How to Teach Journal Writing for Kids

The more frequently a student writes, the more adept she becomes in expressing her ideas.

Requiring your students to keep a journal is a practical way to get them to think about a book, a period of history or even their own lives. But students frequently feel overwhelmed by the look of an empty page, and may experience writer's block before ever putting their pens to the paper. However, with directions and suggestions from teachers, frequent journal writing makes writing a more comfortable process for students and improves their writing, organization and thought processes.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Notebook

1. Tie the journal to an in-class activity. Require your students to write about what they are reading, a period of history the class is studying or about some aspect of their lives. Provide prompts, or statements, for them to complete as a way to get them started. Have each child write his responses in a notebook that can be turned in to you later.

2. Make the requirements clear. Give your students a handout telling them how much and how frequently they have to write and what is required from each journal entry. Writing for five minutes three times a week may be enough for early elementary ages, while writing for 15 minutes each day will be appropriate for upper elementary to middle school grades.

3. Give your students plenty of examples. Remember, they may not be familiar with journal writing. Do a journal together as a class when you are starting the project. Read examples of particularly good student journals to them at least once a week.

4. Check the journals every week. Initially, grade your students on the content and quality of the writing rather than punctuation, spelling and grammar. The flow of their ideas is initially more important than the intricacies of commas in their personal writings.

5. When you return their journals, have your students correct some or all of their writing. When they turn in their corrections, you can grade them for spelling, punctuation and grammar as a second step. This allows you to address both content and structure without overwhelming your students.

Tips & Warnings

• Consider giving your students time in class to write their journals. This will prevent them from trying to do a week's worth of writing in their journals on the night before they are due.

• Give your students privacy. Allow them to fold over pages that they don't want you to read when they give you their journals to check.

References

• Our Class: Writing Journal Calendar Prompts
• Teachers.net: Journal Writing Ideas