Entry #3

For this week's entry, I was asked to read about Journal Writing by taking a look at Teaching Writing Balancing Process and Product and other articles by Gail E. Tompkins. I really enjoyed this week's readings because journal writing is something that I personally enjoy, and it's a form of writing that I prefer over other types of writing.

One aspect of this week's readings that was very insightful for me was learning about the various mentor texts that are available to help students gain a deeper understanding about journal writing and what it looks like. Before beginning my program here at Nazareth College, I didn't have much knowledge around mentor texts and their importance. However, now that I have learned how effective mentor texts can be, I realize that this is something I would like to use in future classrooms. I enjoyed how Tompkins provided an abundance of books that can be used for all kinds of journal writing; friendly letters, postcards, pen pals, personal journals, science journals, and more. I believe that mentor texts are perfect for teaching journal writing because they are simple to use and the students can really enjoy them and be more engaged and motivated to learn.

When I was in fifth grade, I completed a lot of journal writing for my social studies units on topics such as geography and western expansion. I wish that I had had an opportunity to look at some mentor texts prior to writing because I feel that I would've gained a deeper understanding about the process of journal writing and what it would've looked like for people during the time periods I was studying.

As I stated earlier, I really love journal writing, especially personal journals, because I enjoy being able to write down my thoughts down and have the opportunity to write down whatever thoughts come into my mind in the moment. I enjoyed reading about personal journals, and I think it's important for students to understand that personal journals are also a form of writing, and they can be very useful when practicing writing conventions, including voice, and simply for the enjoyment of writing. However, I want to make sure that I am open to other forms of journal writing as a teacher because I believe that it's easy to think of journal writing only in the form of personal journals. In my classroom, I want to make sure that my students are exposed to the various types of journal writing that are important, not only in the classroom, but in every day life.

One form of journal writing that I enjoyed reading about and talking about in class was the double entry journal writing. Personally, I have never liked this type of journal writing before because it always seemed like a hassle to write about a book or article before I had the chance to even read it. For me, I wanted to just get right to reading, and I didn't think that making predictions about the text was necessary for the learning experience. However, after reading about the effectiveness of double entry journals and getting the opportunity to practice in class, I feel more confident that this strategy is effective for students. Oftentimes, students feel overwhelmed when asked to answer questions after reading a text, so I believe that double entry journals are a great way for students to focus their learning and really reflect on what they are reading before they even have a chance to open the book!

Another point that I think is worth mentioning is the idea of author's craft and how it plays a role in journal writing. I believe that taking a look at the author's craft of the stories we read tonight in class was crucial in gaining a deeper understanding about how important author's craft is in every piece of writing that you may come across. For the story that I read tonight, voice and word choice played a critical part in the story because it was told in the perspective of a second grade girl. As I move forward in the semester, I'm hoping that I can spend more time reflecting on author's craft and its importance.

References

Tompkins, G. E.  (2019).  Teaching writing:  Balancing process and product (7^th ed.).  UpperSaddle River, NJ:  Merrill.