Barbara W. Coles Trader
According to recent research, it has been found that journal writing provides students with positive successful writing and daily opportunities to record their individual ideas. The journals are personal; they are not to be graded, revised, rewritten and are to be shared with others only if the authors choose to share with their classmates. The topics should always be broad for they should reflect the interest and thinking of the individual students.
In order for a journal to be successful, there needs to be rules and guidelines that protect the students’ privacy. The guidelines will also encourage the students to express and become more aware of their innermost thoughts/feelings. Such rules can be called a “journal contract” and presented to the students as follows.
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“My Journal Contract” (for students)
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1. It is personal.
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2. Each student will decide what to write.
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3. It will never be corrected or graded.
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4. No person will read my journal without my permission.
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5. All students should have notebooks.
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6. Keep journals in a private place.
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7. Gain the students’ confidence and respect their journals.
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8. Respond to the concept of the entry and not the mechanics.
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9. Do not write in red ink, and do not read or respond to everything.
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10. Remind the students to leave several empty lines when writing.
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Spelling should be taught formally during another period of the day. Therefore, the words that students misspell in their journals during the beginning of the school year will be spelled correctly by June. It is important to remember that students know many more words than they can spell correctly. Encourage the students to use words that they cannot spell correctly to enhance their writing abilities and not to inhibit the writers’ growth.
Activities
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A. The students will expand and use their individual lists that they compiled in the first phase when journal writing.
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B. Newspaper items will be used to serve as a source of stimulus and interest twice per week. The newspaper and other periodicals will allow the students to make a transition from personal concerns and proceed toward writing with persuasion.
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C. The students will identify the emotions of characters and independently read to reinforce oral and silent reading.