'Magpie Books'

A further notorious idea of Pie Corbett's is 'magpie-ing', whereby writers should take ideas from their surroundings and note them down for future reference. As the class often have trouble with inspiration for their writing we thought this would be an excellent device to employ. Furthermore, we wanted the books to be special and different from a normal school notebook in order to encourage their use. As a group we decided to put our own money towards buying a set of 'Magpie Books' for the class of 32. We scoured the shops of Bognor Regis for the right journal, and eventually settled on a smart A5 black hardback journal with lines. We purchased the set from a local stationers and even managed to haggle a discount as we bought so many and pledged our good cause to inspire writing through using them!

On the 10th Ocober we vsited the class and introduced the children to the 'Magpie Books' or 'Writing journals' we had bought them. We demonstrated that the 'Magpie Books' are for the children to use to 'steal' ideas to help them with their writing. If they see or hear a great story opener, a fantastic word or if something really interesting happens to them, they can write it in their books to use at a later date. Collecting and building up ideas just like real authors do. We have tried to leave the choice of when and how the children use them quite open. As we would really like to encourage the children to take ownership of their books.

This strategy is supported by the UKLA (2011) who sate that writing journals (another term) allow children to become authors in their own right. By providing time and space for children to write about their own interests and desires they are more likely to engage in the writing process. The space of a writing journal permits children to develop their confidence as writers, adapting narratives or playing with story lines (Graham, 2003). One aspect we considered was that often as teachers we dictate what is written in the classroom, therefore a writing journal becomes the child's space, away from the teacher and the curriculum (Johnson, 2003). Additionally, it is recommended that the children personalise their journals for a sense of ownership.

We have asked the children to make the books individual by decorating them. We hope to have some pictures of them next week.