Journal Writing May Not Always Be Academic, But It Is Healthy

I'm positive other teachers use journal writing in many different ways.  I suppose I use journal writing less for academic purposes and more for "soft skill" purposes.

When we journal write in RoomNE10, we have a few rules.

1) You must write for the entire 7-minute period.  Yes, even the teacher writes.  If you run out of things to say about a particular topic, you must quickly switch topics.  One of the objectives of the exercise is to keep the pen or pencil to the paper.  In the even of "mental constipation", you just write something like "I'm stuck and am not sure what to write."  Keep writing that until something new pops into your brain.

2) For the seven minutes, you must write coherent words, sentences, paragraphs, etc...  Doodling or random letters or repeating numbers doesn't count.

3) You may select the topic the teacher suggests, or you may write about anything else is on your mind.

4) You may use any language you like, but if you choose to share out loud for extra credit, you are prohibited from using profanity and must be in English language the rest of us can recognize.

5) Try to write in standard English usage, but no one will be graded on spelling, grammar, or word usages errors.

6) You may not write about any other student in class, but if you are upset with the teacher, tactful criticism is always allowed.

7) You may share for extra credit, but you must read ALL and ONLY what you write for extra credit.

8) As a mandatory reporter, I will be responsible if anything in a journal entry may be harmful to a student.


So our process (with those rules) is pretty simple.  I put seven minutes on the online countdown up on the white screen.  I then present students with two or three topics that are current event type things - usually controversial.  Sometimes I'll have a video or audio clip that might generate some thoughts.  I then have students place the date where they are about to begin and say, "Start".  After the timer ends, I tell students to finish up their thought, I share my entry, and then I ask students if they would like to share.  If they choose to share, I write their name in my journal and periodically award extra credit in their Lumen gradebook program - 10 points of homework points.

MORE THAN EDUCATIONAL

I find that students need an avenue of outward expression.  Seven minutes of writing and the chance to publicly air their thoughts or listen to someone else air their thoughts is very therapeutic.  Yes, the extra credit is a bribe.  I acknowledge that I'm trying to bribe the students to let their voice be heard by their peers, but this is something very scary for many students, so I am perfectly content throwing some extra credit their way.

At the end of the school year, students can keep their journals for memories or pitch them.  I keep their journals (notebooks) in the classroom in a filing cabinet, and no one else is allowed to have access to them.

As far as grades, students grade themselves according to a "rubric".  I tell them to grade their effort.  The link is what I use for students.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gJ4TDOCU5DDYqm1_2nuefBKRIjs81UPeIE2pLcE-sYc/edit