Running head: JOURNAL WRITING AND ALL ITS
GLORY
1
Journal Writing and All Its
Glory Michelle Batista
Liberty University
Journal Writing 2
Abstract
Journal writing has been used in classrooms for many years. It has many benefits and can
help students gain a love for writing. Journal writing can be used many ways. Often times a
teacher will provide his/her students with prompts. Another great way is to give students open
topic. Based on research students lack the ability to think creatively because they worry about
what grade they are going to receive. However, journal writing can alleviate that worry by
providing students a way to think and write without worrying about getting graded. In the
following journal I will discuss the benefits of assigning ungraded journal writing to students.
Keywords: Writing, Pedagogy, Teaching Writing, Journal Writing
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Introduction
Journal writing in the classroom has many benefits. Journal writing can be used to meet
specific goals, or teachers can provide different prompts. In my classroom I use journal writing at
the start of the day. In order for this to be a pleasant experience, students do not need to worry
about punctuation, complete sentences, or spelling. The activity solely focuses on the students
being able to express themselves through writing. My goal is for the students to learn to think
creatively. I don’t want them to worry about errors. So, I tell them to write like if they are telling
me a story.
The benefits I have experienced with journal writing have been many. When students
arrive they are ready for class and know their expectations. As I read through the journals
although I am not checking for punctuation, grammar, or spelling the students’ work shows
improvement in those areas. Students are also writing longer passages and seem to enjoy writing
more. Lastly, the students are able to be creative with their writing.
There are many great expectations from the use of journal writing. Of them all I was
surprised by the connections I made with the students. I expected the students to dislike it at first,
but then come around. Another expectation was for the students writing to progress, which they
have. I never gave much thought to the fact that in addition to my students learning new things of
themselves, I too was able to learn. As a result, I have been able to understand my students and
create special bonds. Fortunately, although it was unexpected I have created wonderful
relationships with many of my students with the use of journal writing.
Conclusion
As I read throughout the Strong text this week I found that the important aspect of
teaching journal writing is to instill in our children a love for learning. Having students write in
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journals gives them an opportunity to reflect and gain an insight of themselves. Although, some
children are resistant I have found that in the end many students look forward to reading their
journals at the end of the year. They get to read throughout the book and see how they have
changed and about all the things they have learned. Many times the students share with me how
they can’t believe how differently they feel about writing. In the end, I think it has a lot to do
with the fact that they learn the process of writing in a way that is not stressful, which I believe is
really helpful. Let us not forget also that the Lord “filled us with the Spirit of God, with wisdom,
with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills” (Exodus, 31:3, ESV).
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Références
Strong, W. (2012). Coaching writing in content areas: Write-for-insight strategies, grades 6-12
(2nd ed.). Boston: Pearson.
