Keeping a Journal
 
 
 

Journal writing is a learning tool based on the idea that students write to learn. Students who use journals are actively engaged in their own learning and have the opportunity to clarify and reflect upon their thinking. When students write in journals, they can describe ideas and feelings, special words and expressions they have heard, interesting things that have happened to them, or information about interesting people. Journal writing offers students opportunities to write without the fear often associated with grading. Every journal entry is individualized. Students should feel that a journal is like a good friend who is never too busy to listen.

Goals

• To explain the role of the journal as a recordkeeping device
   
• To have students write about topics of personal interest, to note their observations, to imagine, to wonder, and to connect new information with things they already know
   
• To encourage students to view their journals as an ongoing source of ideas for school-related and personal writing

Materials

• Pen/pencil
   
• Loose-leaf notebooks, spiral binders, and/or computer disks

Next: Considerations for Journal Use