New Take on Journaling

I live in South Florida and we certainly felt the weight of this hurricane season.  Our stores, restaurants and even gasoline stations are still not completely re-stocked.  It's sad going into the supermarkets and seeing empty produce and meat shelves.  Most shutters are all down, some people keep them up just in case. Debris is cleaned up and placed in our front yards waiting to be picked up.  School is back in session, people are getting back to their regular routines. But, we're different somehow.   

Interestingly, I was looking forward to getting back to school.  

I couldn't wait to hear all my kids' individual hurricane stories and, honestly, just getting back to my regular routine.  

During the week our schools were closed, I worked at home trying to get myself together so that when I arrived back I wouldn't be disoriented.  I watched lots of YouTube videos and got mountains of inspiration.  Thank you, YouTube teachers.
Here are some of my favorites:

One Fab Teacher
Pocketful of Primary
Real Rap With the Reynolds
The Lettered Classroom

New Take on Journal Writing

Bell work in my class is always either Just Read or Just Write.  
Just Read is a school-wide initiative where students read for 20 uninterrupted minutes in the morning when they arrive at their first-hour class.  That takes care of first period.  
For the following periods, we Just Write.  

Just Write Journals are, of course, composition books.  
One year I had students decorate their composition books. 
It was fun, but it took too much time and money.  
Now we just decorate with stickers earned and headbands.

New Journal Themes

When I first started journals with my kids I would scrounge around for interesting topics.  Students would randomly write ideas centered around any given topic. I always felt there was something missing and this format wasn't much of a benefit.  Yes, it had them writing, but very little effort was required.

Now, we have a new plan.

 Each day of the week has a theme and a task.  
Themes and tasks focus on a particular text structure.  
This year, I have four themes for each day of the week to keep the kids from getting bored with the same theme from week to week.

We don't write on Mondays because we're in the Computer Lab all day completing our computer learning obligations. 
Themes begin on Tuesday.  Tuesday has two themes. The first is:

On Tuesdays, we PLAN OUR WEEK.  
After students write their agenda items and attendance has been taken, we take out our This Week's Work packet and discuss what we are doing for that week, the standards and strategies we will focus on and assignments to be completed and turned in the following Monday.

We also update our Just Write Journal Table of Contents and prepare our headings and pages for the week's journal entries. Each entry has a number, a date, a theme, a topic and a task. We discuss our themes, topics and tasks to make sure everyone understands the vocabulary and expectations.  

Once we have prepared our journal pages, students choose the entry of most interest to them, we put on the timer and students add one entry.  The following days, students begin writing during bell work while I take care of housekeeping duties.  I don't need to explain because we already discussed expectations at Tuesday's Pow-Wow.  If a student was absent, one of my student leaders helps me to fill them in.  If another student is struggling with the task, again, one of my student leaders helps me out. 

Tuesday's Writing Themes:

Type of Writing:  Argumentative 

Topics:  2 opposing ideas (Teacher or Student Choice)

Task:  Choose and defend their position

Type of Writing:  Informative/Explanatory

Topics:  Current Event (World, Community, Family, Personal)

Task:  Answer - Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?

Type of Writing:  List

Topics:  Talent, Skill, Hobby, etc. (Student Choice)

Task:  Ideas that would help a novice learner

Type of Writing:  Problem and Solution

Topics:  Problem (Student or Teacher Choice)             

Task:  Define/describe the problem and offer logical ideas for a positive solution

Type of Writing:  Personal or Imaginary Narrative

Topic:  Humorous or Exaggerated Event

Task:  Tell the story referencing the narrative elements

Type of Writing:  Reflective Summary

Topic:  Growth Mindset

Task:  Read a short story, fable or folktale.  Reflect on how character attitudes begin and change.  Identify with the character and draw conclusions of lessons learned.

Type of Writing:  Cause & Effect

Topics:  Situations, Occurrences, Events, Actions

Task:  Describe the event.  Share what the causes are and what the outcomes are.  Reflect on benefits and consequences.

Type of Writing:  Research

Topic:  An unknown subject or question - Student Choice

Task:  Research information through the internet, books, people and document findings and conclusions

Type of Writing:  List

Topics:  "Currently" - Student Choice

Task:  Write a list of all of the reasons to be thankful 

(This prompt is not limited to November writing.)

Type of Writing:  Personal Narrative

Topic:  A memory or flashback

Task:  Re-tell the story using narrative elements

Type of Writing:  Informative/Explanatory

Topic:  Universal Ideas, Trends, Social Media, Pop Culture

Task:  Share how these ideas have influenced their personal lives or the lives of others

Type of Writing:  Persuasive/Argumentative

Topic:  Personal or Public Opinion (Teacher/Student Choice)

Task:  Choose personal preference. Argue against counterclaim.  Make recommendations.

Free Day - No Writing

Type of Writing:  End of Week Exit Ticket

Topic:  Week of Learning

Task:  What I learned?  What is still confusing? Ideas for teacher, rate the teacher, recommendations, etc.

Type of Writing:  Personal - Informative

Topic:  Personal Feelings, Opinions, Concerns, Shout-Outs

Task:  Share personal feelings and or thoughts

Then, of course, who doesn't love Fun Friday?  

Type of Writing:  Writing for Fun

Fun Topics:  Our Faves! 

Music, Sports, Food, Places, Games, etc.

Fun Task:  Draw a poster, Draw Doodles, Lettering, Scrapbooking, etc.

Fun Place:  Outside under a tree, 

by the school track, 

in the school courtyard,  

in the dark with flashlights, 

with music in the background, 

in alternative seating,

etc.

Hoping you were able to get some new ideas for your journaling format.  If you have more ideas, please share.  

March ~ Show & Tell

I'm happy to be joining Forever In 5th Grade for March's Show & Tell Linky Party.

This month I'm preparing for the much anticipated and very much needed ~ Spring Break! I had many ideas, but responsibility ultimately decided. I'll be taking an online course our district has required.  Nevertheless, I still plan to squeeze in some "therapy".

Fiction Therapy

A few months ago I was surfing through my public library website to see what books were trending and I noticed a title that was very popular, "A Fall of Marigolds" by Susan Meissner.  I checked it out, but it was a 2 week loan and I didn't get a chance to finish it.  It's a lovely story that links two women who lived in two separate eras with a lovely scarf.  I've checked it out again to finish it during my break. It's anxiously sitting in my reading cave, waiting for me.

One of my students came running up to me last week.  She couldn't wait to show me the book she had checked out of our school's Media Center, "A Song for Bijou" by Josh Farrar.  She told me it's about a Haitian girl in middle school.  I checked my public library and they had it available. She'll be so excited when I show her that I checked it out also.  It, too, sits expectantly in my cave, awaiting my full attention.

Book #3 shouted my name from the library shelf, "To Win Her Favor" by Tamera Alexander.  The summary in the back begins with, "A gifted rider in a world where ladies never race . . ."  

Looks intriguing, and waiting on line in my reading cave with the others.

Flower Therapy

I love flowers, I love gardening, but I my thumb is not very green.  So, I try to find plants that don't require too much of the gardening gift.  Last year, for Mother's Day, we bought our first orchid. 

It looks lovely in this picture, but just a few weeks later, all the buds wilted and I thought I had once again ruined another plant.  Even the roots started hallowing out.  In my frustration I threw it out ~ The next day a friend told me, "Why'd you throw it out, orchids resurrect!" So, I went home, dug it out, bought orchid food spray and decided to give it another chance.  

I'm happy to report, this is my orchid almost a year later.  It, in fact, did come back.  The buds are swollen and ready to bloom.  

Well, being that I'm now a professional orchid person, I purchased my second one.
I think I can do this now.

Art Therapy

My New Adventure:  

Bible Art Journaling with the Girls

I recently learned of Bible Art Journaling and I was instantly bit.  I love reading the Bible, I love art, and I love journaling. It was the perfect union of three of my loves. Then, I got the idea to invite some of my friends to jump in with me.  I wondered at first if any one would be interested, but I was excited to see that I did have some girlfriends who were in.  So, we had our first gathering a few weeks ago and it was just as amazing as we all new it would be.  We shared snacks, stories, and supplies.  We decided to make it a monthly gig.  Can't wait for our next one.  

Not Shown, But Told:

~ Manicure/Pedicure Therapy

~ Retail Therapy

~ Bicycling Therapy

~ Nap Therapy

and

~ Ice Cream Therapy

I hope I have time for my online course!  

Thank you for stopping by.
Stop by Forever in Fifth Grade for more inspiration.

February's Show & Tell

for February's 

Double Composition 

I've custom designed composition books before, but this one is different because it is two books in one.  I got the idea from my ELL's that come from the country of Cuba.  They told me their teachers attach their composition books together so that they can have all of their work in one place.  So, this is what I did.  I'm sure there might be a more scientific and better way, but this was my first attempt.

These are the supplies I used. 

(Packing tape was also used, but it's not in the picture.)

I leveled the books side by side and used a clothes pin to keep them together.

I then stapled the back cover of the first book and the front cover of the second book with a long stapler.

Then, I cut most of the unstapled part off.  

I used packing tape to cover the staples and keep the openings closed.

This is what it looks like with the two books attached.  One student told me that some teachers take out the paper from one book and attach it to the other book with just one spine.  I'll have to try that next time.  

I covered the two spines with bright green tape.

I used clear packing tape to attached a pocket to the back cover with the scraps I had left over when I attached the two books.  I used a big sticker to cover the bar code.

Using clear packing tape again, I attached a ribbon to the middle of the front and back cover.  This will help keep the book closed when it's not in use. I also attached another sticker to hide the seam.

With clear packing tape I also attached a pen holder to the side.  (One came out a little short.  To keep that from happening I should have attached it from the front to the back. I'll do a better job with the next one.) I got the idea from Pinterest.  Click here to see the pin.  

I'm going to give the composition book away as a gift to one lucky student.  

I love preparing a little corner in my room that feels like home and reminds me of the people I love all during the day. Each year my space changes a little.