Week+1

During today's class we discussed Chapter 3 by Bomer, where he describes the Writers Notebooks. Here is a summary of what we discussed: //What other activities could be added to Bomer's list? What activities have we used as students, writers, and as teachers to begin writing and get past writer's block?// //As teachers of writing, how can we negotiate the constraints of the school, policy, and curricular contexts to spend time on writing? How can we find a balance between reading, writing, grammar, and speaking? Can all four be taught simulataneously?//
 * __Week 1__**
 * We talked about the different activities/strategies described by Bomer that could be used in the classroom and most students thought these activities seemed possible to implement in the classroom and that their students would be interested in these activities. One practical activity was the activity where students would tell stories to each other as a means of getting to know each other, seeing themselves as writers, and brainstorming ideas for writing. The majority of students in our class also mentioned how the list of possible types of notebook entries on page 54 seemed helpful and benefical to practicing teachers.
 * We talked about the particular setting of Bomer's classroom and whether this was the type of classroom that we (interns, practicing teachers, etc.) would encounter in public schools. Some students felt like a lot of time was devoted to writing in this classroom and questioned whether this was feasible in schools where the curriculum requires the teaching of reading, writing, grammar, and speaking.
 * As a class we talked about the purpose of a Writers Notebook--drawing on Bomer's description of what it is and how it works--and discussed the differences between a journal, diary, and Writers Notebook.
 * As a class, we talked about how the Writers Notebook will be used in this graduate class (for in-class and outside of class activities, for the gathering of thoughts and materials to help us complete the writing assignments for this class, for organizing class materials and readings) and how they could be used in secondary classrooms.