First Grade Journal Entries: Incorporating Skills and Creativity

Below are some excerpts from two of my first graders' journals written during our morning journal time, without any prompting. You will see that the students are experimenting with some of the skills they are learning in class: adding details, writing in sequential order, using a closing sentence, and incorporating voice.

12-9-05
On the 22nd I'm gonna go to Montana.

12-13-05
I'm excited to go to Montana! At Montana my grandma and my grandpa is living there!

12-15-05
On the 22nd I'm gonna go to Montana. My grandma and my grandpa live there. Last year my grandpa helped me build a birdhouse.

1-3-06
I'm happy when I go to Montana to see my grandma and my grandpa.

1-12-06
On the weekend I'm gonna finish my basketball hoop. My dad and I got two more things. The thing is putting the sand in and digging a place for my basketball hoop.

1-17-06
This weekend I had a basketball game. I didn't know the score.

1-19-06
Last night my dad put up a basketball [hoop]. My friends was outside. My friends is Josh and Kyle. My friend Josh played basketball.

3-6-06
This weekend I slept over at my grandma's. My grandma got a sports car. The roof goes off. I was the first kid to be in the sports car. Then I slept over at my friend's. He got a game cube. We played basketball. My friend won the first, then I won the second.

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Tomorrow I am going to get a new game for my PSP. It's going to be fun! You should try it. I like to play with my PSP. Why? Because it's really, really fun. Who does not like to play with a PSP? 2 people.

We are learning about Tell Me More. Tell Me More is about writing more, like this tip. Why do bears eat us? We do not taste good.

Hey everyone, how are you? Great. Fine. Give me your money or else. You have to give me your 1,000 or 100. Reese, can you buy me some money? Ok. Why don't you want my money? You want my money? Stop asking that question. You cannot do this to me. Oh great. Oh yes I can. Now do this: aaahhh.

Dominique Rhodes is number 33. He is the best on the Colts. He has a girly name. Who in the world will want a girly name like that?

The pacer test is today. I don't like it. Makes me sick. I might barf. I don't like to run and run.

It's the best day ever. I woke up and the sun smiled at me. I went outside and skipped to the crusty crab. Then he was gone.

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Though their writing isn't refined, and sometimes doesn't make sense, it reveals what is important to them and, I'm happy to say, sounds like them. Voice is the hardest thing to teach, but when you help students get into the habit of writing every day (thus developing greater facility with words and with the physical act of writing), teach them the elements of good writing, model good writing, and then give them the opportunity to write about what they care about, their voice will be very apparent!

Journal writing is not the only way for students to have choice during writing, and it doesn't work all the time with every student. Its success really depends on what your purpose in journal writing is. My main purpose was for students to write every day, at the same time, for a specific amount of time. I wanted them to develop ease with writing, so that when they had to write for an assignment, it was not such a challenge for them. I wasn't as concerned about the content, although we did talk about what was appropriate (They couldn't write about video games for days on end; no violence; no unkind words about others.) and where they could get inspiration. Because the students had much control over the content, and since they could choose to start with a drawing or text, I rarely had trouble getting anyone to write.

The most exciting thing I saw in journal writing was the application of skills I was trying to teach. Often I would encourage students to share their writing aloud and then praise the way they were using a certain skill. (And inevitably, the next day someone else would use the skill and want to share!) It was a fun way to give the students choice within writing and accomplish my goals as well!