A writer's notebook gives you a place to live like a writer, not just in school during
writing time, but wherever you are, at any time of day.
The writer's notebook is an attempt to re-inspire creative thinking! Students are responsible for keeping two (2) notebooks this year: their every
day, all purpose interactive notebook and their private, writing only writer's notebook. The motivation here is to remind students that writing can
be fun, and to get practice with some fundamental skills in a creative, passionate way!
Each week the WN is different, and will be posted here. Students are encouraged to work ahead or at their own pace, but all entries are
checked/collected on FRIDAYS. In some cases, students will be given suggestions to get "even more creative" and go digital with the WN. In these
instances, students are to upload their items to their drive.fcps.org account and put them in a created folder.
 Title the folder LASTNAME-PERIOD-WRITERSNOTEBOOK and share it with nicole.long@fcps.org.
 This way, anything they put in the folder I will be able to see! And they will never have to create or share anything else that goes in that folder
again!
More help on creating and sharing folders, and uploading items, is available on the HELP page/GOOGLE page... or just ask
Mrs. Long for help!
WEEK
1
PROMPT
Draw an "I" map in your WN. This should look like a "bubble I" and take up the entire page. Fill your I with all
sorts of "I am" things... things that represent YOU! They can be pictures, drawings, icons, lyrics, articles,
adjectives, facts, etc... get creative!
DUE DATE
2
WRITE your own reality show! Narrate the first week of 7th grade, your "true" reality, and include a creative
title and dynamic characters! You have full creative license here to choose a story you want to tell, a direction
you want to go in, and to take your audience on the wild ride that is week 1 of 7th grade!
Don't feel like writing? Make a short film! Upload the film to your drive.fcps.org account and share it with
nicole.long@fcps.org. I am here to help!
But first... Let me take a Selfie!
Find an image/picture that feels particularly important to you (or is your favorite). Paste that image into your
writer's notebook (make a copy if you can). For this entry of your WN, you will fill the page with the story of
that memory. Why is the image important? What does it represent? What comes to mind? What SENSES
does the image trigger? Narrate the entire story of this image, in your own words. For some, this might be a
well-organized story. For others, it will be a collection of tiny ideas or details. Get creative, get colorful! There
is no "wrong" answer... after all, it's your memory!
4 Metaphor Poetry
 Listen to the song Love is a Battlefield by Pat Benatar. Notice how she has created a metaphor
comparing an abstract noun (love) to a concrete noun (battlefield) and used her lyrics as a way of
explaining herself?
A metaphor is a comparison between 2 unlike things, often an abstract idea represented in concrete
Due 9/5
3
4
Due 8/29
Due 9/12
Due 9/26
5
6
form. An extended metaphor is when a writer uses several lines to explain/describe the metaphor further.
 First, on the left side of your notebook make a T chart. Label each "abstract" and "concrete." Next, make
a list of 20 abstract nouns and 20 random concrete nouns. See if you can't take 1 noun from each
column (abstract + concrete) and create a unique, interesting (perhaps even wonky) metaphor!
 Now that you have practiced, take a peek at how these 6th, 7th, and 8th graders created 4 metaphor
poems!!
For your WN#4, you are writing your own 4 metaphor poem! Here's how to set it up:
The entire poem is about one abstract noun (love, dreams, pain, greed, etc) in an extended metaphor (that
means you color in a few more details).
 Stanza 1: Compare your abstract noun to a concrete noun and describe what you mean.
 Stanza 2: Compare your abstract noun to a new concrete noun and describe/explain what you mean.
 Stanza 3: Compare your abstract noun to a new concrete noun and describe/explain what you mean.
 Stanza 4: Compare your abstract noun to a new concrete noun and describe/explain what you mean.
Vocabulary-Inspiration!
Conviction (noun) – this word is a synonym for the words belief or opinion, but it must be a
belief or opinion that is held very strongly. There are no “weak convictions” out there. Or are
there?
For this week's WN, create a character with conviction! Would he/she have weak conviction? If so, what
would he/she say or do? What about strong convictions? What would he/she say or do that would show strong
convictions?
In order to "present" your character, think like you are creating a snapshot or bird's eye view of a story: focus in
on the scene/moment that represents this element of the character.
Here's an extended example: Katniss Everdeen has strong convictions. There are many scenes
in HUNGER GAMES that represent how strong her convictions are. Can you think of any?
All of us have had times when we've done something that we later regretted. Write about a time when you got
caught up in a moment, and did something without thinking about the consequences. Write small and show,
don’t tell as you describe how you were feeling throughout the action. In what way(s) did you learn from the
experience?
Prelesson (in class): showing not telling
Prewriting: Make this chart in your WN and fill in the organizer with thoughts/ideas
Setting up the Writer's Notebook page:
Caught Up in the Moment
Summary of What I Did:
Summary of the Consequences:
Due 10/3
(HAL take note,
your BOOK is
also due! Try to
budget your
time wisely)
Due 10/10
(MERIT take
note, your
BOOK is also
due! This
week's WN is a
make up, use it
to replace or
add to any that
you
Illustration based on the summaries up above:
missed. MERIT
7
Source
ONLY)
Final Writing: use what you added in your chart to tell the story of your regrettable
moment! Focus on showing details, not just telling us what happened!
Here is are some examples...
Life is a Cookbook- A Personal Recipe for...
Due 10/24
Your WN this week is to write a personal recipe for anything life has to offer! The perfect summer day, surviving
7th grade, dealing with your baby brother, making the perfect bedazzled bedroom... anything! Your recipe must
include a numbered list of ingredients and a detailed, written paragraph description of
instructions!
8
Legends of the HAWK!
This week's writer's notebook challenges you to create your own Halloween-inspired character and tell the
"legend" of his/her tale! Really focus on the details, most of what makes legends and tales spooky or scary has
to do with these key components: setting, description, conflict!
Due 10/31
9
"I was not surprised!"
This is the first line of your narrative! Now, write/illustrate the rest of the story as this week's WN!
Due 11/7
10
"Take a walk in my shoes" no, literally!
Take us through a day in your life... from the perspective of your shoes! Be sure to focus on details and point of
view! Don't feel like writing? Narrate the story and record a video, starring your shoes! Upload it to your FCPS
DRIVE Writer's Notebook folder (directions at the top).
Due 11/14
(HAL: Plan
wisely, your
book is also
due this
week!!)
11
Time warp!
Choose a historical figure, from any era, time, or place (but they may not be fictional.. we must have evidence
that they did exist and you must know details of his/her life)
A time machine has transported this person to present day and they are running in the 2016 Presidential
race! Write a speech convincing the audience to vote for him/her. Be sure to include why they are an ideal
candidate and what issues they would tackle/resolve. Stay true to the tenants of a good persuasive speech: hit
on emotion, logic, and ethics. Your speech should "tug at the audience's heart strings," it should "make sense,"
and it "should come from a respectable source."
Want some extra credit? Make a campaign poster! Looking for some pizazz? RECORD yourself reading the
speech using any audio/mp3 web tool and share it with Mrs. Long!! Try using VOCAROO and you can upload
the file to your FCPS DRIVE and share it with nicole.long@fcps.org by adding it to your Writer's Notebook
folder (see instructions above).
Due 11/21
12
13
14
A Series of Fortunate and Unfortunate Events
 As writers, we realize that our readers always wonder “what will happen next.” Understanding how
cause-and-effect works helps us to create interesting and unexpected writing.
 Write a 20-sentence story about a fictitious and uneven day in your life. Use “fortunately” and
“unfortunately” to start your sentences.
 Example (adapted from Remy Charlip's Fortunately)
1. Fortunately, Ned was invited to a surprise party for his friend Gregory.
2. Unfortunately, the Gregory lived over a thousand miles away.
3. Fortunately, an acquaintance loaned Ned a small prop engine airplane.
4. Unfortunately, the motor blew up with the power and intensity of a thousand burning suns.
5. Fortunately, there was a parachute on board.
6. Unfortunately, there was a sizeable hole in the parachute…
Source: Adam Umak
Pack a PUNCH!
Write 10 short stories… wait for it…! Each story should only be two fabulously magnificent detailed and
descriptive sentences!
Examples:
 Snap, whizz, catch! Soaring into the end zone, our hard-fought season ended abruptly.

After so many years living alone in this large house I came to a startling revelation. In this time I had
closed far more doors than I had opened.
 I woke up to hear knocking on glass. At first, I thought it was the window until I heard it come from the
mirror again.
Source: Adam Umak
Letter to my Future Self!
In the spirit of the new year, imagine it is 2020. You are staring down at grey and blue polyester. The fir of
the silky tassels brushes your fingertips. Nothing but noise all around you- celebrations, high fives, name
calling, flashing of pictures…it’s graduation day. You reach in to your pocket and pull out a wrinkled, faded,
soft from the touch envelope and unseal it. A letter…
Write a letter to yourself dated June 2020. What would you say? What do you hope to accomplish? What
advice would you give? What resolutions did you make? Did you triumph? Fail? Go off in a different
direction?
12/5
12/12
(MERIT is
optional
because
BOOK 2 is
due)
12/19