School district gets back to basics
A district-wide literacy project in Glassboro School District has students embracing the joy of writing.
The program, titled the “Writer’s Notebook Project,” began in September 2006 for students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Through the initiative, students are required to brush up on their writing skills daily in marble composition notebooks. Dorothy L. Bullock Elementary School principal Joseph DePalma considers the writing activity beneficial to children throughout the district.
Students are given the freedom to write to their best ability in classes ranging from English to physical education without the worriment of being graded on grammar and punctuation. Teachers evaluate the writing to evaluate what skills should be focused on in the classroom.
Sometimes students are provided with in-class writing prompts or are permitted to write a “free-write” journal entry about a topic of their choosing.
Since the program’s start, DePalma has witnessed students’ writing skills strengthen and has seen an increase in the overall writing scores on state tests.
Writers Notebook was developed as a part of the Columbia University Teachers College Reading and Writing Project that focused on teaching literacy and writing. “We have seen improvements across the board and have seen more interest coming from students since this has been in place, DePalma said. “Children who would only write a quarter of a page before will now write two to three pages.”
He likened the Writer’s Notebook project to a child learning to play the piano. “A child at a piano recital may mess up, but we all clap in the end because the student is trying to do their best,” he said. “When teachers read the writer’s notebook, they are looking at the creative part of the child and not the technical pieces of it.”
DePalma thinks that giving students a choice on writing topics increases their interest and empowers them to do their best.
“Empowering [a] child through education is the most important thing we can do, and giving choices can only lead to more proficient students,” he said.
First-grade teacher Steven Hempel has implemented a similar journal project in the classroom for the 11 years he has been with the district.
Prior to the district’s adaptation of the program, his students wrote daily in separate journals for each subject area.
Hempel noticed that, since the entire school has taken on the notebooks, students have become more fluent writers. He calls the idea a great assessment tool to monitor the students’ writing skills.
“I use the notebook at times to develop what my next lesson is in writing. If students are not using capital letters, for instance, or not using transition words, that will be the next lesson,” he said.
Typically, he requires students to write in the journal about a piece of literature that they are reading in class, about a science or math lesson, or a free-writing exercise. Hempel, a national board certified teacher, has a master’s in early childhood education and a second master’s as a reading specialist. Hempel is also an adjunct professor at Rowan University, where he teaches literacy education courses.
In addition to writing in the journals, Hempel encourages the elementary students to illustrate their notebooks if they need assistance in finding inspiration for their entries. “Throughout all of my training, it has always been instilled in me how important it is for kids to write, and how reading and writing are linked in education,” he said. “One helps the other.”
Black-and-white marble notebooks are used by the students, donated by a local Staples store to the school, and students are permitted to decorate them in any way they choose. Notebooks are carried to every class period of the day except lunch. “The writer’s notebook has been a part of my teaching for so long, and I am excited to share it,” he said.
The program, titled the “Writer’s Notebook Project,” began in September 2006 for students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Through the initiative, students are required to brush up on their writing skills daily in marble composition notebooks. Dorothy L. Bullock Elementary School principal Joseph DePalma considers the writing activity beneficial to children throughout the district.
Students are given the freedom to write to their best ability in classes ranging from English to physical education without the worriment of being graded on grammar and punctuation. Teachers evaluate the writing to evaluate what skills should be focused on in the classroom.
Sometimes students are provided with in-class writing prompts or are permitted to write a “free-write” journal entry about a topic of their choosing.
Since the program’s start, DePalma has witnessed students’ writing skills strengthen and has seen an increase in the overall writing scores on state tests.
Writers Notebook was developed as a part of the Columbia University Teachers College Reading and Writing Project that focused on teaching literacy and writing. “We have seen improvements across the board and have seen more interest coming from students since this has been in place, DePalma said. “Children who would only write a quarter of a page before will now write two to three pages.”
He likened the Writer’s Notebook project to a child learning to play the piano. “A child at a piano recital may mess up, but we all clap in the end because the student is trying to do their best,” he said. “When teachers read the writer’s notebook, they are looking at the creative part of the child and not the technical pieces of it.”
DePalma thinks that giving students a choice on writing topics increases their interest and empowers them to do their best.
“Empowering [a] child through education is the most important thing we can do, and giving choices can only lead to more proficient students,” he said.
First-grade teacher Steven Hempel has implemented a similar journal project in the classroom for the 11 years he has been with the district.
Prior to the district’s adaptation of the program, his students wrote daily in separate journals for each subject area.
Hempel noticed that, since the entire school has taken on the notebooks, students have become more fluent writers. He calls the idea a great assessment tool to monitor the students’ writing skills.
“I use the notebook at times to develop what my next lesson is in writing. If students are not using capital letters, for instance, or not using transition words, that will be the next lesson,” he said.
Typically, he requires students to write in the journal about a piece of literature that they are reading in class, about a science or math lesson, or a free-writing exercise. Hempel, a national board certified teacher, has a master’s in early childhood education and a second master’s as a reading specialist. Hempel is also an adjunct professor at Rowan University, where he teaches literacy education courses.
In addition to writing in the journals, Hempel encourages the elementary students to illustrate their notebooks if they need assistance in finding inspiration for their entries. “Throughout all of my training, it has always been instilled in me how important it is for kids to write, and how reading and writing are linked in education,” he said. “One helps the other.”
Black-and-white marble notebooks are used by the students, donated by a local Staples store to the school, and students are permitted to decorate them in any way they choose. Notebooks are carried to every class period of the day except lunch. “The writer’s notebook has been a part of my teaching for so long, and I am excited to share it,” he said.
