Laura Sarsten
Launching a Research Notebook
In my previous posts we discussed the importance of being curious as well as ways we can breathe in individual and creative ways to respond to information.
We can use the notebook in new innovative ways so that readers don’t only fill their pages with new learnings and fact findings, but also uncover their own questions and curiosities surrounding the information they are reading about. In doing so, students begin to develop their own personal thinking that lies beneath the research.
In reality what works for one reader might not work for another, but through experimentation, discovery, and a flow of possibilities, readers can find the pathway that works best for them. Ideally, the notebook helps readers get to know themselves better and encourages them to capture moments of time that are worth holding on to.
In this blog you will find 5 possible lesson ideas to help launch a Research Notebook with power and purpose, as well as some samples of student’s notebook entries to help inspire and spark our own creative ways to write about our reading.
Launching the Research Notebook
5 experiences that help students journal in genuine ways about the information that they encounter:
The notebook is an effective tool for learning, a window into the minds of the readers and writers in our rooms, and a true home for thinking, questions, drafts, goals, and reflections. When we transfer practices and think across content areas, students’ learning becomes deeper and more meaningful.
The readers’ and writers’ notebook is such an essential element to helping learners discover their reading and writing identities.
This is the last post in a series from Laura. Follow this link for the first post, Stirring Up Interest for Writing About Reading and this link for the second post Thinking for Themselves.