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Math journaling is a great way to get insight into your students' thoughts about math and their problem-solving strategies and a wonderful addition to

ANY math program from grades K-12. This page will help you set up and manage an easy-to-maintain math journal system in your classroom.

FAQs about math journaling

What's a math journal?

Many teachers have a regular journaling time in their classroom in which students reflect on a variety of topics. Math journals work the same way, except the prompts are about math.

Here are a few math journal entries produced by K-4 students in New York City during my demonstration lessons as a math coach. These are students' initial attempts at math journaling (their very first prompts). Most of these lessons were taught in the second semester of the school year.

Why math journaling?

There are a number of reasons why math journals are gaining popularity at all grade levels:Why math journaling?

Kids have the opportunity to reflect on their strategies and assess their own learning

Students practice putting their knowledge into words both verbally and in writing

Instructional focus is shifted from computation to problem solving and real-life application

The teacher gains insight into children's abilities, opinions, understandings, and misconceptions

It creates a documented portfolio-like record of student growth and progress

Math journaling is an open-ended and naturally differentiated assessment tool

Who should use math journals?

I recommend math journals to teachers of grades K-12. They're an incredibly versatile tool that can be used by students of all ability and age levels. Because the topics are open-ended, math journals are an easy way to incorporate differentiated instruction and meet the needs of every child in your class.

How do math journals work?

Many teachers choose to have students respond to math journal prompts in a separate math journal. Having a special math journal that's different from everyday school materials can be very motivating for children. Other teachers have students respond to math journal topics as part of a Math Notebook: one composition book holds a student's journal reflections, class notes, and practice activities. Still other teachers have students keep one journal in which they respond to a wide variety of prompts across different content areas (this could be termed as a 'Writer's Notebook'.) There's no one right way to do math journaling, so feel free to pick a format that makes sense for you.

How often do students write in them?

Once a week is a beneficial and attainable goal for teachers just starting with math journals. Personally, I like to have students reflect on a topic before we begin the unit of study so I can gauge prior knowledge, and then after a few days of instruction, I have students reflect on their strategies and use their writing to assess progress and address misconceptions. As we finish the skill, I assign a topic that will provide an assessment, such as having students explain how to solve a particular type of problem or connect what we've learned to other skills. Because of the variety of ways I like to use math journals, it usually works out to two assigned math journal topic each week. I also encourage children to write in their math journals even when a topic hasn't been assigned; it's very own personal place for reflection and extension.

What do students write about?

I recommend three different types of prompts:

-Prompts That Assess Attitudes: Students write about their personal thoughts and feelings about math. Examples: When it comes to math, I find it difficult to..., I love math because..., People who are good at math..., and When I study for a math test, I....

-Prompts That Assess Learning: Students write about what they've learned and reflect on what they know (and don't know). Examples: The most important thing I learned today is..., I could use today's skill in my real life when I..., Today I used math when..., At the end of this unit, I want to be able to..., and Some good test questions for this skill are....

-Prompts That Assess Process: Students explain how to solve problems or discuss a particular skill or strategy. Examples: Two ways to solve this problem are..., I knew my answer was right when..., Another strategy I could have used to solve this problem is..., If I missed a step in this problem, I could have..., and The most important part of solving this problem is to remember....

How long should students write for?

Only a few minutes is needed for math journaling: 5-10 minutes is enough for most classes, though you may want to allow for 15 minutes for more complex prompts. Allow an additional 2 minutes at the end for sharing.

Do students need to share their writing?

It's important to allow about 2 minutes at the end of the journaling period for students to share what they wrote because the sharing time:

keeps students accountable

provides an incentive to write something meaningful and cohesive

acclimates kids to expressing their thoughts and strategies verbally

allows them to hear and explore other children's strategies and techniques

Math journal sharing can be done whole class in the beginning of the year (walk around as students write and take note of any exceptional or thought-provoking responses, and ask those students to share with the group afterward). This is a great opportunity for you to encourage reflective thinking and reinforce your journaling expectations. Later, students can pair-share on their own. I would not force an unwilling student to read his or her writing, but that's my personal preference.

What if students only write one sentence?

Your students will follow your lead in math journaling: if you model lengthy and detailed responses, eventually students will follow suit. Writing about math is difficult and strange to many children in the beginning, so be very positive and encouraging with their efforts. As the weeks pass, you will see marked improvement in most students.

Also, be careful not to fuss at kids who are staring into space and not writing-math journals require a lot of thinking time, and even if you suspect the child is daydreaming, give him or her the benefit of the doubt during journaling. The time spent thinking is equally important as the time spent writing.

I recommend using math talk activities to help students get comfortable with writing about math ideas. You can use discussion starters and question stems such as these to help you:

What do students do when they're done?

Set a clear expectation on this. Either students should write until time is up, or they should begin another activity as soon as they are finished. If you want students to write for a set time, make sure it's short (like 5 minutes). You don't want kids to start writing nonsense just because they know you're watching. An alternative is to let kids draw about what they wrote when they're done-this is actually very useful and most children will stay focused on creating pictures related to the prompt.

How do I introduce math journaling to my class?

MODEL, MODEL, MODEL. In fact, the first few times you do math journaling, students may just watch you write, or copy down your example. With very young students (gr. K-1), you might choose to model every time you introduce a new prompt to the class for the first few months. The same is true if your students are older and reluctant to write: compose several journal prompts together to get students comfortable with the idea and acutely aware of your expectations.

I've written demonstration lesson plans for the teachers I work with as a math coach. These lesson plans include scripts that tell you exactly what you can say when introducing math journals for the first time. These lessons are my approach to the concept, but there are many other ways to do it. Read over the lesson plans and get a feel for how you'd like to adapt it for your class and teaching style:

How do I collect and assess math journals?

Collecting and reading math journals is critical; assessment is far less important. In fact, some teachers don't grade math journals at all, using them only as a record of students' progress and thinking. If students know you are regularly reading their math journals and you care about what they wrote, you won't have to assign a grade to get them to give their full effort.

Here are a number of assessment methods that I like-you can choose one or mix them up throughout the year:

-Walk around while students are writing and verbally confer with individuals. This is my favorite assessment method because it's the easiest on the teacher and probably the most meaningful for students. I stop to talk to kids who are stuck, and comment on what's been written so far to encourage the reluctant writers along. When I see a student drawing about the prompt (our assigned task for then they're done), I ask to read the whole response and then give verbal feedback or ask further questions to help the student improve his or her response.

-Collect only a handful of journals to read after each prompt. For one prompt, you might collect only your lowest students' journals in order to see if they've understood a concept you know the rest of the group mastered. Another time, you might select journals randomly to get a pulse for how the class is doing as a whole and keep everybody on their toes. Or, you could create a schedule in which you read half or a quarter of the class' journals this week and another group of kids' work next week. If you're going to only read a handful of journals, you can either collect them and write written comments during your planning period, or call a few students over to your desk while the others are working and verbally confer.

-Collect the entire class' journals. You can have students pass their journals in (bookmarked or left open to the current page) and write a short comment at the top of the page. Or, have students bring their journals up to you (be sure to have another activity for students to do when they're done so the class isn't playing around-this can be time consuming so make sure you've got your procedures in place). You might have children come to your desk whenever they're done writing or call over one team or group at time and give verbal feedback. I like collecting the entire class' journals every few weeks in the beginning of the year to make sure students are using the correct heading, copying the prompt (or not, depending on my directions), writing to the topic, etc.

-Give a grade on particular prompts and/or a cumulative grade once every few weeks or once a quarter. If you do feel the need to grade journals (and I like doing so every few weeks cumulatively), I encourage you to base the grade on how thorough a student's responses have been. I don't recommend taking off for spelling and grammatical errors if you want students to stay focused on the content and their problem-solving skills. You can give a checklist or rubric to students to make the scoring less subjective, but I've found it's more valuable to have students journal about what grade THEY think their responses have earned, and then simply write a comment and my grade on the top of that page. Keep in mind that the cumulative grade should be IN ADDITION to regular collection of students' journals: if you're only reading them every other month, you won't be able to use students' responses to inform instruction.

Don't feel guilty about not reading every student's journal after every single prompt. Play around with a few different approaches and find something that works well for you. Remember, the main purpose of math journaling is for students to reflect on their thinking, so as long as they're doing that and you're using their writing to help you teach, you're on the right track.

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Truth For Teachers - Everything You Need to Know About Math Journals

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Math journaling is a great way to get insight into your students' thoughts about math and their problem-solving strategies and a wonderful addition to ANY math program from grades K-12. This page will help you set up and manage an easy-to-maintain math journal system in your classroom.

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Flanagan, Jennifer R / AWESOME journal entries & EXAMPLES!

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The stone gray square near our apartment is full of people young and old every night. A little child rollerblading falls and starts to cry, his wheels that light up in the dark spinning round and round.

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Love and Life: A True Story - Extras: High School Journal Entries Showing 1-10 of 10

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10 discussion posts. Deleted User said: Okay, so this was inspired by Zoey !, Deleted User said: Yess !, Lion Queen Izabel said: 10-5-10Dear journal, ...

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5 Reasons for Students to Keep a Journal

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If there were a twenty-minute activity that could decrease your stress, improve your health and memory, strengthen your writing and problem-solving skills, and motivate you to reach your goals, would you do it? Would it help to know it's also free and you don't have to leave the house? If

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Bullet Journal is universal, and among other things, it can really help organizing your study habits (oh if only I knew about this system when I was a student!). I've gathered here some Bullet Journal ideas for students, so unlike me you get to try these techniques and have a more productive and well organized school life.

This post may contain affiliate links. They will be of no extra expense for you, but I receive a small credit. Please see my Disclosure for more details. Thank you for supporting Masha Plans!

Before we dive in, just wanted to let you know that I have some school related printables in our Resources Vault, and some more will be coming soon. So head straight there and find them in the "Other Printables" section.

If you aren't a part of Planning Mashers yet, make sure to join us in the signup form at the end of the post and get access to a wonderful community and TONS of free printables for your Bullet Journal.

Semester Log

Start your study journal from a semester log - a school take on a future log. Add the months for your semester, pretty much like you would when creating a future log, and leave the space under each one to write all the deadlines, assignments and so on.

Having a bird's eye view of your semester will definitely help you stay organize and not miss any important deadlines. To make it all easier to understand visually, having a color coding system can be pretty beneficial.

Classes schedule

Since you need to write down your classes schedule anyways, why not do it in your Bullet Journal? Besides, I'm a firm believer that writing things down, especially in a pretty way (yes I'm a girly girl sometimes, but you know it's true!) makes it more pleasant to follow with the plan or schedule.

Study Tracker

As my study years taught me, the key to successful studying is being accountable and track your progress. Without that, you really never know how far you've gone and if you are going fast enough.

There are many options for study trackers - you can track how many days you study, or how many hours a day. Choose the best way for you! I personally have a limited amount of hours to study (I'm not a student anymore, but I love to keep learning just for myself), so I only need to track that I remember to do it every day.

Study Motivation

Sometimes studying can be very hard and it becomes close to impossible to push yourself to keep up. I know. So, why not using your Bullet Journal to stay motivated? Make a spread about why you study and what it will help you to achieve. Or (as I was doing in my student years) just think of all the great things you'll be doing once the pressure is off and sweet sweet vacation time begins!

Study Notes

A good tip to make studying more fun and also help you to learn your lessons better, is to create beautiful study notes! My first study notes were a mish mash of ununderstandable scribbles, so in the end it was kind of a wasted time to be honest. But as I continued making them, I also learned that if you spend extra time rewriting it all in an organized fashion - you'll be able to remember it all better, and have a great info sheet to return to when you need to review the materials.

Study Planning

Planning is a key to success. Try to plan your studying as well. Allocate special days to studying certain subjects.

Or ever go further and create a detailed daily study schedule.

Assignments Calendar

Assignment calendar (like the one below) is a GREAT way to always know what assignments are due and when. That way you have enough time to prepare in advance and not pull all-nighters the last few days before (yes yes student Masha I'm looking at you!). It also helps you to always keep in mind looming deadlines and change your study schedule accordingly.

Exam preparation

Exams sound sooo scary don't they? And that's usually the main reason why we start studying so late. Ok well I'm not talking about everyone, I guess I mean mostly myself haha. But a good start is to make a prep spread like this.

This will be your first step and it'll definitely help you to concentrate and follow through with the study. One of the advises is this spread is to stock up on your favorite stationery. Totally legit! For note-taking, prepare some Muji Ballpoint Clip Pens, Muji Ballpoint Colored Pens and Zebra Mildliner Highlighters!

Exam Tracker

Of course you must have a spread with your exam schedule. So let's make a fun one! I absolutely adore this idea, where you color one more number with each passed exam. It's definitely an extra satisfaction to color them out, as well as a motivation seeing you have less and less exams to worry about.

These are some of the study related spread ideas I found. Did I miss something? Let me know in the comments what other spreads do you use!

If you need some help and want to set up your school pages even faster, check out the free printable we have in our Resources Vault! Or come join Planning Mashers in the signup form below and get your access to TONS of freebies and a fantastic community.

But of course your journal doesn't have to be only about studying! Check out my list of 100+ Bullet Journal Page Ideas To Organize Your Life and see if you could use any of these spreads.

Found these ideas interesting and useful? Please share! If you enjoy my content and want to show your appreciation, please consider supporting me with a cup of coffee.

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9 Must Have Bullet Journal Pages For School

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Bullet Journal is universal, and among other things, it can really help organizing your study habits (oh if only I knew about this system when I was a student!). I've gathered here some Bullet Journal ideas for students, so unlike me you get to try these techniques and have a more productive and well organized school life.

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In a class where every student has a laptop, there’s still an argument to be made for keeping a pen-and-paper journal.

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This teaching strategy was originally designed for use in a face-to-face setting. For tips and guidance on how to use this teaching strategy in a remote or hybrid learning environment, view our Journals in a Remote Learning Environment teaching strategy.

A journal is an instrumental tool for helping students develop their ability to critically examine their surroundings from multiple perspectives and to make informed judgments about what they see and hear. Many students find that writing or drawing in a journal helps them process ideas, formulate questions, and retain information. Journals make learning visible by providing a safe, accessible space for students to share thoughts, feelings, and uncertainties. In this way, journals are also an assessment tool: you can use them to better understand what your students know, what they are struggling to understand, and how their thinking has changed over time. Journals also help nurture classroom community and offer a way for you to build relationships with your students through reading and commenting on their journals. Frequent journal writing also helps students become more fluent in expressing their ideas in writing or speaking. Below, we describe some of the many ways you can use journals as an effective learning tool in the classroom.
Questions to consider when using journals in the classroom:

1. What is the teacher's relationship with students' journals?
Students are entitled to know how you plan on reading their journals. Will you read everything they write? If they want to keep something private, is this possible? If so, how do students indicate that they do not want you to read something? Will their journals be graded? If so, by what criteria? (See more on grading journals below.) For teachers at most schools, it can be impossible to read everything students write in their journals; there is just not enough time in the day. For this reason, some teachers decide that they will collect students' journals once a week and only read a page or two-sometimes a page the student selects and sometimes a page selected by the teacher. Other teachers may never collect students' journals but might glance at them during class time or might ask students to incorporate quotes and ideas from their journals into collected assignments. You can set limits on the degree to which you have access to students' journals. Many teachers establish a rule that if students wish to keep information in their journals private, they should fold the page over or remove the page entirely.

2. What is appropriate content for journals?
It is easy for students to confuse a class journal with a diary or blog because these formats allow for open-ended writing. Teachers should clarify how the audience and purpose for this writing is distinct from the audience and purpose for writing in a personal diary. In most classrooms, the audience for journal writing is the author, the teacher, and, at times, peers. At Facing History, we believe that the purpose of journal writing is to provide a space where students can connect their personal experiences and opinions to the concepts and events they are studying in the classroom. Therefore, some material that is appropriate to include in personal diaries may not be appropriate to include in class journals. To avoid uncomfortable situations, many teachers find it helpful to clarify topics that are not suitable material for journal entries. Also, as mandatory reporters in most school districts, teachers should explain that they are required to take certain steps, such as informing a school official, if students reveal information about possible harm to themselves or another student. Students should be made aware of these rules, as well as other guidelines you might have about appropriate journal writing content.

3. How will journals be evaluated?
Many students admit that they are less likely to share their true thoughts or express questions when they are worried about a grade based on getting the "right" answer or using proper grammar or spelling. We suggest that if you choose to grade students' journals, which many teachers decide to do, you base these grades on criteria such as effort, thoughtfulness, completion, creativity, curiosity, and making connections between the past and the present. There are many others ways to provide students with feedback on their journals, such as by writing comments or asking questions. Students can even evaluate their own journals for evidence of intellectual and moral growth. For example, you might have students look through their journals to find evidence of their ability to ask questions or to make connections between what was happening in Nazi Germany and an event from their own life.

4. What forms of expression can be included in a journal?
Students learn and communicate best in different ways. The journal is an appropriate space to respect different learning styles. Some students may wish to sketch their ideas, for example, rather than record thoughts in words. Other students may feel most comfortable responding in concept webs and lists, as opposed to prose. When you introduce the journal to students, you might brainstorm different ways that they might use it to express their thoughts.

5. How can journals be used to help students build vocabulary?
Throughout a unit, students both encounter new vocabulary and develop a more sophisticated understanding of concepts that might already be familiar to them. Journals can be used as a place to help students build their vocabulary through the construction of "working definitions." The phrase "working definition" implies that our understanding of concepts evolves as we are confronted with new information and experiences. Students' definitions of words such as "identity" or "belonging" should be richer at the end of the unit than they are on day one. We suggest that you use the journal, or perhaps a special section of the journal, as a space where students can record, review, and refine their definitions of important terms referred to in this unit.

6. How should journal content be publicly shared?
Students are often best able to express themselves when they believe that their journal is a private space. We suggest that information in students' journals never be publicly shared without the consent of the writer. At the same time, we encourage you to provide multiple opportunities for students to voluntarily share ideas and questions they have recorded in their journals. Some students may feel more comfortable reading directly from their journals than speaking "off the cuff" in class discussions.

Suggestions for using journals in the classroom
Once you settle on the norms and expectations for journal writing in your class, there are many possible ways that you can have students record ideas in their journals. Here are some examples:

Teacher-selected prompts: One of the most common ways that teachers use journals is by asking students to respond to a particular prompt. This writing often prepares students to participate in a class activity, helps students make connections between the themes of a lesson and their own lives, or provides an opportunity for students to make meaning of ideas in a reading or film. In every lesson, you will find suggested prompts for journal writing.

Dual-entry format: Students draw a line down the center of the journal page or fold the page in half. They write the factual notes ("What the text says" or "What the historians say") on one side and on the otherside their feelings about the notes ("Reactions").

"Lifted line" responses: One way to have students respond to what they have read is to ask them to "lift a line" - select a particular quotation that strikes them-and then answer questions such as, "What is interesting about this quotation? What ideas does it make you think about? What questions does this line raise for you?"

Brainstorming: The journal is an appropriate place where students can freely list ideas related to a specific word or question. To activate prior knowledge before students learn new material, you might ask students to brainstorm everything they know about a concept or an event. As a strategy for reviewing material, you might ask students to brainstorm ideas they remember about a topic. Moreover, as a pre-writing exercise, students can brainstorm ways of responding to an essay prompt.

Freewriting: Freewriting is open, no-format writing. Freewriting can be an especially effective strategy when you want to help students process particularly sensitive or provocative material. Some students respond extremely well to freewriting while other students benefit from more structure, even if that means a loosely-framed prompt such as, "What are you thinking about after watching/reading/hearing this material? What does this text remind you of?"

Creative writing: Many students enjoy writing poems or short stories that incorporates the themes addressed in a particular lesson. To stimulate their work, some students benefit from ideas that structure their writing, such as a specific poem format or an opening line for a story (examples: Once upon a time, I could not believe my eyes when my friend came running down the street, yelling...).

Drawings, charts and webs: Students do not have to express their ideas in words. At appropriate times, encourage students to draw their feelings or thoughts. They can also use symbols, concept maps, Venn diagrams and other charts to record information.

Note-taking: To help students retain new information, they can record notes in their journals. Notes could be taken in various formats-such as lists, concept maps, or in graphic organizers.

Vocabulary: Students can use their journals as a place to keep their working definitions of terms, noting how those definitions change as they go deeper into the resources. The back section of their journals could be used as a glossary-the place that students record definitions and where they can turn to review and revise their definitions as these terms come up throughout the unit.

K-W-L charts: To keep track of their learning in this unit, students can keep a K-W-L chart in their journals. In this three column chart, the first column "K" represents what students already know about a topic. The second column, "W," represents what they want to know. And, "L," the third column, is where they record what they have learned.

Interviews: From time to time you might ask students to interview classmates, family, or community members about particular themes or questions. Students can record data from their interviews in their journals.

Sharing: While there will be times when some students will not want to publicly share thoughts form their journals, most of the time students are eager to have the opportunity to select something from their journals to share with a small group or the larger class. There may be times when you let students know in advance that what they wrote will be shared with the class. A pass-around is an exercise where journals are "passed around" from one student to the next. Students read the page that is opened (and only that page!) and then write connections they see in their own lives, current events, or other moments in history.

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This teaching strategy was originally designed for use in a face-to-face setting. For tips and guidance on how to use this teaching strategy in a remote or hybrid learning environment, view our Journals in a Remote Learning Environment teaching strategy.

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Journaling: Advice & Tips for Teachers (Grades K-12)

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Learn how to incorporate journaling in your classroom. Teachers can use journaling as a kind of window into how students are thinking about what they are learning. This is a great assessment tool as well.

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Bullet Journal Ideas for Students! BACK TO SCHOOL Planning!

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Journal writing is an excellent form of self-expression. Journals are a way students can process their thoughts, feelings, opinions, and emotions on paper. In this article you will learn how to incorporate journal writing into the classroom, as well as a few guidelines students should follow when keeping a class journal.
The Concept of Journaling
Journal writing has been used for many years in classrooms all over the world. Teachers use journaling in the classroom as a way for students to reflect upon their thinking, and connect information that they know, with what they learned.

For years, research has shown that journal writing is therapeutic, can help people reflect on their thoughts, and also deal with their emotions.

Journal writing also offers students the opportunity to have a place where they don't have to worry about their spelling and grammar, and be accepted as a writer without criticism. Although journals are never graded for grammar, they are known for helping students become better writers. This goes with the theory of "learn by doing." When a child writes frequently, he or she gains fluency, which gives them the chance to practice important skills that can make them a better writer.
How to Incorporate Journals into the Classroom
Journals are a great way for teachers to see what their students are thinking, and they can be an excellent assessment tool as well. Here are a few ways you can incorporate journal writing into the classroom.

Use journals as a class start-up activity. When students enter the classroom, allow them time to reflect upon a personal goal or issue. They can also use their journal to respond to a writing prompt that is on the front board.

Summarize opinions before or after instruction. Give students the opportunity to write about their ideas, experiences, and what they know about the topic before you teach it. Journals can also be used to reflect upon what students have learned about the topic after it has been taught.

Create a personal journal. Personal journals allow students the freedom to write about whatever they wish. They can express their feelings, opinions, and emotions about any topic that interests them.

Create a dialogue journal. Dialogue journals are interactive journals between the teacher and student. Teachers can comment on what the student writes, and vice versa. This is a great way for teachers to learn about their students, while students get the opportunity to express themselves to their teacher in an informal way.

Double entry journal. Use a double entry journal to improve students' comprehension, and help them organize their thoughts. To create this type of journal, have students fold their paper in half. Then on the left side of the paper have them write down a phrase or sentence. On the right side of the paper is where they write their reaction to that passage.

Journal Guidelines
Have students following the guidelines below when keeping a journal in class.

If you are having trouble thinking about what to write in your journal, think about what you would possibly write as a status update on a social media site. Use this as your starting point.

Journals are not meant to be published. Remember that this is a place where you can explore your thoughts and ideas without any concern of someone's criticism.

If you like to write stories, or poems, it is OK to write them in your journal.

It's OK to break all of the rules in spelling and grammar. There is no right or wrong way to write something in your journal.

If you don't know how to spell a word, use this time as a learning strategy. Write the word as best as you can, or underline the word that you think you misspelled.

Write with a pen, marker, colored pencil, or whatever it is that you like. You can also add a drawing if you want to enhance your journal entry.

Date each journal entry, and write in your journal every day.

It's OK to go back and revise or add on to a journal entry if you feel you need to add a detail.

If you feel comfortable, be willing to share your journal entry with a friend, or classmate.

What strategies do you have for journal writing in the classroom? Share them with us in the comment section below. You never know, you may inspire someone!

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Journal writing is an excellent form of self-expression. Journals are a way students can process their thoughts, feelings, opinions, and emotions on paper. In this article you will learn how to incorporate journal writing into the classroom, as well as a few guidelines students should follow when keeping a class journal.

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Have you ever wanted to write down your achievements and school related things/ideas down into a journal? Have you ever even considered this? If you wish to have one of these magnificent journals, this article is the place for you!

1. Get a journal. Preferably a non-spiral notebook. This way you don't have to worry about the spirals getting messed up and not being able to turn the page easily. Although it really does come down to your preference. Spiral or non-spiral.

2. Enjoy using your new journal! What's the point in making a journal if you don't enjoy it? There isn't one. So make sure you take care of it and enjoy it!

Community Q&A

Add New Question

Why should I write a journal?

A journal can be written for many different reasons, which vary from person to person. An example can be to detail a travel experience or a journey.

What can I write in an achievement journal?

You could write "Today I just got the highest score in math", "My arts teacher told me my drawing was nice", etc. Remember, your achievements could be big or small, exciting or terrifying.

Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

Things You'll Need

A journal!

Pencil/pen

Achievements

Test scores

Community service

Future jobs in mind

College requirements

Colleges you interested in

wikiHow is a "wiki," similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 11 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 6,753 times.

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How to Make a School/Achievement Journal

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Have you ever wanted to write down your achievements and school related things/ideas down into a journal? Have you ever even considered this? If you wish to have one of these magnificent journals, this article is the place for you! Get a...

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SILVER SPRING, Md- Bullet journaling is the newest organization fad. High school students are throwing out their school-issued plan-books in exchange for a fun alternative; developing their own styles through popular writing tools and supplies.

But first, a little background. What exactly is bullet journaling?

It's an organizational method that combines list-making with doodling and, in some cases, scrapbooking. Students use it to write down their homework assignments as well as plan personal events and personalize their journals to keep them motivated.

High school sophomore Bianca Sauro, who is relatively new to bullet journaling, says that she heard about it from a friend and thought she'd give it a try.

"Why not?" she said.

Bianca has been bullet journaling for about three months and every Sunday she draws up the next week's spread, or pair of facing pages.

Bianca says that her bullet journal "makes [her] want to stay organized and write down [her] homework because it's so pretty."

Bianca also says her new hobby as helped her get all her work done and feel less stressed, as well as giving her a sense of accomplishment when she makes a nice spread.

Frances O'Connor, also a sophomore, has been bullet journaling for about five months. She prefers using a bullet journal to writing in a school agenda book because she can keep everything together in one place.

Frances uses her journal to organize "information about [her] health and school life in the same place, as opposed to using multiple planners."

She says bullet journaling has helped her track some of her habits from month to month, "such as sleep and water consumption," which in turn allows her to analyze her sleep and other health habits and make changes to her routine as needed.

France's style is almost reminiscent of a scrapbook, as she usually fills her spread with pictures and other mementos.

Maria Cannon has been bullet journaling since the beginning of 2018. She and her mother both resolved to become better organized through bullet journaling, and so far, all is going as planned.

"I definitely feel more organized now that I use it. It's helped me with time management and making sure I do all my homework on time." she said.

Maria described her style as "kind of all over the place," varying from week to week, but she generally maintains the same basic layout.

Haili Bruckner is an experienced bullet journaler, having been writing in hers almost every day for over a year. Since beginning in January of 2017, Haili says that she's much more organized and able to live a happier and healthier lifestyle.

Like Maria, Haili finds that bullet journaling has mental health benefits.

"It has kept me mostly organized so far and that has definitely helped me de-stress." Haili also added that bullet journaling "allows [her] to channel some of [her] creativity while still being productive."

Alyssa Ma has been bullet journaling since Summer 2017. For her, bullet journaling takes "de-stress" to a whole new level.

Alyssa usually lights a candle and listens to music while she bullet journals, and uses it to "keep record of the ups and downs of [her] life as well as important memories and events."

Alyssa's style is "creatively messy;" she layers different mediums, including photos and washi tapes, giving her journal the cozy feel of a scrapbook.

Bullet journaling is so personalizable that everyone's looks utterly unique. Depending on preferred organization methods, people's journals vary from a compilation of to-do lists to a health diary to a memory book, and usually end up with some combination of the three.

Bullet journaling is becoming so popular because of its versatility. Anyone can bullet journal, whether you're a linearly-thinking left-brain sort of person, or a creative right-brain sort of person, bullet journaling has something to offer you.

Thinking about giving it a shot for yourself? Tombow markers, Pentel brush pens, Micron pens, and BooQool dot grid notebooks all have resources for those looking to get started.

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Bullet Journaling: A new creative organization tool for students

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SILVER SPRING, Md- Bullet journaling is the newest organization fad. High school students are throwing out their school-issued plan-books in exchange for a fun alternative; developing their own styles through popular writing tools and supplies. But first, a little background. What exactly is bullet journaling?

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Sometimes, students need to simply sit down and write. Kids who feel that they can write freely will do so more often thus creating better written material. Writing prompts for teens can help high school students come up with journal entry topics. Many of these are good journal prompts for middle school students, as well.

Good High School Journal Topics and Activities to Improve Self-Expression

Journaling that is for the purpose of simple expression should never be edited, critiqued, or in any other way corrected. When you're looking to give students the opportunity to simply practice, assign one of these topics.

Describe something you did this past summer.

Describe the perfect date.

What is courage?

Describe a hero. It can be either someone you know or simply qualities of a hero.

What was your most difficult or most joyous life experience?

List one of your pet peeves and write about why it annoys you.

What is your favorite activity? Who do you do it with? Why do you think you enjoy it so?

Write about a good book you've read recently.

What is something that you appreciate about your parents?

What will you do differently when you're a parent?

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Good Journal Topics to Encourage Creativity

As our society becomes more inundated with electronic toys, it gets harder and harder to get kids to think outside of the box. Sometimes, taking a journey through writing is one way to encourage creative thinking.

Write a month-long diary from the perspective of another person, character, animal, etc.

Re-write the ending of a historical event. For example, what if Columbus had never sailed the ocean or what if he had landed where he intended?

If you were going to write a book, what would the main character be like?

What do you think should be invented and why?

List one major world problem and how you think we should solve it.

Do you think that there is or ever was life on another planet?

Do you think that we can ever sustain life on International Space Stations? Why or why not?

What would happen if it suddenly started raining spaghetti and meatballs?

Is it important that a President not lie? Why or why not?

What is the most important issue facing teens your age today? How should they deal with it?

Journaling as a Response to Literature

Having students keep a journal of their impressions, thoughts and ideas while reading a book is a very effective way of teaching. In addition, it lets you know whether they are truly reading the book. One way to use journaling effectively as a means of assessment is to assign journals along with chapters and then randomly collect a few every day. Be judicious in spreading out long assignments and shorter ones.

Summarize each chapter, listing the characters and what the book was about.

What do you think the author is trying to communicate through the book?

Which character is most like you? Make sure and explain your answer.

Choose a situation and tell what you would've done differently.

Re-write the ending.

If you were to bring one of the main characters to school with you tomorrow, what would they find surprising about your day?

What problems do the characters have that you also have?

What is the main conflict in the book?

Do you like the book? Why or why not?

What is the setting of the book? Would you like to live in the setting? Why or why not?

Journaling as a Means of Keeping Records

One aspect of journaling is that it can be taught as a life skill. While you may argue that simply keeping a record does not make for a great writer, it does teach life skills and may inspire writing simply by having to record what you do every day. Here are just a few ideas for journals that keep records:

Keep a detailed list of the money that you receive and that you spend. Make sure to note specifically what you've spent money on.

Keep track of what you eat, when you eat it, and how it makes you feel afterwards.

Keep track of the exercise you get. Anything that picks up your heart rate counts!

Keep a daily journal of how you're feeling. It doesn't have to be long, but it does have to have daily entries.

Keep a science journal. Choose something to observe (the night sky or a newly planted plant would work) and observe it daily. Note the changes.

Journaling as Healing

Many people decide to journal in order to help themselves through a hard time. High school can be filled with stress and struggles so journaling can be a way to get through it all. Some ideas to consider:

What is the biggest challenge you are facing this week?

Has someone upset you and you are keeping it inside?

Did you overreact to something that now seems silly?

Are you having a hard time fitting in at school?

Do you want a different group of friends?

Is there something going on at home that interferes with your school work?

Journaling Through Time

One way to help your students really grasp history is to encourage them to view the time period from a historical, rather than present-day, perspective. Use these prompts for any time you want to reflect on historical events, people, and eras.

Choose a period of history and write a diary of what your day was like from that person's perspective.

Write a journal entry as if a major historical event didn't happen. For example, what if Abraham Lincoln hadn't given the Emancipation Proclamation? What if Britain had won the Revolutionary War.

What role do women play throughout history?

What if Julius Ceasar had a social media profile? Describe what it would be like, and share a few of his most recent posts. (You can choose any historical figure.)

Live tweet any event from the 1900s to modern times.

Write a letter or memo to a President from the last 50 years explaining what he should've done differently.

Write a journal entry from the perspective of a historical figure's pet. From Paul Revere's horse to Bo, the Obama's dog, describe the things you see and feel.

Silly Journal Prompts

Declare your undying love for your favorite food in the form of a love letter.

Write a break-up letter to an item of clothing that no longer fits.

The expression, 'You are what you eat...,' turns out to be true. What have you turned into? Write about your day as your new food item.

You have the opportunity to receive one superpower. What is it and what do you do with it?

Write a letter to your teacher with your best excuse for not doing your homework.

Your parents suddenly become kids. What rules do you insist they have?

Find the last photo on your cell phone. Caption it and explain the story behind the photo. You can write anything you want, as long as it's not true.

Explain to a college why they shouldn't take you.

Tips on Teaching Through Journaling

There are several ways to manage journaling in the classroom:

Spot check journals to see that they're done as opposed to checking every single one, every single day.

If you're going to read them, inform the students that you're going to do so. Always respect your students' privacy, and don't peek if you say you're not going to.

Have times when students can share their journals if they choose.

Take on your students' assignments as well. The best way to teach writing is to model writing.

There are no wrong answers in journaling. Make sure your students know that and remind yourself of that when you're tempted to correct.

When you see consistent mistakes, take the opportunity to teach grammar, writing, etc., but do it outside of journaling.

Many Reasons to Journal

Journaling is often done as a school requirement. Once you get used to journaling, you will find that it is easier to organize your thoughts so you can think and write more creatively. Keeping a journal is a great way to keep records and to look back on a specific time in your life.

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Sometimes, students need to simply sit down and write. Kids who feel that they can write freely will do so more often thus creating better written material. Writing prompts for teens can help high school students come up with journal entry topics. Many of these are good journal prompts for middle school students, as well.

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Why it works

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One of the best things about daily journal writing is that it can take so many forms. Teachers can use journal writing to meet specific goals, or the purpose can be wide open. Some teachers check journal writing and work on polishing skills; others use journals as the one "uncorrected" form of writing that students produce. Some teachers provide prompts to help students begin their writing. Others leave decisions about the direction and flow of student journals up to the students. This week, Education World talked with teachers who use daily journal writing in their classrooms. Included: Writing motivators that work from teachers who use them!
"They have come such a long way in their writing," said teacher Laura Black.

Daily journal writing has helped Black's students at St. Mary Elementary School in Winchester, Massachusetts, progress to the point where "they answer questions in complete sentences, begin sentences with capital letters, and end sentences with periods."

"They are not afraid to take on any writing that may come their way," added Black, "because they have built up extreme confidence."

That's progress any teacher would be proud of -- and Laura Black teaches first grade! She credits her students' daily journal writing for their dramatic development.

Black is one of countless teachers who work journal writing into their daily lessons, often with unexpectedly profound results. Journal writing has proven a popular and valuable teaching tool across the grades and across the curriculum.

JOURNALS FOCUS STUDENTS AND BUILD SKILLS

Donalee Bowerman, a special-education teacher at Canajoharie Middle School, in Canajoharie, New York, starts each class with a journal writing activity. "It gives my students, who have great difficulty with written language, one time when spelling, punctuation, and grammar don't count," said Bowerman. "This lets them express themselves in writing without the pressure they typically have when doing assignments. It ensures they have one positive writing experience each day."

There's a funny thing about journal writing, though -- even when teachers don't check students' responses for spelling and grammar. "I have seen major growth in these children!" said Bowerman. "Many are now restating the questions and using complete sentences and punctuation. Those skills were definitely missing in September!"

"Daily journal writing also gets my students focused on language arts as soon as they walk in the classroom door," Bowerman added. "They know the routine is to get their journals out and start right in."

"They come in every day and immediately write in their journals for the first five minutes," junior-high English teacher Susie Scifres told Education World. "This really helps me get the class calm and ready to transition into that day's activities.

"I've noticed they write more fluently with less 'think' time as the year progresses," added Scifres. That makes sense to her! "I personally know that when I am journal writing on a regular basis, my academic writing tends to flow easier and be better."

SAFE WRITING

At St. Joseph School in Waipahu, Hawaii, JoAnn Jacobs has used journal writing for a number of years. Journal writing has been a real help in developing oral language and speaking skills in her first graders, said Jacobs, adding, "I find it to be a very safe structure for beginning writers. A number of my students begin the school year using illustrations only or illustrations plus a few words. Throughout the year, illustrations are replaced by words, and those who began with a word or two are now writing a page."

"Kids love to write if they feel safe with it," agreed Sharon Powell, a teacher at Northwestern High School in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Over the years, Powell has used journals in grades 4 through 12. "Students feel more free to write if their ideas are not being judged and if they are not afraid they will be marked down for their mistakes. As the year goes by, I see improved thinking and improved writing just from this safe practice."

Students can look back at journals written earlier in the year or in previous years and see the tremendous progress they've made in spelling and writing, added Powell.

Alicia Merrifield uses journals with her eighth-grade reading students. "I often use what is called "Snapshot/Thoughtshot," she said. "I ask students to select the part they are reading at that very moment." Then Merrifield might prompt students' writing with questions such as What is the most important word or phrase in the section you're reading? Why? or What are you thinking about at this moment in the book?

"When reading something, many kids are not going to come out [in a classroom discussion] and say how they feel about what it is they are reading," said Merrifield. "In a journal, they know that it is theirs and that they can freely express themselves. I've learned a lot about my quieter kids through reading their journals."

JOURNALS HELP DEVELOP PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS

Teacher Julie Kader's fourth-graders at Gibson Island Country School in Pasadena, Maryland, do journal writing every morning from the first day of school to the last. As with most teachers who use journals in the classroom, her students' journals are strictly confidential exercises between teacher and student. "Journal writing enables me to develop a personal relationship with each of my students," said Kader. "I respond to the journal entries every day, so we have sort of an ongoing dialogue.

"The journals provide so much growth in students' writing abilities and use of grammar mechanics while they don't even realize they're working on them," added Kader.

Confidentiality is key to the success of daily journal writing, agreed Robyn Brillman, a language arts teacher at Bennett Academy in Phoenix, Arizona. "I see a two-fold benefit to journal writing," she said. "It provides students an opportunity to improve writing skills and a chance to 'vent' in their writing. As long as the students know that what they write remains confidential, they will share with you amazing things."

"I think journal writing is one of the best ways around to get to know students," said Becky Duncan. She teaches both English and history at Washburn Rural Middle School in Topeka, Kansas. One of her favorite journal writing activities is constructed around her students' reading of Dickens's A Christmas Carol. She has students write about a favorite "Christmas past," about vacation plans for the "Christmas present," and about a "Christmas future."

Because Duncan uses journal writing with her English students, she told Education World, "I know more about my English students than I ever will about my history students. [In their journals] students have told me things about themselves, their families, and their lives that they never would have said out loud to me."

Cindy Creedon, a computer teacher at World Harvest Christian Academy in Pennsauken, New Jersey, uses journal writing as a means of opening communication between teacher and students. "This is the students' opportunity to talk to an adult with no fear of reprise," said Creedon. "If they have a problem, they can talk to me about it in total confidence.

"The journal is also a means of getting to know the students outside the school atmosphere -- their likes, dislikes, and dreams," added Creedon.

UNEXPECTED BENEFITS!

Kathy Thomson teaches at S. Bruce Smith School in Edmonton, Alberta. She uses journal writing with older students for novel studies and in math. "However," she told Education World, "the most striking rewards have been in math classes." At the end of each math unit, Thomson asks her students to respond to prompts such as 'The hardest concept to learn in this unit was _____ because _____.'

Thomson learns things from her students' journal responses that might never come up during class time. "The resulting responses help to make me a more careful teacher the next time," she added.

Kathy Thomson isn't the only teacher who uses journal writing in math class. Barbara Becker's special-needs students at John F. Kennedy High School in Tamuning, Guam (USA), use them too. Becker teaches a concept and then asks students to explain it in their own words (or drawings). Among the prompts she might use with her students:

"I feel that this is a great benefit to these particular students as it reinforces the learning and provides them with an opportunity to question their own understanding and that of others," said Becker. "I review the journals and ask the students to share their responses if they would like to. You would be surprised at the number of volunteers." Sue Jones uses journal writing with her students at the Colorado County Juvenile Facility in Eagle Lake, Texas. One of the exercises she has used is one she calls "Composition Catharsis."

"First, I explain the idea of 'catharsis' to the students," Jones said. "Then I tell them to choose one thing from the past that they regret -- something that can't be changed but that they still worry about.... When they finish writing, I give them the opportunity to rip it up into tiny pieces, symbolically purging the problem from their past, or they can turn it in for me to read."

"Many choose to turn in their writing," Jones added, "and I get comments expressing thanks for letting them do such an assignment."

MOTIVATING KIDS TO WRITE

Wendy Townsend teaches at Miami State High School in Queensland, Australia. She uses a five-minute journal writing exercise to start all her Year 8 and 11 English classes. "I give students a range of topics that they can do in any order," said Townsend. "I have a few generic lists, but I often put a special topic on the board that might be linked to some news event or the principal's address to an assembly...."

Teachers can also use journals to cater to individual differences and interests, added Townsend. If a child has a keen interest in surfing, she might provide special prompts for that child, such as Describe the best wave or Who is the better surfer, Mark Ochillupo or Kelly Slater? or If you could by any brand of surfboard, which would you buy? Townsend always looks for students to explain and support their responses in well-organized paragraphs. She checks her students' journals several times each term.

"I don't give the whole class a prompt," said Laura Black. "We do more of a conversation journal; I write something personal to each child and the child responds."

Black might ask simple questions of her first-graders to get them writing -- for example, What is your address and phone number? What did you eat for supper last night? or What is your favorite thing to do in school?

"Some may ask me what to write about," added Black. " I might put stickers in the journal and ask kids to tell me what the sticker reminds them of. Once I put dinosaur stickers in the journals and asked students to tell me what they knew about that particular dinosaur."

Other teachers find that daily quotes are a great tool for getting kids to write!

MORE WRITING PROMPTS

Many teachers are more comfortable providing a daily prompt for students than they are letting them write freely. A prompt might be a sentence to complete, a question to respond to, or a quote to explain. Below are some teacher-tested prompts guaranteed to motivate your young journal writers!

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Journal Writing Every Day: A Painless Way to Develop Skills

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One of the best things about daily journal writing is that it can take so many forms. Teachers can use journal writing to meet specific goals, or the purpose can be wide open. Some teachers check journal writing and work on polishing skills; others use journals as the one "uncorrected" form of writing that students produce.