Journal Writing with Children Tonja L. Root, Ed.D. Early Childhood & Reading Education Valdosta State University Valdosta, GA

Purposes for Journal Writing 4 Record experiences 4 Stimulate interest in a topic 4 Explore thinking 4 Personalize learning 4 Develop interpretations 4 Wonder, predict, hypothesize 4 Engage the imagination

Purposes for Journal Writing 4 Develop independent thinkers 4 Develop creative thinkers 4 Process for discovery & clarification of ideas 4 Build trust, acceptance, appreciation of different opinions 4 Learn that writing is thinking 4 Expose them to others' thinking

Type of Journals

Personal Journals 4 Students write about self-selected topics of personal interest. 4 Private: Sharing journals is voluntary. or 4 Monitored: Teacher checks to ensure that entries have been made but does not read unless entries are marked, "Read me." or

Personal Journals (cont.) 4 Shared Journals: Teacher reads all entries except those marked "private," & offers encouragement & suggestions.

Home/Family Journals 4 Students take turns taking home a journal in which a family member may write something about the child &/or the family. 4 Student returns the journal to school the next day. 4 Teacher reads the entry to the class (if the student is unable to).

Home-School Connection Journals 4 Students take turns writing about school experiences, events, assignments, &/or programs. 4 Students take the journal home to share with family members.

Home-School Connection Journals (cont.) 4 Family member(s) may respond in writing to the entry. 4 Students return journal to school next day for another student to take home. 4 Entries may be shared with the entire class.

Home-School Connection Journals (cont.) 4 This is an alternative to a classroom newsletter. 4 Family members have an opportunity to view school from their child’s perspective & other children’s perspectives.

Home-School Connection Journals (cont.) 4 Family has an opportunity to respond to whatever the child writes. 4 Suggestion: Have several circulating in the classroom simultaneously: Parents could read an entry every week. 4 Entries do not need to be lengthy.

Travel Journals 4 Students take turns taking home a bag that contains a stuffed animal, journal, travel brochures, crayons, markers, colored pencils, scissors, colored paper, glue, & other art supplies.

Travel Journals (cont.) 4 At home the child decides where the stuffed animal visits, writes a story about the visit, & illustrates the story using the art materials. 4 Student returns the journal to school the next day for another student to take home.

Travel Journals (cont.) 4 Entries may be shared with the entire class. 4 This would be an ideal way to inform family members of places nearby that could be visited on weekends.

Reading Logs 4 Students respond to stories, poems, informational books. 4 Entries are shared with classmates.

Learning Logs 4 Students write about content of subjects learned. 4 Young children may use both developmental spelling & words/sentences.

Dialogue Journals 4 Students write entries to share with teacher or classmate. 4 The receiver reads & responds. 4 Entries are written like a conversation.

Writing Notebooks 4 Students make notes & write lists of useful information about writing & other language arts in writing notebooks. 4 Students refer to information as needed.

Double-entry Reading Journals 4 Students write quotes from a story in left column. 4 They relate each quote to their own life & other literature read in the right column.

Simulated Journals 4 Students assume role of a historical personality or book character, & write entries from that person's viewpoint. 4 Entries are shared with classmates.

Project Journals 4 Students record ongoing work on projects: planning, organizing, & accomplishments. 4 Teacher checks journals to determine progress.

Class Logs 4 Students take turns recording assignments, class notes, & other information from each class to file in a notebook.

There are many types of journals. Purpose & variety are the key to a balanced writing program involving journal writing.