"Fill your paper with the beatings of your heart"
- William Wordsworth
Welcome to the Write Site!
Welcome to the Write Site. My name is Guinevere Hedden and this is my "idea catcher" website, where I upload and share creative writing prompts, assignments, and inspirational concepts that I use with my 8th Grade Language Arts students. Please feel free to peruse these pages and try some of these ideas out on your own. Half of the fun of writing is seeing where a journal may take you. In the words of Maya Angelou, "there is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you"-- take a chance and let it free.
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"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." |
September Preview:
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To kick off the year, we will be doing a lot of writing! We have a lot to accomplish this year, so to prepare for the road ahead we will be participating in interest inventories, ice breaker writing activities, and creating banks of information to draw from as we work to grow as writers. One of my most important goals for my students is to train them to read like writers and explore the craft behind writing a poem, song, or story. Our first unit this year will be reading Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals; this narrative tells the story of a young girl's struggles as a member of the "Little Rock 9". In preparation, we will be reading stories that deal with the theme of tolerance and writing narratives on a relatively frequent basis. We will also be connecting with the concept by reviewing music and art that deal with similar themes, such as Norman Rockwell's "The Problem We All Live With" (shown in the slideshow to the left).
If you would like to see the various writing activities we will participate in this year, please feel free to see the Seed Ideas Page. |
The Writer's Notebook
What is a Writer's Notebook?
A writers notebook is a blank canvas for any student to use as they forge their identities as writers. Jeff Anderson calls this notebook a lot of things in his book, Mechanically Inclined, but I think my favorite way he refers to it is "the idea catcher". As we learn about and practice new forms of writing, we will explore the texts not only to achieve a working understanding of what it is saying, but also do a close investigation of the craft behind the work. In doing this, I hope students will be able to understand not only what is being said, but why it is we interpret the text in that way. By evaluating the craft of writing, we will be better equipped to become crafty writers. The writers notebook is where we will play and practice these skills in class, and later pull those ideas and skills as we develop formal pieces. This will be a playground for students to try on many writing hats, and I hope that by the end of the year they will figure out what kind of writer they will become.
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Image found on Pinterest.
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Writer's Notebook Setup
Students will need a marble composition notebook for this with sewn bindings. We will certainly be allowing them to decorate it and make it there own with whatever they would like, but we need to start simple with that one item.
Step 1:
Cover the outside of your notebook with pictures, quotes, and photographs that inspire you or reflect some of your favorite things Step 2: Number the upper right corner of every page. DO NOT WRITE ON THE REVERSE SIDE/LEFT PAGES. (Note: We are saving the pages on the left for revisions in the future - do not number or write on this side of the notebook) Step 3: Fold the table of contents (hamburger style) and attach to the inside front cover of the book. |
Image from Half Full Chronicles
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If you have any questions or concerns regarding this website, please do not hesitate to contact Guinevere Hedden.
©2015 Guinevere Hedden All Rights Reserved.
Images may be subject to Copyright.
©2015 Guinevere Hedden All Rights Reserved.
Images may be subject to Copyright.
Some photos used under Creative Commons from pixabay.com. All others are linked to original source.