Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Writers' Notebooks

Hi there, students and parents,

Just a quick note for those of you who may have been unhappy with your current Writing Workshop grades in Genesis...don't fret quite yet!

Some students did a GREAT job on their first Friday notebook check, but others were missing some very important items that affected their grades.  Some of the most common issues were...


  1. Forgetting to put the date above ALL entries in your notebooks--anything you write on any given day should have the date at the top!
  2. Writing insufficient notes, or writing no notes at all.  Every time we have a mini lesson in class, you should be writing down notes on what is most important in the BACK of your notebook!  These notes should be written in a way that is most useful to you!  If you want to review it, you can access the (fabulously fascinating) Powerpoint from this week's lesson on note taking and retention HERE.
  3. Not writing ENOUGH.  While I am looking more for quality than quantity when it comes to your writing, I do expect that you are writing at least a FAIR amount during our independent writing sessions.  When I open a notebook and see little or nothing written on a particular day when we had class, I am concerned, and it will affect your grade.
  4. Sloppiness and disorganization.  There were a small number of cases this past week when I could barely read a student's handwriting, or where a student's notebook was not organized properly (mini lesson notes in the back, all other writing in the front).  Please be sure that you're keeping your notebook organized.  It will make your life--and mine--much easier!
Please keep these issues in mind so that next week, your writing notebook grade goes soaring upward!  Remember--every student in my class is better than adequate, and your notebook should reflect that!

Looking forward to giving out some high scores next week!
Miss Whitman

P.S. Parents who may be reading, I would recommend that you also check out the Powerpoint on note taking (link included above under item two).  There are some very interesting tidbits about the importance of teaching others, and your child should be able to tell you all the intriguing details after today's (or, for some students, tomorrow's) lesson!

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