Journals in the classroom: why (and how) you should be using them

Becoming a writer isn’t just about students’ abilities to put words on a page. It’s also about training the mind to organize thoughts effectively. Writing is a critical life skill that helps children become successful communicators in the classroom and beyond.

To transform our students into stellar writers, we must provide daily practice opportunities. However, this is often difficult as children can feel intimidated by writing because they lack confidence in their abilities or because writing seems boring. 

Getting students excited about writing can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be! Daily journaling is an engaging way for students to develop their skills and become effective communicators. 

Benefits of journaling

This writing practice is an excellent way to encourage even your most reluctant students to craft compositions, improve the organization of thoughts, and increase vocabulary. However, that’s not where the advantages end.

From a social-emotional perspective, journaling allows children to begin making connections with their emotions and the world around them. Journal entries also serve as windows into students’ thoughts and lives, helping teachers get to know them better.

When students possess a central spot for their thoughts and ideas, this gives them ownership and increases buy-in. It also gives students the sense of security they need to lower their inhibitions and practice writing without fear of judgment or correction.

Journals also serve as a way for students to observe and keep track of their progress. After a few months of writing journal entries, students can look back and see how they’ve grown as writers.

The power of choice in writing

As for the content of student journals, children can free-write in their journals, reflect upon a read-aloud, create their own stories, or craft responses to prompts. 

When considering your students’ journal content, remember that telling children what they must write about can often be a recipe for reluctance and disengagement. Offering choice leads to increased student buy-in and empowerment. 

To incorporate options for students, consider having them free write. Allow children’s thoughts and ideas to flow freely. You could also offer choices of prompts. Questions and topics could range from writing about personal experiences to dreaming up creative stories.

Finding time for journaling

You may recognize the importance of consistent writing practice and understand the benefits of journaling. Still, your school day is so busy you are unsure how to fit everything into your schedule.

One of the beautiful aspects of journaling is its flexibility to fit your schedule and student needs.

Abundant opportunities exist within the school day for students to practice writing; it doesn’t have to be a set time in the schedule. Children could start their day with a journal entry as morning work or as part of a station or center.

Get started with student journals!

I wanted to make it easy to implement this reflective and creative writing practice in your classroom. With my Year’ Round Journal Activities, there’s no wondering what your students should be writing about or scrambling to prepare prompts.  

This resource provides a collection of fun, ready-to-go writing topics for each month of the year, designed to help students gain confidence in their writing skills and process. 

The prompts are appropriate for use throughout elementary school. They include illustration pages with space for dictated text for students who are not yet writing but are beginning to discover the joy in written expression.

The sky is the limit with your student’s responses to these prompts. You could even encourage students to take the collection of writing ideas and write a news story, poem, play, or short story.

This resource also includes a bonus Self-Awareness section of writing to help you get to know your students. Counselors may find this section helpful in learning more about students’ feelings and self-concepts and helping spark purposeful conversations.

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