpose tool, serving as the backbone for much of what we do for this class.


 * __What Does It Look Like?__ **

That’s up to you. It could be a spiral bound notebook. It could be a perfect-bound journal from Barnes and Noble. It could be lined, or unlined. It could even be a notebook of graph paper.

The paper can be thick and smooth, or it can thinner and a bit scratchier. It could made from recycled materials.

It could be hard- or soft-covered. It could be tall and narrow. It could short and squat. It could be plain, or it could be fancy.

It could even be a collection of Word documents, or Google Docs, or a blog in which you create multiple posts, if you’re more comfortable composing on a laptop, netbook, or iPad.

Whatever you choose, it needs to be comfortable for you. It needs to be something natural for you. You will be using it quite frequently, so it needs to be just right for your individual preferences and needs.


 * __When Will I Need It?__ **

Before the class begins. Every day the class meets. After the class is over*.

//* We won’t be keeping track after the class is over, but we’re confident you’ll continue using your Writer’s Notebook to deepen and expand your writing practice. //

Required Readings

 * ==="Beginner's Mind, Pen, and Paper," "First Thoughts," "Writing As a Practice," and "Composting" from the Writing Down the Bones Coursepack=== || ==="Go" from the Old Friend From Far Away Coursepack=== || ===Writer's Notebook Prompt Related to the Readings:=== ||
 * [[file:Writing Down the Bones Coursepack by Natalie Goldberg.pdf]] || [[file:Old Friend From Far Away Coursepack by Natalie Goldberg.pdf]] || ====What did you learn about keeping a Writer’s Notebook and about writing practice from Natalie Goldberg? Site two specific passages that spoke to you the most and explain what they said to you. ====

**Deadline: Monday, July 11**
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Additional Resources, Adaptations, and Extensions

 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__A Writer’s Notebook: Unlocking the Writer Within You__] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">by Ralph Fletcher (Google Books)

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Ralph Fletcher’s <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__Tips for Young Writers__] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Website

Writer's Notebook Slideshow
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__Writer’s Notebook: A Place to Dream, Wonder, and Explore__] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">” ||