#Dear diary book series series

“I thought it would result in a collection of writings that my daughters would end up treasuring,” she said. Her regret-tinged nostalgia explains in part her appreciation for the lifebook project. “I so wish now I had filled the pages of those lock-and-key diaries I begged my parents to buy instead of only the first few.”” “I was the kind of kid who loved the idea of writing every day but was too lazy to put pen to paper,” she said. Friendship Over and Secrets Out! were the first two in the The Top Secret Diary of Celie Valentine chapter books series. The Top Secret Diary of Celie Valentine chapter books.

#Dear diary book series series

“They will see what memories were important to them, what they were learning about, what they were worried about, what they loved, what they imagined and what they thought about.” A Source of InspirationĬhildren’s book author Julie Sternberg, whose daughters are now in high school, was so inspired by the lifebooks that her children kept in third grade that she was inspired to write a series of books based on the concept. “When we hand children their lifebooks at the beginning of the year, I always tell my class that years from now they are going to be able to look back at their lifebooks and know all about who they were as eight and nine year olds,” she said. Now in her 12th year at Brooklyn Friends School, 3A Head Teacher Sarah takes a long view of the value of lifebooks. “It also creates differentiation in that each writer can experiment with the new techniques, language and ideas for which they feel ready.” In fact, “Lifebook writing allows reluctant writers the freedom to explore and be inspired by topics that truly interest them,” said 3B Head Teacher David. One of the benefits of the lifebooks curriculum is that it appeals to a range of writers at various levels in their skills development. You’ll be amazed by what you catch there.” “A writer’s notebook is like that ditch – an empty space you dig in your busy life, a space that will fill up with all sorts of fascinating little creatures. Fletcher instead compares the notebook to a woodland ditch filled with fresh rainwater and colonies of growing creatures. One of the teachers’ inspirations is Ralph Fletcher’s A Writer’s Notebook, in which the author makes clear that such a book is not a diary or a class journal in which students are given precise assignments. The lifebook has been a fixture of the BFS third grade curriculum for some time now based on their own teaching experiences over the past several years, in which they refine and enhance their practices, Julia and her head teacher colleagues Sarah Gordon and David Bournas-Ney have made it a signature third grade program.

They bind each of their finished narratives and share their works with their classmates and parents at a morning “publishing party.” Refine and Enhance Everyone’s memories are unique, and each of them easily could form the basis of a longer, more descriptive, yet deeply personal story.īy the end of the first writing unit, Personal Narratives, the students have written and polished a written piece of work based on an entry in their lifebook. Take this (abbreviated) entry by one of the students on the topic of “Memories,” written in the form of a list: First time my brother is at camp Acadia Grampa dies Learning about seals Women’s world cup Christmas in Charlottesville My first bike. “The children are planting seeds to see which things they want to grow.” “The book becomes a place to collect ideas,” explained Lower School Teacher Julia Smith. The blank pages inside are also gradually personalized, one thought at a time. The third grade lifebooks start as simple black marbled notebooks, and the students’ first goal is to personalize them. They begin by collecting clippings to decorate the book’s covers in ways that reflect their personal interests photos of New York, family members, and animals abound.

Lifebooks Come Alive as Part of the Third Grade Writing Curriculum