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17 Journal Writing

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129
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Journal Writing Chapter Opener

Start-Up Activity

The great American president Teddy Roosevelt kept a diary. This is what he wrote when he was in love with his "sweet life" Alice Hathaway:

I drove over in my sleigh to Chestnut Hill, the horse plunging to his belly in the great drifts, and the wind cutting my face like a knife. My sweet life was just as lovable and pretty as ever; it seems hardly possible that I can kiss her and hold her in my arms.

He wrote this when his wife and mother died on the same day:

The light has gone out of my life.

Why did he write these things? So that someone 130 years later could quote them in a book? Probably not. He wrote them because he wanted to reflect on his life and understand it through writing. Of course, historians and handbook writers are plenty happy that Teddy Roosevelt kept a journal, but he did it for himself, a personal form of writing that helped him deal with life.

Journals can do the same for students. And (who knows?), when they become president, the journal will make historians and handbook writers very happy

Think About It

“Writing in a journal reminds you of your goals and of your learning in life. It offers a place where you can hold a deliberate, thoughtful conversation with yourself.”

—Robin S. Sharma

State Standards Covered in This Chapter

LAFS Covered in This Chapter

TEKS Covered in This Chapter

Page 130 from Write Ahead

Getting Started

Lead students through the process of journal writing. Remind them of Anne Frank's masterwork: The Diary of a Young Girl. Her journal not only helped her think through all of the horrible (and wonderful) experiences of her daily life, but also helped everyone else in the world understand the incomprehensible Holocaust. Journals are personal forms of writing meant to help the writer reflect more deeply about life, but they also become the stuff of museum exhibits and documentaries. Help your students realize that keeping a journal will help them think more deeply about their lives. And doing so will also help the biographers talk about them after they have gone out to change the world.

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Page 131 from Write Ahead

Sample Journal Entry

Have a volunteer read this sample journal entry. Point out the date of the entry and the fact that everything else that follows is freeform. The whole point of a journal is to provide space for students to think, reflect, and explore.

Tell your students that you want them, also, to keep a journal. This journal will not be strictly graded (punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and so forth will not be important). The whole point of the journal is to get students writing and reflecting, and that's all you ask. Tell them they need to produce a certain number of entries per week, reflecting on their lives. Help them know that this activity increases their fluency (how quickly they can put words on a page), gives them many topic ideas, and helps them see writing as a strategy that deepens their thinking.

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Page 132 from Write Ahead

Types of Journals

Use this page to acquaint students with many types of journals that they might want to try.

  • The dialogue journal helps them connect with someone important in their lives.
  • The learning log helps them improve their learning in any subject.
  • The reader response journal deepens their appreciation of literature.
  • The specialized journal lets the student respond to any important experience.
  • The travel log details the experiences and ideas of an important trip.
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