Fun Ways To Use Journal Entries In Any Subject

The myth that journal entries are only for English Language Arts classes is about to be debunked!

 

As an educator, regardless of the subject you teach, you have a responsibility to aid your students in developing reading, writing, and communication skills.  Writing journal entries is an effective way to do just that.  Plus, they assess a variety of objectives in Bloom’s Taxonomy – score!

 

First, some general info about journals.  Then, ways to use journals in your classes, no matter what the subject. 

 

General Info

The journal itself can be either a physical notebook (I recommend a marble notebook since the pages are nearly impossible to rip out, hence, deterring students from doing so!) or a digital notebook using Google Docs on Google Classroom.

 

It’s beneficial to have consistency regarding the frequency of writing journal entries, whether it is every day at the start of class or every Wednesday at the end of class.  Like with any task, students often perform best and most efficiently when a routine is established.

 

When the journal is used on a regular basis throughout the academic year, it serves as an active record of (what is expected to be) progress.  Both you and the students can look back at journal entries for the month, the marking period, and the year to witness growth in the quality and quantity of writing. 

 

The aspects of quality and quantity to observe include proper sentence structure, grammar, and punctuation; comprehension of content; creativity and expression of ideas; high-level thinking and analytical skills; meeting required lengths of assignments; and overall grade-appropriate standards. 

 

In all subjects, writing should be completed in both timed and untimed settings.  The quality and quantity of the work produced in fifteen minutes of class versus unlimited time at home will be different, of course.  It is interesting though, from a data-collecting perspective, to understand how the variable of time impacts your students’ work.  These results may shape your instruction moving forward. 

Ways To Use Journal Entries In Your Classes

In English Language Arts classes, I use journal entries a variety of ways.  Most days, the Do Now activity at the start of the period is to compose a journal entry.  The topic for the entry is either related to content covered in class or something totally irrelevant for the sake of getting the creativity churning.

 

When reading a novel, I often ask my students to imagine themselves as one of the characters.  They are asked to write “in that character’s imagined journal” about how they feel (well, how that character feels) about a pivotal event.

 

Some prompts for a novel could be student-focused, such as “How has your opinion of name of character changed after (s)he did blank?”  Other questions could be text-focused, such as “How might name of character’s decision affect the plot?” 

 

The minor tweaking of the assignment, in terms of perspective, requires students to unknowingly bring not only evidence but emotion to the writing, whether on behalf of the characters or themselves.  

 

Even with nonfiction texts, such as informational magazine articles, journal entries are effective.  For example, after reading an article about the theories of Amelia Earhart’s disappearance, I assigned journal entries.

 

In one entry, students wrote as Earhart, imaging that she was (they were) stranded on a deserted island after the plane crashed, as one theory states.  Students were also tasked with writing as themselves, expressing their own thoughts, emotions, and opinions about Earhart’s disappearance.  

 

As mentioned earlier, extraneous topics can also be used for journals.  An unrelated prompt might be “If you could have one superhuman power, flying or invisibility, which one would you choose?  Explain why.”  Since this is a fun, whimsical topic, it can help you learn more about the personalities of your students while also examining their use of reasoning to choose flying over invisibility, for example.    

 

Typically, the Do Now on Fridays is “Free-write Friday” where students can write about any topic(s).  I have a container of dozens of journal topics written on strips of paper that students can choose from if they are having trouble generating ideas.  Just like with the superhuman power question, granting freedom for topics helps you get to know your students.      

 

Now that you have a fair amount of insight about using journal entries in English Language Arts, here are suggestions for their use in other subjects:

 

Social Studies

Let’s say your class is learning about Colonial America.  Students can craft a journal entry from the perspective of a colonist.  They can express their views about events, living conditions, challenges, and the lifestyle during that historic time period. 

 

Math

Your current unit focuses on the quadratic formula.  Students can write as one of the variables in the formula.  They can, in first person point of view (cue the pronoun “I”), transform this variable into a character to explain its role and how the mathematics world would be affected without it. 

 

Science

It’s time to explore the periodic table of elements.  Students can choose the element that is most interesting to them.  Just as with the math example, students will use the word “I” to inform readers of the element’s placement on the periodic table and what objects might not exist without it, such as if water’s hydrogen decided to leave oxygen (high and dry – no pun intended) to have a solo career. 

 

Journal entries can be used not only in every course but also with nearly any imaginable assignment.  Whether your students just held a mock battle of the Civil War or dug for fossil replicas in a sand box, a reflection about the activity can be written in a journal.  Simply proposing questions such as “What was the most enjoyable part of the activity?  Explain why” and “What was the least enjoyable part?  Explain why” can elicit thoughtful, well-crafted responses. 

 

These are just several ways to use journal entries in courses other than the standard reading and writing ones.  Additional classes – foreign languages, health, art, music, etc. – can of course incorporate journals as well.

 

How are you using journal entries in your classes?  What ideas would you like to share?  Leave a question, comment, or suggestion below, in the Comments Section!  

 

Please visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store to purchase a variety of resources for all grades and subjects!

 

Peace.  Love.  Reading & Writing.

 

💗 Miss M