Part 1
Focus Question: What is a journal?
Show students excerpts from journals. If possible, obtain copies of any or all of the following: Zlata’s Diary: A Child’s Life in Wartime Sarajevo; Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl; The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian; Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley’s Journal. Give students background for whatever samples you show. Let students know that the example is real. Reading a peer’s actual thoughts will intrigue most students. If you cannot locate these, use the samples below.
- One of the greatest moments in my life was the day my little brother was born. At first I was jealous because I had to share my parents with a sibling, but now, I love sharing my parents, my love, my life with my little buddy.
- My family is moving again. I have mixed feelings about this. Part of me is excited about the adventure of moving to a new town. I’m also happy that we will be living closer to my grandparents. But I’ve found myself crying because I don’t want to leave my friends, and I’m nervous about making new friends. At least I’ll have my family with me!
“We are going to discuss journals and reflective writing. What do you think journal writing is?” Have students share what they think a journal is. (A journal is a record of thoughts, feelings, and ideas tied to experiences.) Discuss how some people use the terms diary and journal interchangeably. “The terms journal and diary are often considered to be the same thing. Both involve writing about personal experiences, reactions, and emotions. In the journal examples below, the writer has an audience.
“Now, at your desk, brainstorm a list showing the benefits of journaling.” Have students individually brainstorm the benefits of journaling. If students have trouble coming up with benefits, show them excerpts from published journals or from novels written as journals. (Three such novels are listed in the Extension section of this lesson.)
As a class, list the benefits of journaling. Keep the list posted for the duration of the unit or make it into a poster that can be displayed. Some of the ideas that students should come up with or be guided toward are:
- A journal is like a private Facebook account. It’s a place to write everyday events, memories, experiences, dreams, and thoughts that you want to remember.
- A journal is like a garden. The thoughts and feelings that you write about are like seeds that may sprout into larger writing projects or ideas. Additionally, when you read through your journal entries, you will see yourself growing and changing.
- A journal is like a weight room. It’s a place to strengthen your creative muscles through repeated practice.
- A journal is like a laboratory. It’s a place to experiment with various writing styles.
- A journal is like a best friend. It’s a place to release your dreams, wants, fears, complaints. It’s a place to release stress.
- A journal is like a mirror. It shows a true reflection of you.
Part 2
Give students a prompt or a list of prompts from which to choose (LW-7-1-1_Journal Prompts.docx). “You now have a list of prompts to help choose a topic for your journal, or you may write about a topic of your choice. Each time you sit down to journal, choose one of the three prompts in each section to respond to. If you respond to one prompt from each of the sections, return to the first section and choose a prompt to which you have not yet responded. Once you have your topic, take 5 minutes to free write as much as you can in response. Don’t worry about grammar, spelling, etc. The point is to get down your first ideas, details, and thoughts.”
Assign students to write in their journals outside of class for at least 5 minutes each time, write the number of the prompt to which they are responding, and date their entries. Students should continue to journal through Lesson 2.
Language Skills Mini-Lesson
“As you journal over the next several days, try to give as many details as possible in your writing. Try to use multiple adjectives (describing words) to accurately capture your memory or experience. For now, I don’t want you to worry about your grammar, spelling, and punctuation when you journal, but over the course of this unit, you will choose a journal entry to expand upon, and you will revise, rewrite, and edit it. Because you will likely write a sentence that has two or more adjectives that describe, let’s take some time right now to learn to separate multiple adjectives with a comma correctly. When you eventually turn your writing into a narrative, you will know the rule.
“First of all, let’s define adjective.” (An adjective is a word that describes a noun or a pronoun.) “When you use two or more adjectives to modify a noun you often need to separate them with a comma. To require a comma, the adjectives must be equal adjectives, which means that they must modify the noun in equal but independent ways. To require a comma, the adjectives don’t need each other; each one can modify the noun alone.” Write the following sample sentences and rules on the board. “To determine whether the adjectives are equal and independent, you can try one of these two tests.”
- Put “and” between the two adjectives. If the sentence still makes sense, the adjectives are equal.
- The hot, steamy day made me tired.
- The hot and steamy day made me tired.
“This example still makes sense with ‘and’ inserted between the two adjectives, so the comma is correct. The adjectives are equal and independent.”
- She caught many spotted bugs.
- She caught many and spotted bugs.
“This example does not make sense with ‘and’ inserted between the two adjectives, so a comma would be incorrect. The adjectives are not equal and independent; they need each other to modify the noun.”
- Switch the order of the adjectives. Again, if the sentence still makes sense, the adjectives are equal.
- The hot, steamy day made me tired.
- The steamy, hot day made me tired.
“This example still makes sense with the adjective order switched, so the comma is correct. The adjectives are equal and independent.”
- She caught many spotted bugs.
- She caught spotted many bugs.
“This example does not make sense with the adjective order switched, so the comma would be incorrect. The adjectives are not equal and independent; they need each other to modify the noun.
“If the adjectives modify the noun in equal but independent ways, they are called coordinate adjectives.
“I am going to read five sentences aloud. In your head, do one of the two tests that are listed on the board to determine whether the two adjectives are coordinate adjectives. On a sheet of paper, number to 5 and write ‘coordinate adjectives’ or ‘not coordinate adjectives’ for each sentence.
“1. There is a big, new park around the corner.” (CA)
“2. The town baseball team will practice there.” (NCA)
“3. Wet, brown leaves cover the bench.” (CA)
“4. Wispy, thin clouds float by.” (CA)
“5. The brisk March breeze lifted a kite into the air.” (NCA)
“On a sheet of paper, write a short sentence that has two or more adjectives that equally and independently modify the same noun. Meet with a partner and exchange sentences. Try the tests on your partner’s sentence to ensure that the adjectives are equal and independent.”
Have some students share their sentences with the class. Ensure that the students’ examples are correctly punctuated. Write them on the board for visual learners. Give those who are listening a chance to decide whether the sentence contains coordinate adjectives that require a comma. Add in the commas on the board, if needed. “Remember to use this comma rule for coordinate adjectives when you are revising your drafts in the coming lessons.”
Extension:
- While discussing what a journal is and writing journal entries, watch for students or classes who seem to be confused, intimidated, or uncomfortable writing about ideas and feelings. These students will benefit from reading samples, such as student samples, your samples, and/or professional samples. Then they can experiment with writing about the same subjects presented in the samples.
- Students who have difficulty with writing detailed journal entries may benefit from sentence starters, such as:
- At first, I . . .
- I saw . . .
- I heard . . .
- At the time, I felt . . .
- I thought …
- Now I feel …
- Read more excerpts from novels that are written as diaries/journals. Discuss the benefits the protagonists gained from keeping journals. Novels that would work are:
- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie and Ellen Forney. Little, Brown and Company, 2009.
- Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. Bantam, 1993.
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley’s Journal by Jeff Kinney. Amulet, 2007.
