Keeping a Journal
From the desk of Carol C…
I’ve thought a lot recently about students and journaling. At first my thoughts were all over the place. Then I began to narrow my focus by asking myself:
What do I mean by the word “journal”? What would be the purpose of having students keep one?
Possible purposes of journaling:
· to provide an opportunity to reflect on the day
· to help writers make connections between what they knew previously and what they learned that day, week, month
· to explore connections between ideas, concepts, objects, etc.
· to provide a place writers may explore their emotions and feelings
Hmmm…these sounded a lot like something out of a textbook which is not necessarily bad, but I wanted more. I kept thinking about journals, and when I finally wrote down my ideas, they began to take shape.
Keeping an academic journal provides students with an opportunity to reflect through writing on what they read and learned.
Written reflections help students understand their learning on a deeper level. When students are given time to reflect they are better able to make connections between what they know and what they learned. Through writing they are able to see the relationships between facts and ideas. They can analyze text and its importance. (Common Core at its finest.)
It follows then that the purpose for having students keep a journal is it helps them develop their thinking, learning, and writing. In order to write something meaningful, you must be able to analyze your thinking and then articulate it. That’s what education is truly about…teaching kids how to think.
So, how can teachers help students be successful with journaling? Here’s one idea to nudge your thinking. Always the first and most important step is model, model, model what you want your students to do.
The local (now national) playwright, Angus MacLachlan, says he keeps a notebook with him constantly and writes down anything someone says that interests him. It might be part of a sentence the woman in front of him said while waiting for the feature film to begin. It might be the turn of a phrase he heard. Anything that catches his attention, he writes down.
I would introduce this real life example to my students. Then I would:
· Model writing down a phrase I heard or a poem I wanted to remember.
· Add my thoughts to what I had written. For instance depending upon the grade level, I might write: (I’m not trying to be highbrow here. I just love the following verse.)
| “What though the radiance which was once so bright | |
| Be now for ever taken from my sight, | |
| Though nothing can bring back the hour | |
| Of splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower; | |
| We will grieve not, rather find | |
| Strength in what remains behind;” William Wordsworth | |
| I love these lines…Tara and Phillip recited them to each other on All My Children. I thought it was romantic, so I memorized it. Why has it stayed with me? Is it just a memory gem? I don’t think so. It speaks to making it through bad times, small or gigantic. Even though it seems all is lost, it’s not. We simply have to hold on to what we do have that is radiant…positive, happy, worthwhile, uplifting.(As you can see my reflections are hardly indicative of higher level thinking. Most students, however, will begin the year writing less than stellar reflections. The goal, of course, is for them to think more deeply and with greater understanding as the year progresses.)
· Continue to model adding to past entries. · Read different types of journal entries aloud. A well known one might be Anne Frank. The author Marissa Moss writes many of her books in journal form. · Check out Amazon or use Google for more examples. The teachers’ role in all of this is to be clear about the expectations, and I can’t say it too often, model model model. Now keeping an academic journal is great, but students must have some type of feedback in order to grow as writers, thinkers, and learners. If as the teacher I look at an entry like the Wordsworth one above I would think, “This is obviously an important verse to the writer. After all she took the time to memorize it and write it down. Good for her. She chose something which has meaning for her. Also, she began to analyze what the poet was trying to say. Great start. Now she needs help and more experience looking at this verse on a deeper level for more meaning. Adding specifically why this part of the poem is important to her would help her elevate her thinking.” Now I would like your insight and ideas about providing feedback. You know how busy and bogged down you can become once the school year gets into full swing. The best of intentions can go out the window too easily. Sooooo…How would you help individual students grow through feedback? Would it be written or oral? How often? Would you address the areas of need just with mini lessons? How often if ever would you conference with your students about their journal entries?
Let me hear your thoughts! I loved to know what you’ve done that has been successful or unsuccessful. We all can learn from both.
BTW- I have discovered a great website called “Brain Pickings”. One section of it is called “Literacy Jukebox”. It gives a daily quote from a favorite book, thematically matched with a song. The possibilities for use in your classroom are endless, or you can just enjoy the pairings. The quotes and the music are available to listen to on the site. |