Educating Leaders - No Conveyor Belt Education Here!
July 31, 2009 - Encourage Writing using Reading Journals
This summer I’ve been posting reviews of our writing products as well as some articles about writing. This is an article that I wrote last summer that I thought you might find helpful.
Reading journals are a powerful tool to help your students learn.
Journal writing lessons are a great way for children to improve their writing while encouraging their learning through readings. It works for any child, regardless of age. All they need to do is write about what they have read and learned.
Over the past year, my teenagers tracked their literature reading assignments in a reading journal. When we began, they wrote about events happening in the story. As time progressed, they became more engrossed in the task, writing about lessons learned or the actions of the characters in the story. Now, at the end of the year, they are writing informal essays in their reading journals that delve deeply into the story, rather than simply re-telling it.
Here’s a video review of some of our writing products, “US History Based Writing Lessons - Volume 1.”
This year, my twelve-year-old son is starting his reading journal. Each day, he writes an entry on what he learned. We've found this helpful with Bible readings and devotionals - a great way to reinforce important lessons!
If you have younger children, write their journal entry for them as they narrate it. They can re-write the narrative, using their best handwriting, into their journal on the next day.
I don't think that these journals are teaching tools themselves, but they have helped my children write better. It does, however, help them to retain what they have learned while looking for ways to incorporate those lessons into daily life. I use Teaching Writing: Structure & Style. __________
Copyright Kerry Beck, 2009
You have permission to reprint this article, as long as you don’t make any changes and include the bio below.
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