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by Sharon Blumberg
Although I’ve been a Spanish teacher for many years, this year I am also teaching language arts. I love watching my students discover connections to themselves in the reading and writing activities that we work on together. Within the required curriculum are some areas of free choice that tie in well within the course.
One activity that my students can respond to with a nice level of differentiation is responding to journal prompts. With this kind of writing activity, every student’s response is unique. However, I don’t have students do this activity too often or it loses its effectiveness. I have them respond to journal prompts either once a week or even less.
The journal prompts work in the following way: I give my students an idea which is referred to as a prompt. For this particular activity, I don’t emphasize spelling or grammar during the writing. Even though I make corrections when I read them, these don’t count against the students’ grades. For example, starting with Thanksgiving, which can carry over to the winter holidays of Christmas, Chanukah or Kwanza, I ask my students to “Write about something that you are grateful for. Write at least four complete sentences explaining this. How do you express gratitude for what you are grateful for?”
It is fascinating to read the varied ways my students express themselves. They do a nice job of demonstrating the many different things that they are indeed grateful for.
After about five to ten minutes of writing, I give them the option of reading their responses to these prompts out loud in order to get class participation enrichment points. After the students share their writings with the class, I have a student helper collect the writings as part of their classroom jobs, and turn them in. After I read through their journal prompt responses on my own time, I make comments based upon what they wrote. In this way, I am creating a safe way to dialogue with my students on a more personal level. Some students write more than others, depending on the prompt I give them.
Occasionally, some students may say they don’t really know what to write about. If this happens, I give them an alternative prompt, or ask them to pick out their own topics as writing prompts. For example, “What was the best part of your day today, or what was the least favorite part of your day today, and why?”
The above kind of prompt usually evokes some kind of writen response. Journal prompts bring out many kinds of memories as we connect with one another. It is also a great way to evoke holiday sentiments. This will be a year of great discoveries as my students and I embark upon new vistas.
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Sharon Blumberg is a junior high Spanish teacher and a freelance writer. She has been teaching for 17 years. She currently teaches seventh grade Spanish in Illinois. She has two grown children and resides in Indiana with her husband and dog. She is an active member of The Children’s Writers’ Coaching Club and The Story Circle Network.