Journal groups

Throughout the year, our students do many journal entries. From math to language arts, they speak their minds, demonstrate their knowledge, and extend on our ever-changing curriculum. Their favorite part of journal writing is getting to share with the class. Unfortunately, there isn’t enough time in the day to share every entry every time. Journal groups are an easy and student-centered alternative.

The students have access to both the Journal Group Rules and Kind Words You Can Use mini-posters that we created. The students or the teacher can make the groups. They should be flexible, changing often. When we choose to make our groups, we make sure they are heterogeneous to reinforce acceptance and appreciation of various levels and abilities. These groups can meet while the teacher is conducting reading groups, during center times, or any other available time. The students love sharing, being heard, and hearing their classmates’ ideas.

We Love List Books!

Begin this activity by reading the book, Wallace’s Lists by Barbara Bottner and Gerald Kruglik. Make list books for each student using our template (Word or PDF).

The books will be half-sized, and vertical, with staples on the left side. Print a copy of our list book ideas and choose one topic each day so your students can create their own lists. If you want to share but don’t have much time, ask students to put a star next to their favorite item on the list of the day, and share only their favorites. Older students can keep their own copy of the list book ideas and choose which lists they’d like to write each day.