Nikkolas Smith’s The History of We is a breathtaking picture book that explores humanity’s collective story from our earliest beginnings to the present moment and our shared responsibility to create a more compassionate world. Through his poetic text and powerful illustrations, Smith shows how we are all part of something bigger: a global community bound by love, struggle, and hope.

For writers, The History of We offers a reminder that personal stories connect to a much larger narrative. For journalers, it’s an invitation to reflect on identity, ancestry, and legacy—to ask: Where do I come from? What stories do I carry? What part of the “we” am I helping to write? It is also a picture book with a strong reminder about the danger of single stories. On how we can avoid making generalizations and assumptions in order to really take the time to get to know the multiple points of views that exist within a community, culture, and world around us.

In this post, you can find…

• Tips for using this book as a mentor text for writing

• Ways to use the book with preschoolers, grades k-5, grades 6-8, grades 9-12, and for disciplinary literacy projects

• Journaling prompts linked to the book (including nature journaling)

• One grammar exercise to access grammar instruction

Emmy Kastner’s So Tortoise Dug is a gentle, inspiring story about a tortoise who does what tortoises do best—dig! But as Tortoise digs, she discovers more than dirt and tunnels. She uncovers wonder, quiet courage, and the joy of moving at her own pace. Through Kastner’s warm language and playful illustrations, readers are invited to celebrate curiosity, self-trust, and the slow beauty of discovery. I also really love the nonfiction connections here as we encourage (as both teachers and parents) kids to be aware of the world around them. The book is based off of the real relationship of how two species coexist in the wild: the gopher tortoise and the Florida mouse. In the Author’s Note, Emmy goes on to explain that the book is a “pourquoi tale (“pourquoi” is the french word for “why”) This type of story is a fictional explanation of why something is the way that it is.” I love the idea of writers being able to explain real-world concepts through made up stories.

For writers and journalers alike, So Tortoise Dug reminds us that every creative journey takes time. It encourages us to keep going, keep digging, and find joy in uncovering what’s beneath the surface of our thoughts, stories, and dreams.

In this post, you can find…

• Tips for using this book as a mentor text for writing

• Ways to use the book with preschoolers, grades k-5, grades 6-8, grades 9-12, and for disciplinary literacy projects

• Journaling prompts linked to the book (including nature journaling)

• One grammar exercise to access grammar instruction

Mary Lyn Ray and Felicita Sala’s When You Find the Right Rock is a quiet celebration of attention and belonging—of the small, ordinary things that feel extraordinary when noticed with care. Through poetic language and luminous illustrations, Ray and Sala capture the simple act of finding a rock and transform it into something magical: a story about connection, grounding, and discovery. I think one of my favorite parts of this book when reading it to our little one was pausing on lines like,

“Still, there might be times when rocks don’t seem like much to look at. But then one will surprise you—like when you notice something special about you that surprises you. Just when you were maybe feeling sort of ordinary, there it is.”

For writers and journalers, this book is a meditation on presence. It reminds us that meaning often hides in small moments—holding a smooth rock, feeling its weight, noticing its color or warmth. When You Find the Right Rock invites us to pause, look closer, and find joy in what fits just right in our hands and hearts.

In this post, you can find…

• Tips for using this book as a mentor text for writing

• Ways to use the book with preschoolers, grades k-5, grades 6-8, grades 9-12, and for disciplinary literacy projects

• Journaling prompts linked to the book (including nature journaling)

• One grammar exercise to access grammar instruction

Joyce Sidman and Melissa Sweet’s Dear Acorn (Love, Oak) is a gentle and poetic exploration of connection, patience, and transformation. Told through a series of tender letters from an old oak tree to a newly fallen acorn, this picture book beautifully captures the rhythm of life cycles—growth, waiting, change, and renewal. Through Sidman’s lyrical language and Sweet’s rich mixed-media illustrations, readers are invited to consider how all things in nature are intertwined. On the blog, I have been a huge fan of the illustrations from Melissa Sweet. How to Write a Poem by Kwame Alexander and How to Read a Book by Kwame Alexander are two of the first picture books I recommend to teachers to lead conversations about reading and writing in their classrooms at any level.

For writers and journalers alike, Dear Acorn is an invitation to reflect on relationships, resilience, and the quiet passage of time. It reminds us that even the smallest beginnings hold the promise of something enduring and strong. In Dear Acorn the lost art of letter writing can help writers tap into new ideas and people working in a journal to access different parts of the world around them.

In this post, you can find…

• Tips for using this book as a mentor text for writing

• Ways to use the book with preschoolers, grades k-5, grades 6-8, grades 9-12, and for disciplinary literacy projects

• Journaling prompts linked to the book (including nature journaling)

• One grammar exercise to access grammar instruction

Julie Morstad’s picture book A Face is a Poem offers readers a playful and poetic way of seeing something familiar—our own faces. Instead of describing features literally, Morstad leans on metaphor: freckles as sprinkles, flowery faces, faces that you find in the clouds. Each page invites readers to view the ordinary as extraordinary. I actually paused in the bookstore when I saw the cover of this book because the colors and imagery were so beautiful.

For writers, this text is a gift. It reminds us that description doesn’t have to be technical—it can be imaginative, metaphorical, and deeply personal. For journalers, it opens the door to self-reflection and self-expression through the lens of poetry. This post serves as a how-to guide for using this text in multiple ways: in the classroom, at home, or within your own notebook.

In this post, you can find…

• Tips for using this book as a mentor text for writing

• Ways to use the book with preschoolers, grades k-5, grades 6-8, grades 9-12, and for disciplinary literacy projects

• Journaling prompts linked to the book (including nature journaling)

• One grammar exercise to access grammar instruction

Chic Sparrow is a leather goods company that began as a small Etsy shop creating handcrafted journal covers—and has since grown into a beloved brand known for its beautiful lines of notebook covers and journaling accessories. While there are many notebook cover options on the market across a wide range of price points, Chic Sparrow sits comfortably on the higher end—and for good reason. Their covers are made from genuine, high-quality leather that only becomes more beautiful with time and use. I really love using these because they make journaling feel like a special ritual.

With Chic Sparrow, you can find a cover you love in the exact size and style that fits your journaling needs. Traditional traveler’s notebook covers feature elastic strings that allow you to insert multiple notebooks or planners at once and swap them out as needed—keeping your cover consistent while refreshing what’s inside. You can also choose from other options such as folios that hold the covers of your notebook in pockets. Personally, I’ve collected several of their covers over the years in B5, A5, Traveler’s Notebook, B6, and Weeks sizes, and each one feels like a piece of craftsmanship that grows more personal with every use. This post is a review of the covers themselves, but also a walkthrough of my notebook ecosystem of how I use different notebooks in different sizes to complement my own journaling routine.

Everything that reminds me of journaling also reminds me of fall types of things. This may be the best season for grabbing a notebook and getting ready to write.

Hot beverages.

Warm blankets.

Red leaves.

Lit candles.

Crisp mornings.

Sunlight in windows.

Nanowrimo.

Brain-dumping worries.

Moving a little bit slower in life.

Thinking about how the goals for the year are going so far.

Getting ready to think about goals for the new year.

Whether you like the fall for the football, changing leaves, or pumpkin spice lattes, journaling has a place in your everyday routine. This post is an ode to fall journaling. Think of it like a fall journaling toolkit. These are all easy things you can add to your journaling routine to get the most out of fall. Included in this post, you will find an update on my fall journaling routine, cozy fall music links to set the vibe, fun accessories and stickers, and reflective prompts to get you thinking.

I’m not someone who claims to be a fabulous chef by any means. For the first seven years of my relationship, it was my husband who did the majority of the cooking. I’ve had to work at cooking the same way I’ve had to work at learning how to be a teacher. Over the past ten years or so, I’ve made an effort to learn recipes I’ve found on Pinterest and keep track of the dishes I feel I’m starting to improve at with practice. Sometimes, the things that matter most take time to learn.

I do remember one recipe I used to make when I was 15 years old. I would watch my mom bake this bread, then write down the recipe for my own use. I’ve kept that same recipe card all these years. Now, whenever I’m feeling a bit nostalgic, I’ll make banana bread—the Butler way.

There’s something powerful about having one notebook system that goes everywhere with you. When we think about writing, it’s often because we recognize the strong connection between thinking and writing—and the opportunity to get our thoughts down on the page. The real power of a notebook that travels with you throughout your day is that it creates opportunity: a space to jot down thoughts, capture inspiration, plan your day, and reflect on life as it happens.

That’s the beauty of an EDC—or Every Day Carry—especially when it becomes a tool that’s not performative, but genuinely useful.

For me, that everyday notebook is a Traveler’s Notebook in the classic Traveler’s size. It’s compact enough to toss in a bag, flexible enough to meet multiple needs, and—best of all—completely customizable.

If you’re looking to create your own EDC notebook system, here’s a reference guide to help you figure out what works best for you.

You might choose the Traveler’s size, or you might gravitate toward another format. (The running joke is that everyone always ends up back at A5!) What really matters is choosing something you’ll actually use and simplifying your routine so you can consistently get your ideas down on the page.

When most people think of nature journaling, they imagine sketching a bird on a branch, noting the colors of a flower, or recording the changing weather. But nature journaling isn't only about what you see. One of the most important—and often overlooked—ways to connect with the natural world is by tuning in to its sounds.

Sounds have a way of pulling us outside. I often find that while I enjoy sound, I struggle to bring it to the forefront of my senses. What I mean by this is that when I’m walking outdoors, I don’t always notice the birdsong, the wind, or even the ambient noises like cars or people talking. I tend to tune them out. Yet I know some sounds can shift how I feel when I’m in nature.

So what happens when we allow sound to come to the forefront of our awareness?

This post is all about tuning into sound using a tool called a soundscape or sound map. I also tried out the Merlin app, which identifies bird calls and displays information about the birds on your screen. Birds seemed like a natural place to start when talking about sounds in relationship to journaling. Why? Because birds are everywhere. You don’t have to have a forest or green area in order to access their music. You can be in the busiest of cities, and you can still work with the sound of birds in your journal. Think of this post as a guide to help you start noticing sounds more intentionally—and using a simple outdoor walk as inspiration for what you might hear.

Maps and the act of getting directions are some of the most literal ways people connect from one place to another. There’s something deeply grounding about drawing a map—especially one that doesn’t follow traditional geography. In My Map Book, author-illustrator Sara Fanelli reimagines what mapping can be: not just a way to track location, but a playful and reflective tool for understanding ourselves, our experiences, and our world. Inspired by her work, this blog post offers 25 creative mapping activities perfect for outdoor journaling. These prompts are flexible for individuals, students, or groups, and each one encourages cross-curricular connections—blending literacy, science, art, and social-emotional learning. If you’re a teacher without easy access to green space, outdoor mapping is also a great way to introduce nature journaling to your students.

Got a blank notebook around the house you don’t use? Have a half-filled notebook that you love that you don’t want to ignore any longer? Find a use for any blank notebook using this giant list of 100+ ideas. Any blank notebook will work for any of these activities. Some of these notebook ideas may travel with you throughout your day, some notebooks will stay at home on the shelf. If you need a notebook recommendation, check out the shop supplies page on the blog. You can also grab some discount codes for a new notebook from some of my favorite vendors. One of the main messages on the blog is that “you are what you write.” However, even more so, you are all of your dreams, goals, and habits. All you need is a blank page.

If you don’t know where to start with a journaling system, start with the post “Choose a Journaling System That Works For You.”

If you’re feeling the tug to slow down, step outside, and reconnect with the world around you, nature journaling might be exactly what you need. But where do you begin? The easiest entry point is one that feels more like play than practice: go on a nature scavenger hunt or take a simple walk outdoors. Whether you're on your own or with kids, this gentle activity opens the door to curiosity, observation, and connection—the very heart of nature journaling. And when I say "nature walk," I simply mean stepping outside. Whether you're facing desert heat or a winter blast, you can observe the world around you and begin with any notebook or journal.

This post provides a starting point with some prompts, and it gives some resources and materials for stepping into the outdoors.

Whenever I sat down with my middle school English team, met with a colleague for curriculum planning, or chatted with teachers across departments, one question always surfaced: “How do you teach the essay?” or “What parts need to be taught to students?”

As I continue working with more and more teachers, I’ve noticed that the academic essay is often assigned based on a teacher’s own learning experiences, their mentor’s approach, or a set of commonly accepted skills that are rarely questioned. I’m not claiming that my method of teaching essays is better than anyone else’s. Instead, this post serves as a starting point for a larger conversation about how the academic essay is implemented across grade levels. The goal, ultimately, should be consistency.

In this post, I’ll use the Six Traits of Writing as a shared language for teaching writing in the classroom. I’ll also outline the essential components of an academic essay—what I refer to as the building blocks.

Just like physical building blocks, these parts can be removed, rearranged, or used differently depending on the purpose of the assignment. The same concept applies here: consider each part as an area where you can choose to emphasize, adapt, or even skip depending on what your students need. I like the Six Traits of Writing because they provide flexible, universal terminology that applies across genres and writing types.

The academic essay can feel overwhelming to teach because it’s often viewed as a rigid form. But in reality, there’s quite a bit of flexibility, depending on the teacher’s experience, the grade level, and the writing genre. In my experience, success in teaching essay writing comes from two things: using a consistent structure and adopting a shared language. When teachers have a common understanding of these areas, it leads to better conversations about writing—and more clarity, purpose, and structure for students.

Our daughter’s favorite part of a trip to Lowe’s is walking through the garden section to see the flowers and collecting a stack of “rainbows”—color paint sample cards. After one of these trips, I remembered that I had a writing prompt kit called Paint Chip Poetry. This little box includes a wide variety of colors, each paired with a word or phrase, along with prompts to spark ideas. There’s something magical about color—how a single shade can evoke a memory, tell a story, or capture the essence of a season. When we combine that sensory experience with the power of words, we open up an entirely new pathway to creativity.

One of my favorite tools for inspiring outdoor journaling is using paint chips taped into a notebook. Paint chip poetry and color-based activities offer an accessible, playful, and deeply reflective way to connect with nature, especially when paired with time spent outside. Whether you’re journaling in your backyard, at a park, or on a classroom nature walk, these activities add a vibrant lens to the experience.

This post outlines five color-inspired journaling activities to try with your students or in your own nature notebook. It also includes recommended picture books that serve as wonderful resources for kids of all ages, from upper elementary to high school.

In all classrooms that thrive, students are not only readers and writers—they are thinkers. Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis, in their foundational text Strategies That Work: Teaching Comprehension for Engagement, Understanding, and Building Knowledge, Grades K-8, remind us that comprehension is more than just decoding words; it’s about making meaning. The six key strategies they outline—monitoring comprehension, activating and building background knowledge, asking questions, visualizing and inferring, determining importance, and summarizing—are not only tools for deep reading, but also cornerstones of effective writing.

Strategic readers make intentional decisions as they interact with texts. The same is true for strategic writers. When students are invited to use writing as a thinking tool, especially through writing-to-learn strategies like outdoor journaling, they begin to connect ideas, process emotions, and synthesize information in authentic and meaningful ways. Outdoor journaling, in particular, provides a rich opportunity to activate background knowledge, ask curious questions, and synthesize observations—all while immersing students in the world around them.

In this post, we’ll explore how each of these six comprehension strategies can be found in journaling activities. Outdoor journaling can foster not just literacy growth, but confident, curious communicators. Let’s take literacy goals out of the classroom and into the fresh air—where thinking and writing grow together. Below, you'll find a list of 42 different journaling activities that align with literacy goals. Included is the activity name, a brief description, suggested resources, and example classroom applications.

“What is poetry?” Daniel asks.
“Come with me,” says Spider, “and I will show you.”
— Daniel Finds a Poem by Micha Archer

In Daniel Finds a Poem, readers journey with Daniel as he walks through the park and asks his animal friends, “What is poetry?” Each creature responds in their own way. Spider speaks of dew, Frog talks about cool water, and Owl praises the night sky. As Daniel listens, observes, and reflects, he discovers that poetry is all around him. Poetry is what you see, hear, feel, and imagine—just like what our students can discover during a walk outside.

Using Daniel Finds a Poem as a mentor text, you can create a powerful classroom-building activity that also helps destigmatize the practice of writing poetry through found poems.

Creating a sense of belonging in the classroom isn't just a goal—it’s the foundation for all other interactions. This activity is a great way to build community at the beginning of the year, or to reconnect after a longer break. Found poetry invites writers to “find” words and phrases from existing texts or the world around them. For this activity, you might take students outside, but you could also use books, signs, notes, or even snippets of spoken dialogue—then arrange them into a new poetic form.

In this variation, students become the source text. You collect their words and transform them into a poem that reflects your shared classroom identity. The best part? When everyone shares their favorite line to create a collaborative community poem, it almost feels like teaching magic.

Writing is more than just a way to show what we know—it’s a tool for thinking, processing, and discovering. One of the most effective and versatile strategies for strengthening student voice and supporting content-area learning is the Claim, Evidence, Reason (CER) paragraph. This structure helps students organize their thoughts and communicate their ideas, whether they’re in an English, science, or social studies classroom. The CER paragraph is a strong place to start if your team or school wants to build consistency in writing expectations. In this post, you’ll find ideas for teaching CER using the mentor text The One Thing You’d Save by Linda Sue Park and Robert Sae-Heng, along with practical tips for helping students develop strong, thoughtful responses.

Many of us reach a point where we’re simply ready for a reset. Whether it’s the start of a new journal, a new season, or just the need for a mental refresh, taking time to refocus your vision and energy can be powerful. You don’t have to wait for January to set goals—any time is the right time to dream big, reflect on what matters most, and realign with your purpose.

One of my favorite ways to do this is through vision boarding. It helps me get my priorities in order and brings a sense of clarity and lightness. I always begin with a few journaling prompts to ground myself, and then I move into the creative work of cutting, pasting, and dreaming. Whether I’m using my Commonplace Notebook or creating a one-page spread at the front of a new daily journal, the process is always personal and reflective. This post will walk you through helpful journaling prompts, a quick video tutorial, and the four main steps to create your own vision board—using any journal you already have at home.

In Wonder Walkers by Micha Archer, two curious children explore the natural world by asking poetic questions like, “Are trees the sky’s legs?” and “Is dirt the world’s skin?” This mentor text serves as a powerful model for both students and teachers—it invites readers to slow down, observe, and wonder. The book can inspire an activity that not only takes students outdoors, but also encourages them to reflect on the different kinds of questions they are asking each day. The very place where we are standing can become a tool for learning if we’re willing to pause and look closely through a lens of inquiry.

This post offers a walkthrough of a lesson you can bring outside—as a StoryWalk or as an introduction to nature journaling. It’s also a great cross-curricular activity that can launch an inquiry or research unit, blending observation, curiosity, and writing in a meaningful way.