1. Advancement Via Individual Determination
AVID Journal Prompts
Advancement Via Individual Determination

2. Journal Instructions
Write you journals in the journal section of your AVID binder.
You need to practice your BEST writing skills!
Journals are not just “work” to do at the beginning of class, they are more than that. These journals are meant to help you reflect on your goals, academics, and critical thinking skills.
You need a MINIMUM of 5 sentences.
You need to use EXAMPLES in your answers.
You need to write down the question!

3. 7th Grade Tuesday, August 6th
1. Why did you want to be in AVID?

4. 8th Grade Tuesday, August 6th
1. Why did you choose to be in AVID again this year? If you are new to AVID, why did you want to be in this class?

5. 7th Grade
2. Write down everything you can about what you know about AVID so far. What do you think is the area that is going to help you the most and WHY?

6. 8th Grade
2. What helped you the most about AVID last year and why? What area do you still struggle with in AVID?

7. 7th Grade
3. What are your academic goals this year? What subjects are your strongest and weakest, and how, SPECIFICALLY, are you going to try and do better in some of your harder subjects?

8. 8th Grade
3. Last year, what was your most difficult subject? Why was it difficult, and what are your plans to do better in that subject THIS year?

9. 7th Grade
4. Do you think going to college is possible for you? Why or why not? Do you look forward to college, why or why not? What are some of your biggest questions/fears about college?

10. 8th Grade
4. Has AVID changed your views about going to college? What is your opinion about college in the future? Is it something you want to do? Are you scared of it? Overwhelmed by it? Excited by it? WHY?
Clip of the day to make you smile:

11. 7th Grade
5. Organization is a HUGE part of AVID. In your OWN words, WHY do you think organization is important? If you struggle with organization, why do you think that is? Have you always been disorganized or organized, and if so, why do you think that is? When did you habits of organization/disorganization start? Do you think you can keep it up or change your habits?

12. 8th Grade
5. How were your organization skills last year? Were you good at keeping an organized binder? Why or why not? Deep down, what are your thoughts about organization? Do you think it’s important or unimportant and WHY?

13. 7th Grade
6. Learning Logs are an important part of AVID. This is where you check your own grades online, write down what you are learning, and get your teachers to sign off on them. Why do you think AVID wants you to know your grades at all times? What are the benefits of this?

14. 8th Grade
6. How well did you keep up with Learning Logs last year? Did it help you keep track of your grades and why or why not? WHY might it be important to always know your grades in each class?

15. 7th Grade
7. In AVID, we try to get guest speakers to come in and speak to you all so that you can learn first-hand what a particular career is about. Are there any types of guest speakers you would particularly want to have come in? Why?
Do you know any of your parents or friends of parents who might want to come in and speak to us?

16. 8th Grade
7. Were there any guest speakers that you remember from last year and WHY did they stand out to you? How do you feel about guest speakers in general? Are they helpful?
Do you know of any parents or friends of parents who might want to come in and speak about their career?

17. 7th Grade
8. Almost every teacher will tell you that “critical thinking” or “higher-level thinking” is important to develop. Why do you think that is? Although we might not need to know an algebraic equation when we are 30, how does solving the equation help us as thinkers in the long-run?

18. 8th Grade
8. Recall at least one assignment or activity that you did in 7th grade that caused you to “think really hard”, or in other words, caused you to think more critically on a higher level? How do you think doing this activity helped you become a higher-level thinker?

19. 7th Grade
9. One third of all students in high school drop out and don’t go on to college. Why do you think this is? What are the factors that may cause a student to drop out? What are you going to do in the next six years so that you graduate high school and go on to college?

20. 8th Grade
9. One third of all students in high school drop out and don’t go on to college. Why do you think this is? What are the factors that may cause a student to drop out? What are you going to do in the next five years so that you graduate high school and go on to college?

21. 7th Grade
10. At this point in the quarter, what are your biggest challenges academically, socially, and personally? How are you going to meet these challenges and overcome them the rest of the quarter?

22. 8th Grade
10. At this point in the quarter, what are your biggest challenges academically, socially, and personally? How are you going to meet these challenges and overcome them the rest of the quarter?

23. 7th Grade
11. The definition of self-reliance is “personal independence.” What are you going to do to become more self-reliant this year?

24. 8th Grade
11. Benjamin Franklin is famous for having said, “People that are good at making excuses are seldom good for anything else.” What do you think he meant by this?
Do you tend to make excuses in school? How do you think this hurts you?

25. 7th Grade
12. What are your academic and career dreams/goals for the future? What are five things you are doing this year to help make those dreams come true?

26. 8th Grade
12. Have your academic and career goals changed at all since last year? What are you doing THIS YEAR to help you reach your academic and career goals?

27. 7th Grade
13. “The day you take complete responsibility for your life, the day you stop making any excuses That’s the day you start at the top.”
What does this quote mean? How does making excuses hurt only yourself?

28. 8th Grade
Do you think you are a role model for other students, and if so, in what way? Academically, personally, morally, or socially? Describe. In what ways could you be a better role model? Why?