Writing Journals

    Every week the students have been writing two entries in their personal writing journals.  This was tough for many of the students in the very beginning since many of them have never written in an "unprompted" journal before.  I gave the students some guidelines as to what to write about and how much they must write.  Even with this help I still received basic summaries from most students about what they did that evening or in school the day before.  I wrote a post-it in every child's journal to give them praise and to suggest what they may include the next time.  Still I received very much the same outcome. 
   I decided that the students needed more than just a few discussions and post-it notes.  They needed to see and read what I was looking for, so I shard a few entries from my own personal journal. 

   The kids were so excited and many of them had their own memories or stories that sparked in their heads.   I am happy to say that after this "show-and-tell", I have seen a few bright sparks that show promise.  I have asked a few students if I may share their entries with the class (once I have their permission, I will share them on here as well).
    Overall, I just wanted to let everyone know how it's going with our personal journals.  I would also like to ask parents to encourage their child to take their journal everywhere.  You never know when a moment might occur that is worth writing down! Have a great night and keep journaling!