Teaching Writing: Children

Lesson 4: Using Journals and Review

Journals in the Content Areas

Content Area Journals

In the years that I taught fourth and fifth grades, I often used journals as learning logs, an idea gathering area for Literature study, Social Studies, and even math. They were a great place for the kids to just brainstorm ideas and begin formulating their assignments. I might ask them to compare characters in a book, to list the reasons the Colonists dumped tea into Boston Harbor, or to explain how they would solve a math problem. The ideas are endless. In some cases, I would have students read their journal entries aloud rather than collect and read them myself. That often gave rise to some interesting class discussions. Here are some different types of content area journals.

Double Entry Journal

The double entry journal is one form of journal response that can be used in many areas. This type of entry is good for note-taking, for responding to literature, to gather prior knowledge, and to show what was learned. Here is an example of what a double entry journal page looks like: http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/actbank...

To make an entry in this type of journal, have students draw a line down the middle of a blank journal page to divide it into two columns. The left column is generally used for the "trial information." That may be a question, a prompt, a diagram, a prediction, or an idea students want to know more about. The right side of the page is used to record what students have learned about the things recorded on the left side after their lesson or reading assignment.

Double entry journals can be used in all subject areas.

Learning Log

In the learning log, students are writing to learn, or to express what was understood in a lesson or reading assignment To access prior knowledge, at the beginning of the class, ask students to brainstorm in their logs everything they might know about a topic you are about to study. Then create a class list based on their individual lists. Or, you might pose a question based on a homework assignment or a reading assignment, and let them write their responses.

The learning log is also a great tool to use at the end of the lesson. Have students take five or ten minutes at the end of class to write down what they have learned that day, or to tell about a concept they think they need to learn more about.

Literature Response Logs

As described above, the double entry is great to use for literature response. In this case, students should write a sentence or a phrase from a story they are reading on the left side and record their reactions on the right side. This type of entry can also be used to detail characters and character motives, and imagery in poetry.

Of course, students can use their journals in other ways to respond to literature as well. The literature response log can be an ongoing reaction to chapters in a book, or a place to predict what might happen in the next chapter.

My students' journals were a combination of all of the types described. One day I might just let them free-write, another day we might brainstorm to access prior knowledge in Science, and later that same day, they might create a double entry journal entry based on a character in a book we were reading. Whatever type of journal you choose, it can be a very useful classroom tool.

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