Have you tried and tried again to implement journaling in your classroom? Have you lugged home crates of journals after your day ended? Have you struggled to grade and respond to all those entries?
There's an easier way!
Journaling should be fun and relaxing...
How does journaling work in my classroom?
- Journal the first ten minutes of class time; it sets the tone and gets students ready for class time
- Set the mood--lower the lights, play Gary Lamb's brain music
- Insist on no talking (writing notes to others allowed?) for the full ten minutes of journal time
- Have students either date or number their entries. Skip lines between individual entries (this will make grading much easier and is explained below)
- Model, model, model--for the first time or two, I write my journal on the board where everyone can watch my process. Afterwards, I read my entry every class period. Yes, I may write only one entry per day but read it during each class period. Memories, school events, and current events work great and often have moral points. Debatable topics work well, too.
- Give time for sharing: I've had classes where no one shared then classes where everyone shared, but I always read my entry and ask if anyone would like to share
- Use a prompt or no prompt: my students freewrite with no prompt because that is what they are often asked to do in other classes and this prepares them for future testing. However, a prompt allows you to tie to thematic lessons or discuss specific topics
- Anything goes in my class: memories, poetry, song lyrics, drawings with captions, comic strips, to-do lists--I accept any form of writing. Face it--some days you don't feel like writing a full blown journal entry, and on other days writing is therapy. Set boundaries you are comfortable with
- Grading is simple: Count the number of days the class journaled; give a 3 point grade range (30-27 = A; 26-23 = B; 22-19 = C; 18-16 = D; 15 - Below = F). Then, call students up and count the total number of entries; do not read the entries. Those who wish to share their work should do so after daily journal time has ended or use your class roll sheet to mark daily those students you observed writing versus not writing
- Use ol' fashioned handwriting with plain paper in paper folders or fancy journals, or use online journals; the process works the same for either
Make journaling more about students and less about grades by implementing a system that is simple and works well for everyone.
Remember, journaling should be fun and relaxing!
Emotional Intelligence Prompts (Critical Thinking required!)
