S4 E26 BONUS: Coaching, Teaching, & Classroom Management Strategies Sparked From My Conversation with Ralph Fletcher (❤️Olivia Wahl)

Power of Writer's Notebooks: Spaces Where Students Write Freely

Discover how writer's notebooks create essential spaces for student creativity and authentic expression in this S4E26 bonus episode featuring insights from Ralph Fletcher's book, A Writer's Notebook: Unlocking the Writer Within You. Learn practical strategies for implementing writer's notebooks in your classroom and providing meaningful feedback that empowers rather than constrains young writers.

🔑 In this episode: 

🌟Why writer's notebooks serve a distinct purpose beyond assignments

🌟How to shift from formulaic writing to authentic expression

🌟The difference between "done" and "done for now" in the writing process

🌟Practical ways to provide feedback that focuses on growth, not just praise

🌟John Hattie's research on effective feedback for student learning

I share my experience implementing writer's folders and notebooks across grade levels and explain how giving students freedom transformed their writing. This episode is perfect for K-12 teachers, instructional coaches, and anyone interested in helping students develop authentic writing voices.

00:00 - Introduction: The power of greenbelt writing 

01:00 - Schoolutions podcast overview 

01:43 - Ralph Fletcher's concept of greenbelt writing 

02:00 - Writing folders vs. writer's notebooks 

03:12 - Breaking free from genre constraints 

04:32 - The problem with writing formulas 

05:12 - Ralph's definition of a writer's notebook 

07:00 - Choosing the right people for writing feedback 

08:23 - Creating in-person writing groups 

10:15 - The writer should control the feedback process 

11:32 - You don't have to accept all feedback 

12:58 - John Hattie's research on effective feedback 

14:25 - Why "great job" isn't helpful feedback 

15:32 - Connecting feedback to zones of proximal development

Episode Mentions:

• A Writer's Notebook: Unlocking the Writer Within You by Ralph Fletcher
• Visible Learning for Teachers: Maximizing Impact on Learning by John Hattie
• Lev Vygotsky’s Zones of Development

Want to learn more about Greenbelt writing and offering students choice as writers? Check out my full S4E26 interview with  Ralph Fletcher.

#WritersNotebook #TeachingWriting #LiteracyInstruction #RalphFletcher #GreenbeltWriting #StudentWriters #TeacherPD #WritingWorkshop #JohnHattie #WritingFeedback #ElementaryWriting #MiddleSchoolELA #WritingProcess #LiteracyCoaching #AuthenticWriting

When coaches, teachers, administrators, and families work hand in hand, it fosters a school atmosphere where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged in their learning journey.

Transcript

[00:00:00] Hi there, I'm so happy you're here. Your time is precious and because of that I want to let you know right away what you'll gain by listening to the very last second of this episode. My conversation with Ralph Fletcher focused on his concept of Greenbelt writing. In the words of Barry Lane, “It's the writing kids love to do when no one is looking over their shoulders.”

In this bonus episode, I offer my insights about the power of writer's notebooks as essential spaces for creative freedom and authentic expression. You'll learn why writer's notebooks serve a distinct purpose beyond school assignments. Why effective feedback requires intention and ownership and why quality feedback focuses on the work not just praise.

Stay with me. I'm so happy to have you as a listener today. This is Schoolutions: Coaching and Teaching Strategies, the podcast that extends education beyond the [00:01:00] classroom. A show that offers educators and caregivers strategies to try right away and ensure every student receives the inspiration and support they need to thrive. I am Olivia Wahl, and this is a bonus episode.

It's an accompaniment to my conversation with Ralph Fletcher, Season 4, Episode 26. Ralph offered a beautiful overview of his concept of Greenbelt writing in Barry Lane's words that Ralph appreciated, “It's the writing that our children love to do when no one is looking over their shoulders.” Ralph made a very strong case for the need for Greenbelt writing in our classrooms; choice, joy, and part of our conversation, we also spoke to the importance of writer's notebooks.

I have absolutely adored Ralph's book, A Writer's Notebook: Unlocking the Writer within You for many, many years, when I was [00:02:00] teaching grades K-2, my children had writing folders and in those writing folders, they would be able to pick and choose from. A variety of paper choices usually matched to the genre or mode of writing that we were learning within.

One side of their folders had a still working label. The other side, I actually had switched to done with a red dot to done for now, because I realized children were not revisiting their writing enough, and rereading and adding details and revising. Oftentimes, when a child's piece of writing would move over to that right side of their folder, it was done forever in their minds.

But we know that writing needs to be reworked and rethought through as life goes on and we experience more. When I began teaching third grade and beyond, actually, this is the writing process I even use as an adult. I had a writer's notebook for every single student. [00:03:00] Something I did illuminate in my conversation with Ralph was about a student who approached me and asked if she could continue writing in other genres outside of the genre we were writing within.

And we ended up stapling a composition book to the back of her writer's notebook that we were using in class. And it was amazing to see her fluidity between writing in perhaps narrative within the unit that we're studying, and then moving out to also include poetry and informational writing and statistics.

And what that really made me think about is the writing process in general - that when we are living in our notebooks, it's really for collecting seed ideas that we want to develop into drafts and revise and edit and publish. So, I shifted from being so focused on a particular genre [00:04:00] to really thinking about with students, what is it that you need and want to convey to your readers?

I didn't want them to feel handcuffed to a particular genre, certainly not a particular structure that they would have to follow and write within. With that said, I offer structure as a scaffold, as I see students need them, but I think that is vastly different than expecting all students to write within a formula.

And these formulas often paralyze writers instead of helping them. And then, once students were ready and they had an idea that they wanted to develop and they played with it in their notebook in a variety of genres, a variety of ways, we would move into drafting. Once students knew the idea that they had developed and wanted to convey, they were able to choose and draft within a structure or format that they thought would [00:05:00] best convey that idea to their readers. 

It was such a powerful shift. That meant that revising, that meant that feedback; I had to be really specific for children around the format they were writing within, around their audience, around craft. But I absolutely loved that as a teacher, it really stretched me, as well.

So with that said, let's jump into Ralph's book, A Writer's Notebook. On page three, Ralph gives a beautiful description of what a writer's notebook is not and what it is. “Writers are like other people, except for at least one important difference. Other people have daily thoughts and feelings. Notice this sky or that smell. But they don't do much about it. All those thoughts, feelings, sensations, and opinions pass through them like the air they breathe. Not writers. Writers react. [00:06:00] And writers need a place to record those reactions. That's what a writer's notebook is for. It gives you a place to write down what makes you angry, or sad, or amazed. To write down what you noticed and don't want to forget. To record exactly what your grandmother whispered in your ear before she said goodbye for the last time. A writer's notebook gives you a place to live like a writer. Not just in a school during writing time, but wherever you are at any time of day.”

I've realized at this point in my life, I have so many writer's notebooks that I've collected from all different phases in my life. And I've also begun to collect different digital formats of notebooks. For me, another critical aspect of being a writer is getting a response from other writers or feedback from other writers. And chapter 17 in this book speaks to that. [00:07:00] Ralph cautions us, “choose carefully when you're looking for someone to respond to your writing.”

He offers some criteria for how we can choose. He says, “pick someone who: you trust and respect, is a good reader, and will read your piece with an open heart. After you choose that person, and they agree to read your work, make sure you tell them what kind of help you need.”

He goes on, “for instance, you might ask, does it make sense? Where did you get confused? Does the ending need work?”

And then he shares examples of where feedback from someone else helped him strengthen a piece of his own writing. So let's pause there because as an adult, I love the idea of having really clear criteria of who I am asking to help. I need to trust and respect them. They need to be good readers and they need to read the piece with an open [00:08:00] heart. 

I also think this resonates and speaks to how we need to live as adults when children have to be vulnerable with us as their teacher to share their writing. They don't get to pick, we're, we're it. They can choose other people that they want to share their writing with, but there is a real sense of humility and just being vulnerable that when you share your writing with someone else.

So are we someone that our students trust and respect? Are we readers and writers ourselves? Can we read each child's piece of writing with an open heart and an open mind, setting aside biases of all of the things we may think that they are or are not as writers? And then I go on to page 190 and Ralph reminds us, “Nowadays, it's easy to get feedback on your writing from others using technology like [00:09:00] Google Docs, Microsoft Word.” 

But he cautions us, “don't limit yourself to this kind of response, however easy and convenient it might be. If possible, I'd encourage you to get together with actual people at a specific time and place. Meet after school in the library with someone who's willing to read your work, or start a writing club at school. There's something powerful about getting together in person with other writers. Here are a few tips for how to get the most out of these writing get togethers.”

And these tips are amazing! Ralph says, “Keep it small, four people is about the right number. Divide the time up so everybody gets a turn. Appoint someone timekeeper so one person doesn't gobble up too much time. (We've all experienced that.) If the pieces are long, send a copy to each member ahead of time so everyone can read the material before you meet. Try to keep the vibe positive and supportive. And, bring snacks or finger food if [00:10:00] that's allowed.” 

And then in parallel practice, just like he mentions earlier, once you're together, how can you help each other as writers? Ralph says, “First remember that the writer, the ones getting the help, should be in charge of their time. It's useful to first ask the writer, what kind of response would you like? Sometimes the writer just wants to read it out loud. Others, the writer might want to know, is it boring? Does this make sense? Does this situation seem believable? Is there any part where you got confused?”

And then there's another scenario, when you're the writer getting response. “It's your turn, but you're not sure what to say. In that case, you might ask, What parts or lines work best for you? Do you have a suggestion for how I could make it better? When you're the person giving response, sometimes you're not sure how to respond. Always begin by listening carefully. [00:11:00] After the writer has finished reading, you might say, Your writing seems to be about…, or I really connected to the part…,or, I wanted to know more about…”

And Ralph says, “Remember, and this is important, you are not obligated to revise your writing based on what someone else says.”

Ralph shares, “I've worked with many skilled editors over the years, often their ideas are brilliant. I never doubt that their suggestions are sincere, but sometimes those suggestions make me uncomfortable or don't ring true. When I get “helpful” suggestion like that, I ignore it. Listen carefully to the response you get to your writing, but go with your gut.”

And that is exactly why, when I am conferring with students as writers, or when I'm conferring with friends or colleagues as writers, I [00:12:00] always say, This is my best thinking. This is feedback I have to offer. I try to be really, really specific - and I make sure to let them know I am not offended in the least if they do not apply that revision or that technique to their writing. 

Do we offer that sense of openness to our children when we're meeting with them as writers? When we offer a possible lead or a different way to phrase and experience they’re living? Do we let them have choice and autonomy over whether they apply that to their writing or whether it rings true to them? It should be the same parallel practice that we want as grown-ups. 

And I want to linger a bit with that idea of feedback. I've been doing a deep dive into John Hattie's book, Visible Learning for Teachers: Maximizing Impact on Learning. It's amazing and extraordinarily [00:13:00] helpful. And I've been revisiting chapter seven around feedback.

The chapter is called The Flow of the Lesson: The Place of Feedback. And after reading this chapter several times, on page 135, it really strikes me and I've shared this with many coaches and teachers around the different levels of feedback, but specifically the self level. And I just wanted to share this because I noticed that when I'm looking at samples of student writing or student learning, I'm noticing a lot of teachers offering praise in the form of great job, well done.

And I often coach around being really specific with our language. So great job, although that's praise and that can lift a spirit, it doesn't really let that student or that writer know specifically what they did that can move forward as learning and transfer into other [00:14:00] parts of their writing. 

John Hattie says, “the fourth level of feedback directed to the self, for example, you're a great student or well done is commonly subsumed under the notion of praise. Praise is often used to comfort and support, it's ever present in many classrooms, and is welcomed and expected by students. But, it so often directs attention away from the task, processes, or self-regulation (those are other levels of feedback). The major message is to provide praise, but not to give it in such a way that it dilutes the power of feedback. Keep praise and feedback about the learning separate.”

And John goes on on page 136, “The art of effective teaching is to provide the right form of feedback at or just above the level at which the student is working. Ideally, teaching and learning need to move from the task towards the processes [00:15:00] or understandings necessary to learn the task, and then to regulation about continuing beyond the task to more challenging tasks and goals. This process results in higher confidence and greater investment of effort, and the aim of providing feedback is to assist students through this process. This flow typically occurs as the student gains greater fluency, efficiency, and mastery. The first three feedback levels form a progression. The hypothesis is that it's optimal to provide appropriate feedback at or one level above that at which the students currently functioning and to clearly distinguish between feedback at the first three and the fourth levels.”

I find this absolutely fascinating. And I was reading, rereading this excerpt with colleagues over this past week. And something, one of my colleagues shared is how amazing would it [00:16:00] be if we started as teachers to think about: Are we coaching and conferring into or at the task or product level? Are we coaching or conferring into process? Are we going beyond process to self-regulation or conditional? And then are we transferring into that self mode without focusing heavily on praise, but focusing on the learning that's happening?

This also reminds me very much of the Zones of Proximal Development and how critical it is to start with what the writer, start with what the learner is doing well in their Zone of Actual Development, and then that just right moment. Or that just right feedback that Hattie's referring to, in my mind, would live in that Zone of Proximal Development.

The stretch just above what that child already or what that learner already has in place. I hope this is helpful and a great refresher [00:17:00] on the purpose of a writer's notebook and the importance of choosing who we want to receive feedback from based on our needs as writers and readers and literate beings in the world.

Thank you for tuning in and I cannot wait to see you next week. Take care. Schoolutions: Coaching and teaching strategies is created, produced, and edited by me, Olivia Wahl. Thank you to my older son, Benjamin, who created the music playing in the background. You can follow and listen to Schoolutions wherever you get your podcasts, or subscribe to never miss an episode and watch on YouTube.

Now, I'd love to hear from you. Send me an email at schoolutionspodcast@gmail.com. Let me know how you offer your students choice and who you choose to offer you feedback as a writer. Tune in every Monday for the best research backed coaching and teaching strategies you can apply right away to better the lives of the children in your care. And [00:18:00] stay tuned for my bonus episodes every Friday where I'll reflect and share connections to what I learned from the guests that week. See you then!