I haven’t done a Throwback Thursday in a while! This one is perfect for Back to School though, so read on!
When I taught second grade, I needed something for my students to do when they first walked into the classroom in the morning. I wanted it to be meaningful, but not a lot of prep. I also needed the students to be fairly independent with it, so that I could take care of attendance, lunch count etc.
That’s when I created my Writing Journal Prompts! There is a calendar for each month of the year with 25 prompts – one for every day of the month. It is un-dated so I can use it from year to year. For some students, I would hand-write the date on the calendar to make it easier for them to follow. If there was a holiday, vacation or day off, I would either white-out that day before I made copies or have students cross it off to avoid confusion.
Each month I would create a packet for my students. I made a cover, a calendar page and enough lined paper for the whole month. The pictures show the journal spiral-bound, but I would just staple the packets together. This allowed the students to add extra paper at the end of the month if they needed it. In September, we would start with a large picture and few lines. As we went through they year, the picture box would get smaller and there would be more lines. I eventually wanted more focus on the writing than the picture.
I have to say, this was one of my absolute favorite things I did in my classroom. I learned a lot about my students and they enjoyed sharing with me! These Writing Journal Prompts are a best-seller in my store!
