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15 Writing in Journals

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071
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Write Away

Writing in Journals

Start-Up Activity

Ask your students about the best present they have gotten. What made the present so special? What would they really like for a present?

Tell them that they can give themselves a present every day by writing in a journal. Help them see how writing in a journal is like getting a present:

  • It lets them relive their best experiences.

  • It creates a treasure chest of memories.

  • It helps them write more easily.

Tell them that this chapter will help them understand how to write in a journal.

Think About It

“A journal is a chance for students to think for themselves.”

—Dan Kirby

State Standards Covered in This Chapter

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.3

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.8

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.7

LAFS Covered in This Chapter

LAFS.2.W.1.3

LAFS.2.W.3.8

LAFS.2.RL.3.7

TEKS Covered in This Chapter

110.4.b.11

110.4.b.12.A

110.4.b.7

TEKS Covered in This Chapter

Page 072 from Write Away

Journal Writing Tips

If you assign your students to keep journals, let them know you will be grading only how much writing they do. You won't grade correctness. The whole point of journal writing is to get students to write a lot, both in terms of time spent and words produced. By grading quantity instead of quality, you encourage your students to develop fluency: the ability to make ideas flow.

Lead your students through the tips on this page. Then have a volunteer read the sample journal entry, which talks about the writer's day. Help students understand that journals help them think about their lives.

Have students write a practice journal entry using this sentence starter: "The funniest thing that happened today was . . ."

Related Minilesson:
State Standard Reference:
LAFS Standard:
LAFS.2.W.1.3
TEKS Standard:
110.4.b.11, 110.4.b.12.A
NE ELA Standard:
LA 2.2.2, LA 2.2.2.a, LA 2.2.2.b

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Level:
Grade 3
Mode:
Personal Writing
Form:
Journal
English Language Arts:
Writing

Page 073 from Write Away

Journal Writing Tips (Continued)

Have volunteers read the two other journal entries on this page. Point out that the first one reflects on what Josh is learning in class. The second reflects on what he is reading.

Encourage students to use their personal journals for all of these kinds of entries. Or you can have students keep a separate learning log or reading log in class.

State Standard Reference:
LAFS Standard:
LAFS.2.RL.3.7

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Level:
Grade 2
Mode:
Personal Writing
Form:
Journal
Theme:
FoodHealthBooks
English Language Arts:
Writing