Personalized Writing Journals

Teaching is a collaborative profession. As such, each time a teacher walks into a colleague’s room or views a picture or video of another classroom, new ideas are captured and often duplicated. That was the case with a recent collaboration in Julie Ahrendson’s fourth-grade classroom in Anamosa, Iowa.

To keep her students interested in writing and able to generate ideas of what to write about, Julie not only has them brainstorm ideas as a class, but sets time aside in the first few weeks of school for her students to decorate their writing journals. With the option to bring magazines and pictures from home or to use magazine clippings she provides, her students are given time to create a collage on the outside cover of their writing journal. Much like we have a notebook or binder we favor, Julie finds that her students love using their writing journals. And when a child struggles to find a topic, they can often find inspiration just by looking at the cover of their notebook. What a fun and inspiring idea! Thanks for sharing, Julie!