If you’ve ever bought one of my literature resources or are subscribed to my email list, then you probably already know how much I love using journals in my classroom. These humble notebooks are not merely tools to use as bell ringers or for jotting down notes; rather, they serve as dynamic platforms for exploration, expression, and collaboration. I use journals in my classroom in many ways, so I figured it was time to share the multifaceted benefits of incorporating journals into the classroom setting.
Springboard to Topic Discussion
Journals serve as an excellent means to introduce a topic for the day. Honestly, this is the primary way use them! Providing students with a prompt or question related to the day’s lesson allows them to independently explore concepts, connect prior knowledge, and formulate their own thoughts prior to the influence of other voices. It serves the dual purpose of igniting curiosity and stimulating critical thinking from the outset of the class period. Whether it's a thought-provoking quote, a challenging question, or a real-world scenario, these type of journal topics set the stage for meaningful discussions and deeper engagement with the subject matter.
Quick (but meaningful) Lessons
I often find myself
in a time crunch. I really want to bring
in an informational text, video, TED Talk, song, or other supplementary
materials to support the literature we are reading, but I either just don’t
have the time to create a full lesson, OR I don't have the class time to devote to a
full lesson. When this happens, I use journals to implement
this content in a shorter fashion. For
example, I might have students read and annotate an informational text, then
create a journal slide where they write and then we discuss. My prep time is minimal, class time is
limited (depending on the topic, we might devote 15-30 minutes), but what I
hoped to impart has been achieved. WIN!
You can also play the video, TED Talk or song and follow the same format. In this way, journals serve as a catalyst for maximizing instructional time while fostering meaningful learning experiences. They allow us to transcend the limitations of time constraints and create moments of profound educational impact.
Response Writing and Reflection
Perhaps there is something happening in the news or in your
community or you came across an article, or even something in social media,
that maybe doesn’t fit your current classroom content, but that you believe is worthy
of classroom reflection and discussion.
Journals offer the perfect opportunity for this! You can read the
article (or excerpt from it) aloud, share the social media post or video, and
then just allow students to respond. For
this, you don’t even have to pose a question – just share and give them the opportunity
to express their thoughts, feelings, and opinions freely in their writing. With these types of prompts, I always host a
class discussion and encourage students to share. These often end up being some of our BEST
discussions.
Another way you can use journals in this manner is for personal and academic goal setting. One of the first journals students write at the beginning of the year is a goal setting one. We revisit this several times throughout the year, and students have the opportunity to reflect upon and monitor their own progress toward both personal and academic goals.
Promoting
Creativity and Collaboration
Beyond their role in structured learning activities,
journals provide a canvas for students to unleash their creativity. Whether
through creative writing prompts, drawing exercises, or collaborative writing
prompts (my favorite being what I call a journal swap), students can explore
their imagination and express themselves in diverse ways. Here are just a few examples:
*In a journal swap, students collaboratively weave together a story by switching journals at timed intervals.
Using an image is another way to inspire creativity and is a powerful technique that you can use in many ways.
The simplest thing to do is have students tell the story of the image. This exercise fosters creativity and develops narrative skills.
You can have them study the image closely, paying attention to details, colors, and emotions it elicits. Then, they can explore literary devices such as symbolism, imagery, mood, point of view, and the list goes on.
1. Develop a character analysis: Students closely examine visual cues such as facial expressions, body language, and surroundings to make inferences about the traits and circumstances of the person (or people) depicted in the image. They then write character profiles incorporating evidence from the image to support their interpretations.
2. Practice writing dialog: You can have students
craft dialog between characters depicted in the image. This exercise offers
valuable practice in narrative dialogue writing, fostering creativity while
reinforcing essential dialogue conventions and rules.
3. Writing descriptions & using figurative
language
4. Connect to Current Literature Content: You can provide an image and allow them to find evidence in a current classroom text or independent reading book
5. Write a collaborative story: Much like journal swaps, one student starts a story, and then at timed intervals, passes their journal to someone else and continues the story. You have 25 students? You will get 25 different stories from the same picture prompt. And students LOVE these!
Brain
Breaks
As teachers, we know that brain breaks are great for our
students. They allow them to take a
break from academic activities to engage in activities that help refresh their
minds, refocus their attention, and reenergize themselves. This is especially important in longer block
classes. While you can definitely use
some of the examples cited above as brain breaks, I love actually just giving
students time to really “break away” from any “real” writing or academic
content and just do something that allows them to have fun, create a little (friendly)
competition or engage in collaborative games that promote teamwork and
camaraderie. For these topics, I just tell
the students that each one of them must jot the answers in their journals.
Here are a few ideas that you can have students complete independently, with a partner or with a small group:
1. Solve riddles.
Give students 5 or so riddles and set a timer to see who can solve them correctly.
2. Anagram: Give students a word and see how many
words they can make from that one word.
3. Rebus puzzles. They often involve images
or symbols that represent words, phrases, or concepts, requiring the viewer to
decipher the hidden message or meaning. Other terms used to describe these
puzzles include "picture riddles," "visual conundrums," or
simply "picture puzzles."
4. Drawing challenges: A Mermicorn? Learn how to
draw one RIGHT HERE.
Students absolutely love these, and it’s super easy for you! Just show
the video! See a whole playlist of drawing challenges HERE. This
playlist includes several videos for holidays and occasions as well.
5.Word Challenges: My favorite is Scattergories!
Here is a link to an easy Scattergoriesgenerator and the Scattergories Dice. Don’t know how to play? Read the rules HERE. I
usually allow groups of up to 4. Let the
fun ensue!
Many teachers use journals every day as bell-ringers. This is a fantastic use for them, especially
since there are so many ways to use them!
I definitely have found so much value in journals for my classroom, and
I hope I’ve given you a few ideas to begin incorporating them into yours!
I have several sets of journal prompts in my TpT store, including
a samplerset of 5 for FREE right HERE. See all of my journal resources right HERE.
**If you are interested in more ideas like these, be sure to follow my blog and join my email list to be notified when new blog posts are released. Joining my list will also give you access to exclusive tips, discounted (and free) resources plus special giveaways that are shared only with my email subscribers. Let's continue this conversation and build a community that thrives on mindful teaching and lasting inspiration.
We are going to be starting Junk Journals in our classroom this month. I love the idea and how they can be creative with it. I love the idea of using journals as bell ringers too, thanks for the ideas.
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