Journaling is not an activity just for English teachers anymore. The journal is one of the best ways to assess student learning after a lesson as well as a great way to provide one-on-one feedback for each student! Here are a few tips to help you implement journals in your classroom!
Provide Structure
Students truly need structure to feel comfortable with any assignment. This includes the journal. Simply asking students to "write down what you've learned today" won't work. An unstructured journal topic such as this leaves students feeling flustered and abandoned. They will spend the entire five minutes asking themselves, "what are you looking for? What should I write? How much is too much or too little? Where do I begin?" After a few seconds their brains overload and they go into self-preservation mode. This turns into the usual answer of "I don't know", "Lots of stuff," or else they start writing the routine "BS".
Instead, when planning your lessons, use your objectives or key element to form your journal topic. The topic question or statement should directly relate to the lesson and should be easy to answer within a five minute time limit.
Examples:
Explain briefly how you would figure the sales price of a $20 pair of jeans with a 15% discount. (used after a percentage lesson)
What effect did the environment have on where early people settled and the homes they built?
What are the three branches of government and which is your favorite? Explain your reasons.
Although each of these could be answered in a lengthy essay, they can also be answered briefly within one paragraph. Use Bloom's taxonomy to help you develop questions that hit each level of thinking rather than always using knowledge based questions such as "What are the three branches of government". Although you can see what students may have learned, you are missing what they are thinking.
Have Expectations
Students also need to know what you expect of them. Have your expectations laid out in detail for the journals. Think about the following questions as you decide:
What is your goal for the journal each day? What is the purpose?
How much do you expect students to write?
What kind of grade will they receive for their journal?
What do you expect for spelling, grammar, etc?
Example:
I expect my students to write at least three sentences each day. Their journal entry must stay on topic and answer the question. I expect complete sentences and correct spelling. The journal is a way for me to check student learning each day and is also a way for me to talk with each student individually. If a student has something to say to me that they don't want to voice out loud, they may write it in their journal AFTER they have answered the question, OR before class begins the next day. Students are given a participation grade each week for the journal. They are also given a class assignment grade based on their answers.
Have a Procedure
It is important that you have a journaling procedure for your class. Students need to know exactly what to do for this type of assignment.
Example:
Put away all materials
Clean area around desk
Take out journal
Write journal entry silently until bell rings
You must get your journal from the table before class starts each day.
I used journals as one way to check for absences. Any journals left up front are for absent students. This also becomes helpful with tardies!
Providing Feedback
Students really want to hear what you have to say! They look for your feedback each day. Be sure that you have one or two things to say to each student in their journal. It doesn't need to be much, but at least once a week be sure that you offer detailed comments in their journal.
Don't be afraid to use your red pen and correct the mistakes. If no one corrects student mistakes, then how will they ever learn? If you see a grammar or spelling error, correct that as well. The more students are held accountable for their writing skills, the more they will improve!
Use this as one-on-one time. Have you noticed something particular about one student? Take some time to write them a note and ask about the situation, or just let them know that you are available to talk if they need it. The journal can serve more than just one purpose, and students really respond to the teachers who take the time to learn more about them as a person.
Grading
Don't freak out about grading the journals every day with a specific number grade. The participation grade doesn't need to be more than a check, check-plus, check-minus, minus, or a "0". It is quick to give out and easy to record. However, it does show students that you are reading their journal and that they are being held accountable.
At the end of the week, review their journal entries as a whole and determine a letter grade at that time, as needed.
Sometimes I don't record the grades in my book and sometimes I do. This keeps students on their toes as they never know when the journal will affect their overall grade!
Keep a Good Attitude
Your attitude really affects whether something seems like drudgery or not. Be aware of how you view the journal as a part of your class. Remember that when students journal, they are taking a risk. If you approach reading and grading journals with a good attitude, then you are less likely to accidentally squash student improvement by being careless. Not that we ever mean to, but we teachers are human after all! Just be mindful that you hold the thoughts of your students in your hands.
If it gets to be too much, then back off a bit. Walk away, take a break, and then come back to it. Do one class a week at first and work your way up to reading them each afternoon or evening. No one can start a new project and be perfect right away. Give yourself the chance to improve just as you give your students that same chance!
