Journaling

**Journaling**

**Content** Writing/Journaling

**Grade Level** 6-12

**Curriculum Standards** These standards reflect ones appropriate for a sixth grade classroom in WV.
 * RLA.0.6.2.3 from a prompt, use the writing process to develop a composition that contains specific relevant details and transitions.
 * RLA.0.6.2.6 edit one's own composition as well as the writing of others to correct error in organization, content, usage, mechanics, and spelling.

**Description of Practices** Journaling is a great learning tool. It is a way to get students to write down what they think, see, or hear and to promote both learning and thinking about a subject. Students often write more and more often about the things that they are interested in, and by facilitating this type of learning, the student often learns more effective. As a teacher you will have to decide what kind of journal you want your students to have, how much time you will give them to write, how often they will write, and how the journal can be used to promote classroom learning. Next you will need to provide your students with journals, you can either simply use loose-leaf paper or actually provide a notebook of ruled paper for each student. When it comes to deciding what journal you want your students to have, this is completely up to you. You can have your students keep a personal journal where they write about personal experiences, feelings, or thoughts. You can have your students keep a journal in a certain content area (math, science, english, etc). Here the students can write about what they have done that day in class, something that they learned, or something that they really liked. Other types of journals are team journals and structured journals. Structured journals are used for specific questions or prompts students need to respond to and team journals promote interaction between students. You can have students use a team journal when they are working on a project together, they would take turns writing about experiences, reactions, and observations. Before you get started, provide your students with examples of journals and the formats so that they know what their expectations are. You should also provide optional writing prompts for your students so that if they do not know exactly what they want to write about one day, they can use the prompt to get something written down.

**Implementation Considerations** The use of journals could be used in any setting whether it be inclusive or pull out. Whether you chose to use journals in a pull-out setting or in an inclusive classroom, they can be effective if you give your student at least fifteen or twenty minutes to write. It will be up to you if you do this at the beginning, middle, or end of class. In order for journaling to be most effective, your students must feel safe. Keep this in mind and consider not taking the entries as a grade, this way the students will feel more free and flexible about what they are writing. Also remember that no two journals will ever be the same. Some students may like to draw pictures and elaborate on what they have drawn while others may always express themselves with words. You will have to be open to the creativity of your students and understand that all of their products will be different and special in their own way.

**Example**

This particular video shows an example of a math journal. It student has made it into an "interactive math journal" where she took pictures of her entries, uploaded them onto a computer, and then added text and pictures. I LOVE the idea of this for older students, however you could always just have your students journal in a notebook using prompts, or about certain content areas: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzEiwsO7rtw

This is a list of over 600 journal writing prompts! http://pyxlin-journal-prompts.wikidot.com/

This is a video created about the benefits of journal writing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIX4oPCPCw4&feature=related

**Citation** Hubner, S., Nuckles, M., & Renkl, A. (2010). writing learning journals: Instructional support to overcome learning-strategy deficits. //Learning & Instruction//, //20//(1), 18-29.