7.+ Other+Observations,+Questions,+Comments+regarding+Journals+and+Journaling

My CT uses journals as a way for students to process the __#|novels__ they read. Every time they have a reading assignment in a novel they also have a journaling assignment. The majority of the time the teacher allows them to reflect on the reading in their own way but sometimes the assignment is more focused. She will have them write about a specific event or a letter to a particular character. The students seem to respond to this type of activity well. - Alex

I really want to incorporate journaling into my thematic unit, but since I am SS I was having a little bit of trouble. I have decided to make a journal project to use throughout my unit. At the beginning of the unit students will pick a "character" that was alive during Reconstruction. It can be the President, a newly freed slave, and angry Southerner - whatever the student chooses. For the remainder of the unit students will keep a journal from the point of view of the character that they create. I am also trying to come up with something else that the students could do with their journals once they are complete, but I'm having trouble. Suggestions? --(Hannah Acuff)

I think journaling is a powerful tool that should be used in every class. I plan to combine journaling and exit slips when I student teach. My CT doesn't want too many drastic changes to how she does things in her classroom. I think journaling will be a positive yet major change to the classroom environment. Therefore I will allow students 15 to 20 minutes once a week to journal about how they feel, questions, concerns, opinions on what they have learned throughout the week. (Pryscilla)