I start the school year with an immersion in notebook writing. I ask students to complete a five-page autobiography in words, pictures, and/or drawings to gather thinking and ideas for possible writing topics.

Here are samples from the one I worked on in August as I thought about the new school year. My rereading is in color, highlighting ideas I like or might want to think more about.

​

You’ll also notice I put ‘process’ notes on a few of the pages. Don Murray taught me to think about my writing process as I write so I can share what I experience with students—the problems I have and the solutions I find.