Nancie Atwell recommends using a 100-page spiral notebook for the students’ writer’s notebook. I was initially excited by the idea of a fresh, clean spiral notebook, ready for students’ ideas to transform it. Upon further reflection, a thin binder may serve a better purpose for this job. While I like creative messes, many of my students have difficulties with executive functioning/organization to the point that their creativity will become lost and meaningless amidst the disorganization. Another reason, I prefer a binder is that it lends more flexibility and utility to the writer’s notebook. Students can add ideas, samples of mentor texts, and use as many pages as they would like for sections of their binder. Also, students can add works in progress or samples of their favorite pieces.
There is the concern about portability of a binder. It is not as small and easy to take wherever inspiration may lead a student. A solution would be a small idea book that can be kept in a pocket or purse that students can use to jot down ideas to later be added or could be included in a pocket folder of their Writer’s Notebook .
I am still in the process of exploring the final format for the writer’s notebooks that my students will use next school year. Below are a few resources and options for Writer’s Notebooks. Check back on this page as we get closer to the end of this school year and the start of the next, as I plan on adding options during my exploration of the techniques and best practices of the Writer’s Workshop model.
Student Writer’s Notebook Options:
- Reader’s and Writer’s Notebook, Three Teachers Talk Blog, excellent resource for developing a Writer’s Notebook
- 100-Page Spiral Notebook, with a table of contents and a territory section for ideas, (Writing Masters: Lessons That Change Writers with Nancie Atwell)
- Writer’s Workshop Notebook Templates (The Writer’s Workshop Format at Minds in Bloom by Rachel Lynette)
- The Binder Approach ( Organize Writing with a Writer’s Notebook by Becky Spence The Notebooking Fairy )
Capturing A Rainbow in a Cup 