Guide
Name
Journals
Description
Journals are notebooks in which students record their personal thoughts and ideas, as well as information and questions about, and reflections on, what they hear, view, read, write, discuss, and think.
Purposes
- [Statement] In order to plan for instruction and assessment think about your learners' needs and your goal. What is your purpose for using Journals? [Cluster] - [Statement] To discover and explore (Discover and Explore- Cluster 1.1): Students use journals to use exploratory language to make predictions, opinions and tentative conclusions. [Cluster] - [Statement] To clarify and extend understanding (Clarify and Extend- Cluster 1.2, Comprehending: Reading/Listening/Viewing- Cluster 2.1): Students use journals to connect prior and new knowledge, ask specific questions to clarify, elaborate, and organize ideas and information in personally meaningful ways. [Cluster] Cluster 1.2- Clarify and Extend - [Statement] To demonstrate responses to texts (Comprehending: Reading/Listening/Viewing- Cluster 2.2): Students use journals to respond to a variety of texts and explain preferences. [Cluster] Cluster 2.2- Comprehending: Reading/Listening/Viewing - [Statement] To demonstrate understanding of forms and genres (Comprehending: Reading/Listening/Viewing- Cluster 2.3): Students use journals to explain preferences and demonstrate appreciation of various text forms. [Cluster] Cluster 2.3- Comprehending: Reading/Listening/Viewing - [Statement] To demonstrate understanding of techniques and elements used by authors (Comprehending: Reading/Listening/Viewing- Cluster 2.3): Students use journals to examine plot development in narratives and persuasion, point of view or arguments in information texts. [Cluster] Cluster 2.3- Comprehending: Reading/Listening/Viewing - [Statement] To demonstrate ability to plan and focus an inquiry (InquiryCluster 3.1): Students use a journal such as an Inquiry Notebook to examine personal knowledge and experiences related to a research topic. [Cluster] - [Statement] To demonstrate ability to gather, assess, and process information (Gather and Make Sense of Information- Cluster 3.2): Students use journals such as Inquiry Notebooks or Learning Logs to select and organize personal and peer information, use established criteria to assess information and to determine literal and implied meaning using a variety of strategies. [Cluster] Cluster 3.2- Gather and Make Sense - [Statement] To demonstrate ability to organize, record, and assess information and develop new understanding (Inquiry- Cluster 3.3): Students
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Guide
use journals such as Inquiry Notebooks or Learning Logs to relate gathered information to prior knowledge, to reach conclusions or develop points of view, or to establish goals for developing further inquiry or research. [Cluster] Cluster 3.3- Inquiry - [Statement] To demonstrate ability to generate and organize ideas: (Composing: Writing/Speaking/Representing- Cluster 4.1): Student use a journal such as Writer's Notebook to keep ongoing records of thoughts, ideas images etc. and to consider form and audience. [Cluster] Cluster 4.1- Composing: Writing /Speaking/ Representing - [Statement] To demonstrate ability to present and share representations to an authentic audience (Communicating: Writing/Speaking/RepresentingCluster 4.4): Students use a journal such as an Inquiry Notebook to record reflections and insights and to assess content quality. [Cluster] Cluster 4.4- Composing: Writing/Speaking/Representing - [Statement] To demonstrate ability to celebrate and build community (Develop and Celebrate Community- Cluster 5.1): Students use journals to refine their thinking and to express and share thoughts, feelings and ideas. [Cluster] Cluster 5.1- Develop and Celebrate Community Specific Learning Outcomes LICT Descriptors How To Do Related Information
Discuss with students the many purposes of journals (for exploring thoughts and ideas, reflecting on ideas and information, defining problems, formulating questions, generating hypotheses, drawing conclusions, selecting criteria in order to make assessments, and justifying points of view). Emphasize that journals reflect the unique thinking of individuals. Read aloud samples of journals written by others to illustrate the process of using journals to develop thinking in response to text, events, or learning processes. Model several types of entries for particular subject areas, topics, or purposes. Have students write in their journals on a regular basis. Pose questions and offer prompts to encourage reflection. Respond to journals personally with questions or suggestions to extend and with comments regarding evidence of good thinking or language use. Encourage students to share parts of their journals with peers or others but do not make sharing compulsory. Provide a way for students to show that a particular journal entry is private. For example, students may choose to fold a page over. Journals may include both written and representational formats. Journals may be a separate notebook or a section of a language arts or other subject notebook, and may be specifically devoted to response and used across curriculum areas. Discuss metacognitive reflection as a process of thinking about one's own thinking and learning. Journal entries may be used as a point of departure for discussion during student conferences.
Variations
There are many types of journals and it is important to note that each type is meant to address specific purposes or outcomes. Š 2007 Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth Created with Curriculum Navigator, - Page 2 -
Guide
Application Journals ask students to go beyond inference and look for an application of the information in a personal setting. Character Analysis Journals ask students to infer meaning not stated and to interpret character through implied meaning. Dialectical Journals focus on the development of critical thinking skills for comprehension of oral, written, or visual texts. The strategy involves using journals to keep track of the information students are learning and to extend their thinking about that information. Electronic Journals Inquiry Notebook Students record, organize reflect on, and draw conclusions about information and ideas throughout the inquiry process. Interpretation Journals ask students to infer meaning beyond that explicitly stated in a text and to make a connection to real life. What it says- "..........." a direct quote from the text (e.g., "frogs are cold-blooded animals") What it means- paraphrase of the quote in the student's own words, (e.g., frogs' bodies take on the temperature of their surroundings) What it means to me- a connection to real life in the outside world, (e.g., I will not see frogs outside during the winter. Their bodies cool down with the weather.) Learning Logs Learning Logs Metacognitive Journals ask students to brainstorm expectations and questions about what they are going to learn before beginning a reading, viewing, or listening activity. A second column is reserved for revisiting the facts and recording questions the facts raise, comparisons that may be made, and new thoughts and interests that are raised as a result of the information in the text. Students may also record changes in their own thinking and observations about their thinking processes. Personal Journals are notebooks containing responses which are based on student feelings. Teachers should be sensitive to the private nature of this type of journal. Problem- Solution Journals ask students to analyze a problem and create a solution for the problem from meanings beyond the text. Reading Logs provide a cumulative record of the number, titles, authors, and range of texts that students are reading. Reading Log Books I Have Read My Reading and Viewing Record Writer's Notebook is used to record words, phrases, quotations, illustrations, and ideas that interest students or that help generate ideas for their writing. Assessment / Think Abouts
Construct student-generated assessment criteria (e.g., What does quality reflective journal writing look/sound like?) Constructing Student-Generated Criteria for Quality Work Criteria Setting: Constructing Student-Generated Criteria Offer descriptive feedback and guide/facilitate reflection orally and with the Reflection Metacognition Y-chart before introducing independent journal Š 2007 Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth Created with Curriculum Navigator, - Page 3 -
Guide
writing. Reflection Metacognition Reflection Self-Assessment Encourage students to select journal entries for inclusion in their portfolios as evidence of growth in metacognitive thinking over time. Portfolios Guide self- and peer assessment, using a Met/Not-Yet-Met strategy. Met/Not-Yet-Met Record focused observations on students' growing competence in journal writing. Focused Observation Form Focused Observation Form Sample References Keywords
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