Encourage Writing using Reading Journals

Reading journals are a powerful tool to help your students learn.

These special journals can help your children to improve their recollection while learning to write better. Regardless of their ages, all children can benefit from journal writing programs.

Over the past year, my teenagers tracked their literature reading assignments in a reading journal. When we began, they wrote about events happening in the story. As time progressed, they became more engrossed in the task, writing about lessons learned or the actions of the characters in the story. Now, at the end of the year, they are writing informal essays in their reading journals that delve deeply into the story, rather than simply re-telling it.

This has worked so well that we are now introducing it to my twelve-year-old son. At the end of each day, he will write journal entries on what he really learned each day. This has been especially helpful with Bible readings. By writing a paragraph on his morning devotions, we will be able to reinforce what he learns.

Younger children can narrate their entry aloud as you write it for them. On the following day, have the child re-write their narrative, using their best handwriting or printing. Offer journal writing instruction to younger children by having them copy work into their journals.

I don’t think that these journals are teaching tools themselves, but they have helped my children write better. It does, however, help them to retain what they have learned while looking for ways to incorporate those lessons into daily life. I use Teaching Writing: Structure & Style to help my kids polish entries into a final draft form.

Formal writing assignments are great to teach kids how to write better. You can enhance those lessons by adding informal journal entries, which also reinforce what is being learned. Further writing practice can be gained by creating a polished essay or story, choosing a topic based on certain journal entries.

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© Kerry Beck, 2008
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Kerry Beck helps teachers and homeschool moms with journal writing programs. She has a free mini-course to show you how to teach writing at Teaching Writing.