Journaling in the Classroom
Perhaps journals are useful because of their simplicity; perhaps it is the freedom of writing without the constraints of grammar and spelling; perhaps it is the confidentiality of the writing. Whatever the exact reason, journals can be every bit as useful for students inside of the classroom as they are for citizens outside of the school setting. Even so, many people wonder if there is any benefit to having young children keep journals. “What can kindergarteners write?” they ask. Classroom teachers and parents wonder if the time spent on journals could be better spent elsewhere. In reality, there are many benefits to having younger students keep journals. There are also a myriad of ways for students to organize their journals. The choice of a specific method or system often depends on the age and ability of the students, as well as the intended purpose of the journal.
Journaling offers students a place where they can write without being concerned about grammar, spelling, or neatness of handwriting. Young students often find learning to write frustrating because there are so many things to remember that they have trouble focusing on content. Journals are the opposite of formal writing-so long as the audience can understand the content, the focus is on meaning instead of mechanics. As Donalee Bowerman, a special education teacher in New York says about journaling in her classroom, “‘It gives my studentsâÂ?¦one time when spelling, punctuation, and grammar don’t countâÂ?¦.It ensures they have one positive writing experience each day'” (qtd in Hopkins, 1999).
Journaling can help students examine their thoughts and clarify their thinking processes. It is well documented that writing down ideas can help to clarify them. Even though journal entries are never graded for mechanics, the mere act of journaling often helps students to become better writers. As Bouas (1997) says, “Children who have the opportunity to write every day have prolific practice in manipulating letters, words, and completing sentences even though conventional capitalization and punctuation may not be evident” (p. 5). This bears out the fact that people, particularly children, learn by doing. Small children learn to speak by listening to adults and imitating the sounds that they hear. The same principle applies to writing. Competent writers are those students who write, and who write frequently. Many teachers notice that when their students journal frequently, they become better writers. JoAnn Jacobs, a first grade teacher states, “A number of my students begin the school year using illustrations only or illustrations plus a few words. Throughout the year, illustrations are replaced by words, and those who began with a word or two are now writing a page” (qtd in Hopkins, 1999). One of the characteristics of journaling is that it begins at a student’s current level and grows with that student. If a student begins by drawing pictures with a few words, he or she can progress to writing longer entries. Students get to practice writing by actually doing it.
Also because journals are not graded for mechanics, they give children a safe place to experiment with their emerging writing skills. There are often situations in classrooms where children feel that they are being evaluated and judged. Writing curriculums in particular tend to be very structured and emphasize conformity and rote practice. Journaling emphasizes ideas and rewards creativity over conformity. By encouraging children to do whatever they are able, journaling assumes that all children are competent. This communicates the idea that all children can all become writers. Journaling also allows students to be praised for any and all of their efforts at writing, creating an environment where students cannot fail, so long as they try.
Journaling can be an integral part of a classroom environment that effectively promotes emergent and early literacy. According to Bouas (1997), an early literacy classroom should integrate a print-rich environment, a scheduled time for writing, teacher modeling, honeybee conferences, and time for sharing. Student journals can foster many of these aspects of the primary classroom environment. Environmental print can be used as the basis for journal entries. Students can copy this print, write about it, or draw logos that they have seen in their community. Teachers who set aside a special time for writing in journals each day communicate that journaling, and thus writing, is important and valued. During “honeybee conferences” the teacher circles the room and gives positive feedback about the children’s journal entries. As the teacher circles she might ask thought-provoking questions, praise a student’s picture or writing, or even write a comment on a student’s journal. Of course the teacher would ask permission before writing in a student’s journal during one of these conferences. Time that students spend journaling is time used effectively. Students are practicing their writing in a meaningful way, and the teacher has a chance to talk briefly with many students.
Although journaling is private, it can also be a social activity and thus can help in the development of a learning community in a classroom. According to Bouas, “opportunities for sharing should occur before, during, and after the children write” (p. 8). Children can brainstorm possible writing topics as a class or in groups before they begin writing. Even the act of journaling does not have to be private if the author does not wish it to be. Students can discuss their writing during journal time so long as it does not disrupt others. Sharing time after journaling gives children to opportunity to show off their work and have their classmates comment. Sharing communicates to students that their work is appreciated and valued. This is yet another way of making writing authentic and meaningful since students get honest but encouraging feedback about their writing.
A response journal is a particular way of having students journal in class. Students are encouraged to respond to books as well as to special occasions like classroom guests and field trips. Response journals allow students to examine and record their opinions about class readings and experiences. They are optimal for allowing students to share their thoughts about class material. A teacher could simply ask students to respond to a particular reading with some sort of opinion or thought. Possible types of literature response journals could involve providing a prompt as a starting point, or having the students keep a journal as if they were a character in the reading. Some teachers have students keep separate response journals for different subjects. Students might have a literature response journal, a science journal for recording lab work, and a math journal.
One of the most popular classroom journaling techniques is to have students keep dialogue journals. As their name implies these journals are a dialogue, or conversation, between two individuals. The most common arrangement is a dialogue between individual students and the teacher. However, this is not the only possible arrangement. An entire class could begin a dialogue journal where everyone contributes, including the teacher and classroom guests. Pairs of students could keep a dialogue journal that both students write in. Teachers could initiate three-way journals where the dialogue is between the student, the teacher, and the student’s family. Each of these options for dialogue journals comes with special benefits and challenges. Three-way journals, for example would foster communication between the main parties involved in a student’s education. It would help everyone to see an alternate point of view. However, three-way journals could also be challenging because parents would have to find time to write in and respond to the journal entries.
Overall, an early literacy classroom and curriculum should make learning to read and write authentic, useful, enjoyable, and meaningful for the students. This capitalizes on children’s natural enthusiasm for learning. When students journal, they are empowered by the realization that their ideas are worth recording, in whatever form they are able to record them. As they become increasingly competent writers, children also see the value of writing. Journals make writing relevant to the lives of the students.
