Whole Class Writing Journals

I love using whole class writing journals in my classroom to encourage shared writing! My students love getting to read what their peers wrote in the journal before they add in their own writing. When the journals are completed, I set them aside for Open House. Parents LOVE reading these and finding the writing that their own child has written. I recently received an idea from a teacher friend who said to keep the journals in the classroom library when they are finished. This way, future classes can read what each of my students have written. Seriously a brilliant idea! I will be starting this at the end of this school year.

How I Use These Journals in my Classroom

I always have a few of these journals in our writing center. My students love to write in the seasonal journals during centers. Even though there are a few different writing options available, they always seem to grab these first!

I have an area in my classroom where I keep work for early finishers. These are a great resource for early finishers since I just prep once and then I have work for the whole year for my class!

How to Assemble the Journals

I have assembled the journals a couple different ways. The first year, I found 50 cent spiral notebooks at Staples during the back to school sale and I just pasted the covers onto the front of the notebooks. The past two years, I have created my own notebooks by folding a piece of construction paper in half and stapling primary lined writing paper inside. Both are great options depending on what you have on hand.

If you would like to try these journals with your class, then click here to view the resource in my TpT store. I hope your students love these journals and become strong writers as the school year goes on!

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Written on March 9th, 2018 by Laurin Brainard