Teaching writing? Drowning in writing resources? As a writing teacher, I am sure you are flooded with graphic organizers, signal words, sentence stems, rubrics…. Your students need writing notebooks!
Survive and thrive those paper-laden lesson with this simple technique and many kid-friendly resources.
I created student writing notebooks because students need ONE place to access EVERY writing resource. GAME CHANGER!
The most beautiful thing about this binder is that it is also a student’s “Best Friend” because it stays with them forever. I tell my fifth graders that it is their “Middle School Survival Kit.”
It is such a great feeling when middle school teachers and former students tell me that they continue to use their binders. #PROUD
Teaching Writing Using Writing Notebooks
Writing notebooks are an encyclopedia of writing resources. They make teaching writing and learning to write easier. The resources should answer questions such as, “What do I include in an introduction?” and “How do I cite evidence from non-fiction/poetry/maps/novels?”
Organize Materials in Writing Notebooks
1.) Type and Size Binder – I love the 1 inch clear view binder.
2.) Dividers – The numbered tabs with the table of contents are colorful, neat, not bulky, and easy for students to edit in the future.
3.) Add the dividers and binders to your school supply list.
4.) Divide your resources into topics. Review the writing standards for your grade level and choose how you would like to divide the sections. Think SURVIVAL!
5.) Students store binders in bins at the end of each table.
Sections in Writing Notebooks
- Sentence Starters – RACES Paragraphs
- Words – Vivid Vocabulary and Transition Words
- Introduction and Conclusion – Step-by-Step Resource
- Social Studies– Document-Based Sentence Starters
- Point of View – Perspective: Analyze Multiple Accounts Sentence Starters
- Essays – Step-by-Step Essay Text-Based Essays
- Parts of Speech
- Sentences – Simple and Compound Subjects and Predicates, Compound Sentences, Complex Sentences
- Writing Samples – Students Samples and Exemplar Text
- Annotations– A Guide for Annotating Text
More Options for Writing Notebooks
- Argumentative Writing
- Rubrics– RACES Paragraphs and Essay Rubrics
- Compare and Contrast (I put this resource in the “Transition Words” section.)
- Editing
- Graphic Organizers (I put these resources in the Introduction and Conclusion and Essay section.)
Collect Content While Teaching Writing
Start small by gradually collecting content throughout the school year. Each time you teach new writing skills, students add the resources to their binders. Make a master copy binder for you. Eventually you will have the binder that fits you and your students’ needs.
Once you develop an organized writing notebook, make copies of the entire binder for each student at the beginning of the school year.
My Vision
Create writing notebooks in lower elementary. Collect the binders/notebooks at the end of the year. Then, give binders to the next grade level. Each year, teachers add content.
Fifth grade teachers send the binders to middle school or let the students take them home at the end of the year. REMINDER: This is your MIDDLE SCHOOL SURVIVAL KIT!
Teaching Writing does not have to be a Challenge
Writing Notebooks give students the independence that’s needed to thrive and survive!
