Description: Response Journals create a permanent record of what readers are feeling and thinking as they interact with literary or informational texts. It allows students to record their thoughts and emotional reactions about texts. Reading selections may be used as a springboard to inspire students’ feelings and thoughts about a topic. Most journal activities require thinking but do not demand a finished product. Students learn to write without fear of making errors. Students should know in advance if they are to share their writing with the class or if their journals are to be read aloud in class. Students often produce their best writing at this time because they are composing for an audience of their peers. Most importantly, journaling allows students to express their thoughts and feelings honestly and without pretense.
Step-by-Step
- Encourage students to keep their journals close during class in order to stop and take notes, think, or reflect on other writings. It is also useful to prepare for discussions, take notes for a paper, plan a presentation, and synthesize reading or discussion of a text.
- Teach students the difference between taking notes and making notes. Taking notes is passive; they write down main ideas as they appear. The second is interactive; they not only note main ideas but write down connections, insights, questions, observations.
- Encourage students to write in their journals to
- think.
- elaborate their thoughts.
- make connections among ideas, writings, readings.
- synthesize their ideas and understandings at a critical juncture in the reading process.
- develop questions for clarification to ask of themselves, the text, classmates, teacher, or the author.
- respond to their own questions or questions from the text, classmates, teacher or author.
- explain what they have learned.
- Provide examples of effective journal writing and share journal writings from the class.
- Journal writing may take place
- before class.
- anytime a new idea, an epiphany, or a question reveals itself.
- during class.
- while reading and discussing.
- after class.
- anytime.
- Journals may include
- notes.
- new ideas.
- sketches and drawings.
- concepts, views, and opinions.
- designs and redesigns.
- words – new, favorites and unknown.
- reflections on class, strategies I used.
- questions and answers.
- stories, poems, lists, and any other writings.
- quotes, sayings, and expressions.
Beginner level ResponseJournal from http://www.sanchezclass.com/reading-graphic-organizers.htm