It is so important for students to practice writing every day. I require my students to keep a spiral notebook in their desk that they use daily (we refer to this notebook as their journal). Every morning I write a journal topic on the board. The topic usually has something to do with what we’re learning about.
They are required to write 5 sentences a day (for 2nd & 3rd quarter it’s bumped up to 6 sentences, then again in 4th quarter they are required to write 7 sentences). During 1st quarter I grade them very easily. All I’m looking for are 5 complete sentences, correct punctuation, and whether or not they stayed on prompt. Then in 3rd quarter I become more strict about the format of their writing. I require the same criteria as before, but I’ve added the following: indent your paragraph, begin with a topic sentence, include reasons that support the topic sentence, explain your reasons, and write a concluding sentence. I have these criterion written on the board so they can refer back to it if necessary.
Visit Part 2 to see how I grade and record journals into the gradebook.
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