Post-It Prompts for Journaling

This year, I've started personal journals with my class.  A few times per week, I print up a journal prompt for students to copy into their journals.  I've been able to get my kids a little more excited about journals than usual because I've found a way to make them fun, colorful, and exciting.

WARNING: This is about to change your life....

I print the prompts on POST-IT NOTES! (See BELOW for instructions on how to print on Post-It Notes).

Printing on Post-Its has been awesome! While a little more time consuming that just writing a prompt on the board and requiring students to copy it down, the kids are really excited to pull a Post-It Prompt off the board in the morning and paste it down.

I also use my Journaling time as a self-starter first thing in the morning, so this process also makes it easy for me to see how many students have begun working and how many have not (based on how many Post-Its are left on the board).  For example: "Wow! More than half the class has started their journals already. This is great!" and "Hmm. Are there two students absent today? Or have they just forgotten to grab their Prompt?"

During the first week of school, I review the Expectations for Daily Journaling with my class each day. I also printed miniature copies of this document for students to glue into the inside covers of their journals, next to their Journaling Rubrics.  Journaling Expectations include:

• Copy the prompt into your journal (or stick the Post-It in!) 
• Start Writing. Your entry should end up being at least five sentences.
• Use 7-UP Sentences: at least seven words per sentence.
• Be prepared to share your response if you are called upon. 

...And my kids LOVE being able to share what they have written.  If there is someone who is not prepared to share, let them share what they are GOING TO WRITE.


CLICK HERE to download the Daily Journaling Expectations.

I have also created a Journaling Rubric, which I laminated and attached to the inside covers of each student journal.  Students turn in their journals about once a month to be graded.

CLICK HERE to download the Journaling Rubric.

HOW TO PRINT ON POST-IT NOTES: 

1. Print out the Sticky Note Template on a piece of cardstock. 
2. Once printed, line up six 3x3 Post-It Notes in the boxes.  Make sure you know the direction your Post-Its need to be lined up to fit into your printer. 
3. Place your blank sticky notes (on the cardstock) into your printer. You'll want the sticky side to go in first in order to avoid paper jams.
4. Open up the Prompt that you want to use and print!
5. After printing and removing your Post-Its, cut them in half.  Each page will produce a total of 12 prompts.

CLICK HERE to download a Sticky Note Template.

And finally, out of the goodness of my heart....CLICK HERE for 50+ prompts formatted for your Sticky Note Template.

THINKING about READING

Can you tell that school has started?  It takes me two months of hard work to get to the point where I can take a breath! Phew!

I want to start this post by sharing with you how AMAZING my group of sixth graders are this year! They have been such good sports about my taking pictures of them all the time for my blog and Masters Classes and their parents have been awesome for letting me use their images.

Last week, we experienced one of the greatest Reading Comprehension activities I've ever used!  We've been discussing that the word "metacognition" means "thinking about thinking".  We've also talked about how "Real Reading" occurs when you actually THINK about what you read.  Thinking could be making connections or predictions, visualizing characters or events in the story, etc.

To practice, I made a quick, simple THOUGHT BUBBLE out of poster board and cut out a hole for a face.  Students worked in pairs to read a few chapters from our whole-class novel.  I instructed the students to take turns providing the TEXT (reading aloud from the novel) and providing the THOUGHTS (using the bubble to interrupt their partner and share their thoughts).

Students were paying such good attention to what they read! I was amazed at the conversations started around the room. "Oh! This reminds me of this time my family went camping last summer..." "That character kind of reminds me of Ebenezer Scrooge...Did you see that Muppet Movie?" "I wonder if she really will run away from home. I've never done that. I think I'd be too scared. Where do you even go when you run away?"

Even when my students are not using their Thought Bubbles, they interrupt their reading with thinking! Which I think is just great.