Shared journal
is our vehicle for teaching reading and writing. Children are
involved in sharing true stories about their lives. They negotiate,
vote, and write stories about each other. At the end of the year,
each child has a book filled with his/her writing. It is filled
with stories about friends and special events that happened during
the year. Here are some pictures and a description of the shared
journal process.
In our
class, three children share a story each day. Sharing time lasts
about 20 minutes. The children must tell their story to the teacher
before signing up. They get very excited about sharing! Screening
the story helps the teacher to work with children individually on
the elements of a story.
When the
children share, the class becomes an audience. They are listening
for things that will help them write the story and draw a picture of
the story.
After the
story, the children have an opportunity to ask questions. They are
trying to find out details that will help them in their writing.
This is also an opportunity for the teacher to point out important
elements of the story and draw attention to objectives to be taught.
After
questions, the shared journal helper calls on someone to choose a
keyword for the story. This is a word that helps the children to
remember what the story is about. The class then works together to
sound out the word they have chosen.
Now, it is
time to negotiate. Negotiation is a very important part of the
sharing process. Children talk with one another about which story
they think would be best to write about.
Once
negotiations are complete, the children vote on which story they
want to write about. When there are ties, the children help decide
how they want to solve the tie.
Writing is
the main focus of shared journal. The children have an opportunity
to express themselves at their developmental level. They can all
tell the story, whether it is through drawing or writing. They all
feel successful at expressing themselves through this medium.
Drawing the
picture is also a major part of journal writing. Illustrating the
story helps each child to think through details of the story that
are important. They also learn how to use their illustrations to
tell more about the story.
Writing about
stories their friends have shared helps the children to develop
friendships and understand one another's experiences. They also
learn about things that they wouldn't have an opportunity to know
about, such as when children share stories about places they have
been.
Writing in a
daily journal helps to develop a life-long habit of writing. It
also helps children to enjoy writing at an early age and feel that
they can write. Our class has journal celebrations when someone
does something new or special in his/her journal.
