Room 43 Face Times

We have been working on building our writing stamina in room 43, and learning about the different things we can write about in our Writer's Notebook. Today, we found out that third grade students are not the only ones who keep Writer's Notebooks, adults do too. 

Ms. Alewel graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2013 with a degree in journalism. We learned that she has written a variety of published pieces for multiple magazine and newspapers. Ms. Alewel has worked for magazines like Vox, Alive, Marie Clare, and she is currently working for Rachel Ray magazine in NYC. 

Ms. Alewel has kept a Writer's Notebook (which she calls her journal) since she was in fourth grade, and yes she still has all her old notebooks. She writes almost daily about anything that comes to her mind. She said that she writes when she has to make a big decision, when she is upset, and when she is happy. 

When asked what Ms. Alewel writes about, she told us she does everything from doodling, writing small blurbs about life, to reflecting on her day. Ms. Alewel then explained that her favorite place to write is under a tree in Central Park. 

It was clear that the students were thrilled to talk with a published author, and were excited to learn about her stories. The were eager to get started writing in their own notebooks. Some students even brought their notebooks to lunch!