The Power of Student Journaling (No Matter Where You Are)
Student Journal Writing Remains the Best Assignment I Give…Even in a Pandemic
Distance or online learning creates the opportunity for teachers to learn new ways to approach students. I have always loved educational technology, and I have to admit, getting excited about learning how to screencast, edit videos, and use technology to meet with students has been good for my student-soul. I created a video tutorial for how to create a journal vision board, put music to the background, and transitions, and you would have thought I was the next coder to grab a hold of a mouse and keyboard. It is a powerful thing to keep learning. And while we must remain open and shift our mindsets to remaining positive during school closures, the most powerful and important tool I have right now in my teacher bag is the student journaling assignment.
Because not all of my students can access my fancy videos. Not all of my students can download the fancy software needed for interactive presentations where they can draw on the screen, record their own audio, and complete even an essay assignment online due to being able to pull up any kind of word-processing software. Not all of my students can attend the live synchronous sessions due to schedules, home life, or the availability of access. We must continue to demonstrate ours and any excellence in education based on the success and inspiration of our students who struggle. Student journaling equates to access because it can be completed in a paper journal, on a phone, on a document, or really...on anything. You are simply putting thoughts down on paper.
I am going back in my mind and wishing that I was using student journaling more when we were in the traditional classroom. I am forever changed by this experience because I think the main way I assess and work with students might be thrown out of the window. Student journaling is more powerful than a five-paragraph essay. Student journaling is more powerful than a claim statement. Student journaling matters more than the five vocabulary words we focus on in a unit. How interesting that in times of “education essentialism” we begin to see what matters. The ability to have students voice their thoughts on paper and convey meaning is the best thing I can do for my students as an English teacher. This post outlines different types of journaling, different journaling resources, and some conversations about assessment and grading.
What is Student Journaling?
The better question is, what does student journaling look like? The reason for this is because we all have images in our minds of students writing about their feelings or responding to a prompt. Even now, I can close my eyes and see pencils going across the page or fingers tapping on keyboards during writing time. I see the students who struggle with writing because it feels uncomfortable. I see the students who raise their hands eagerly because they already want their voices to be heard. But how does that look now?
I assign a journal prompt and it goes into a void of teaching darkness that we call the internet. My biggest complaint with online learning is that I feel like sometimes I am teaching into a vast hole. Little circles with initials pop up on the screen, and these circles are supposed to represent a student on the other side of the cables. I am craving getting back to a time and place when I can go kneel next to a student’s chair and give them some ideas. I can sit in a chair next to them and write a sentence starter on their paper. I can look across the room and see thinking.
Seeing thinking happening in real-time may be my favorite thing about teaching, and it is the thing I miss the most about being in a physical classroom.
Types of Journaling
There are many types of journaling that we can work into our lessons, both online and in-person. I wanted to include a list in the hopes to inspire and find some time each week to work journaling into the routines (or back into the routines) we plan for the future. Personally, I know I had gotten away from journaling a bit because time took over with units, standards, and more. We were in the middle of research projects for both advanced English and general English…and then, they just…stopped. It is amazing how an objective can get in the way of remembering what is non-negotiable for our classrooms. I am thinking about where I am going to insert journaling into classroom routines, how routines change over the course of a school year, and how that looks now that we are in a situation of remote or distance learning. Our students may not necessarily want to talk about their feelings when it comes to the school closures, but I believe we, as teachers, need to provide the opportunity if needed. And, in turn, show them that we are willing to be vulnerable, too. While the act of journaling remains pretty accessible, it is not perfect. The lessons we are doing online to engage our students in thinking are still important in order to get any words on the page.
The following are five ways you can insert journaling as a routine and as an assignment in your online or traditional classroom.
#1: WRITING FOR FEELINGS
Mindfulness journaling/mindful minute/mindful meditation
Writing about worries. Students write a worry down and crumple it up and throw it away.
Writing about a variety of feelings for self or others. (Anger, sadness, happiness, etc.)
Writing to confront boredom with exploration (Inspire curiosity or student passion projects)
Scenario writing. Students can explore what makes others act a certain way or talk in a certain manner.
Try Reading:
>>”Students’ Journals Could Be ‘Primary Sources’ (Updated)” by Lauren S. Brown from MiddleWeb (Pandemic Journaling)
>>Calm Mindfulness Journal
#2: WRITING FOR RESPONSE TO A TEXT OR PROMPT
Responding to a poem, short story, novel section (Exit tickets, formative assessments, etc)
Journaling to find meaning or theme
Journaling to understand character actions or motive
Writing to understand narration or types of narrators
Text connections to self, society, or world
Sketchnotes in response to literature
Try Reading:
>>”Sketchnotes Gallery: Students Draw to Demonstrate Thinking” by Stephanie Hampton from Writing Mindset
#3: WRITING IN RESPONSE TO AN OPEN QUESTION
Warmup writing or anticipatory sets
Exit Tickets
Discussion starters/openers
Partner brainstorm before a discussion
Gallery walk responses before posting
Respond to “table twitter” or poster activity sharing
Try Reading:
>>” Improving Student-Led Discussions” by Mark Wise from Edutopia
>>” The Big List of Class Discussion Strategies” by Jennifer Gonzalez from The Cult of Pedagogy
>>” How Can You Drive Engagement in Your Writer's Workshop? Use Generative Writing” by Stephanie Hampton from Writing Mindset
>>” How to Rock a Focused Writing Warm-Up” by Stephanie Hampton from Writing Mindset
>>” The Power of Three-Minute Quick Writes” by Stephanie Hampton from Writing Mindset
#4: WRITING TO OBJECT OR DEBATE OR ARGUE
“Writing Into the Day” routine from the National Writing Project (argumentative writing)
Debate writing or preparation for an argument (Claims and counter-claims)
Activism research response/Research response
Problem/solution writing
Cause/effect writing
Try Reading:
>>” The Benefits of Writing Into the Day for a Whole Year” by DEN'JA POMMARANE, from International Literacy Association
>>National Writing Project College, Career, and Community Writer’s Program
#5: WRITING FOR CONVERSATION
Student-to-student journaling
Student-with-teacher journaling
Character conversation practice
Dialogue practice or dialogue journals
Try Reading:
>>”How Dialogue Journals Build Teacher-Student Relationships” by Jennifer Gonzalez from The Cult of Pedagogy
Online Student Journaling Resources
GOOGLE CLASSROOM ASSIGNMENTS AND QUESTIONS
I post Google Classroom assignments when I know the response will be more private or sensitive.
I post Google Classroom questions to generate discussions. Google Classroom questions are public to other students.
PADLET (Discussion boards)
GOOGLE SUITE: GOOGLE KEEP, GOOGLE DOCS, GOOGLE SLIDES
SEESAW (Student digital portfolios)
KIDBLOG (Kids create their own blogs)
WRITE ABOUT (Classroom writing community with comments)
PENZU (Free online journal)
Try Reading:
>> “Google Classroom: Using a Writing Journal” by Alice Keeler from Teacher Tech
Conversations on Assessment
I want to start right away by saying, I am not grading things during school closures. Many teachers debate or disagree with this concept of assigning credit or no credit, grades, pass or fail, or using the traditional letter system. I love a phrase that has been going around on Edu-Twitter. I apologize for not knowing the first person to say it, but it has become a mantra of mine when talking about grades with colleagues (If you do know who said it first, please comment below!)
If we are grading anything right now, we are grading privilege.
I can’t put grades on home access to resources, chaotic schedules, socio-economic disadvantages, and more. I just can’t. We are doing online learning for the first time in the middle of a pandemic. And whether or not you agree about grades or school closures, the fact is that schools are closed. Teachers and education as a whole have to adapt. And, if I’m honest, this situation has forever changed how I look at grades in the first place. My favorite part about journal writing is that it is a discussion between me and the student. They write, and then I respond back in 1-2 sentences. The incentive to respond is not the grade; the incentive is the conversation. This mode of feedback recenters all of my thinking around grades and motivation. I want my students to turn in the work because they are motivated from the inside to learn and have conversations. I never wanted them to care about the grades in the first place.
Now, when we consider the traditional classroom, grading classroom journals has always long left a sour taste in a teacher’s mouth. People hate grading journals. They take a long time, and they are also physically heavy to carry around. Don’t even consider taking a set of these home with you because it will require a wheel-cart. Many teachers stray away from journaling at times because grading has become an issue of concern. However, grading is also a mindset. If we adjust how we are responding to journals and changing the ways we give feedback, journaling can become a friend-not a foe. I personally appreciate online journaling because it takes me just a few minutes to respond to a student journal entry. (Check off one advantage of online learning.) I am not going to stray away from physical journals in the future, but I am curious how I can work feedback into online journaling and also in physical journals. I am going to leave the grading section of this post with some reflection questions. These are the same questions I carry with me into the next school year.
Can I grade or respond to physical journals during class like a writing conference?
Can I choose to not grade journals and hop-check participation in effort or trying?
Can I respond to online journals in a way that is timely for me and them?
How do I get students to demonstrate their thinking without grading their thinking?
What platform is the best to use for online journaling?
