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Build Mastery: Journal Writing

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Lesson Type: Build Mastery
Grade: 1, 2, 3
Group Size: Small Group, Large Group, Whole Class
Length: 20 minutes
Goal: Given a graphic organizer, students will use it and their knowledge of journal entries to write a personal journal entry.

Materials: Board or chart paper, Journal Entry Organizer (print here).

What to Do

Prepare

Make copies of the Journal Entry Organizer for each student.


Model/Instruct

1. Explain the lesson.

Today you will write your own journal entry. You will use this worksheet to help organize your thoughts. Then you will write the entry in paragraph form.

2. Review the purpose of a personal journal.

Remember that a journal is a place where writers can share their personal thoughts, feelings, opinions, and experiences. In the first section of the worksheet you will write how you feel today and why you feel that way. In the second section you will write about something that you are thinking about or wondering about today. The third section is for you to express an opinion about something. The last section is where you can write about something that happened to you today.


Practice

3. Have your students complete their organizers.

4. After your students are finished, have them use their notes to write a journal entry in full sentences. They can do this on the backs of their organizers or in journals or notebooks.


Adjust

For Advanced Students:

Encourage these students to add more details to their paragraphs.


For Struggling Students:

Allow these students to combine words and pictures in the organizer. Work with them in small groups to write their paragraphs.


For ELL Students:

Completing the organizer may be enough for these students.


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