Mary, this is a wonderful idea! I have been experimenting with an interactive notebook in my language arts classes this year. I struggled to come up with meaningful right side entries; your idea of journal writing using the grammar skills being taught solves this problem!!! What a great way for the students to see the connection between the grammatical skills and their application in writing! I had a few questions. Do you have the students complete the right-side journal entry first, or do you introduce the grammar skill and then have them journal? Do you give them any specifications ("prompts") for these right side entries? You also mentioned that you have your students journal throughout the week. My students keep a writer's notebook based on Ralph Fletcher's works. How do you have your students journal? Do they keep a separate notebook? Do you ask them to focus on certain grammar skills as they journal? Or do you have them revisit journal entries after they are written and ask them to integrate the skills they are learning? Thanks!
Mary, this is a wonderful idea! I have been experimenting with an interactive notebook in my language arts classes this year. I struggled to come up with meaningful right side entries; your idea of journal writing using the grammar skills being taught solves this problem!!! What a great way for the students to see the connection between the grammatical skills and their application in writing! I had a few questions. Do you have the students complete the right-side journal entry first, or do you introduce the grammar skill and then have them journal? Do you give them any specifications ("prompts") for these right side entries? You also mentioned that you have your students journal throughout the week. My students keep a writer's notebook based on Ralph Fletcher's works. How do you have your students journal? Do they keep a separate notebook? Do you ask them to focus on certain grammar skills as they journal? Or do you have them revisit journal entries after they are written and ask them to integrate the skills they are learning? Thanks!