Morning Journal

Have you ever had a student who says "I don't know what to write about"? I have heard this statement many times in the classroom especially during writer's workshop. When we transition to writer's workshop, many times students have what we call writer's block. Currently at my campus, we have students who struggle with the elements of writing.  Since leaving fourth grade, I continue to see students:

-not capitalizing the first letter in a sentence
-capitalizing words in the middle of a sentence
-not using appropriate punctuation marks
-spelling, etc

I am a strong believer of implementing morning journal as a morning routine in the classroom. Since the implementation of morning journal,  I have seen students answering in complete sentences, beginning a sentence with a capital letter, and end sentences with the appropriate punctuation mark. Kiddos are not afraid to approach any writing that may come their way because through morning journal they have built extreme confidence as a writer.

First thing in the morning, my students start their morning routine which consist of unpacking, unstacking their chair, and sharpening two or three pencils for the day. Once they complete these small tasks, kiddos take out their morning journal from their caddies. Starting each class with an open-ended morning journal prompt gives kiddos, who sometimes have difficulties with written language,  a time to use previously taught mini-lessons on spelling, punctuation, and other grammar mechanics.

Setting a purpose for writing is so important when implementing morning journal. Morning journal enables me to develop a personal relationship with each and every students in my classroom. I make time to respond to each journal entry every day, so we have a sort of an ongoing dialogue. It always excites me when I see my students expressions when they read a note from me.

Morning Journal can also play a valuable role in creating and planning for future mini-lessons. Student writing can tell you many things such as spelling patterns, using punctuation marks, recognizing/identifying high frequency words, and many more. I can honestly say I sometimes have a hard time fitting everything into one day. One thing I tend to forget is handwriting. Handwriting lessons are beneficial for students especially since we are building the foundation for our future fourth graders when taking the STAAR writing.

                 
I had the opportunity to create a mini morning journal packet for my students. The packet includes open-ended prompts for each week in the month of May. Each prompt will help students not only with writer's block but with handwriting as well. It's important that our kiddos write every single day. The prompts could be extended to your writer's workshop curriculum. I always include share time to build the confidence and set a purpose for writing.

          https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/May-Morning-Journal-1752354