1st Grade Writing Journal

The development of good reading and writing skills is essential not only for success in school but also for success in life. Writing daily will help your student develop his/her writing skills and practice sentence development---a fundamental key to becoming an excellent writer. This blank writing journal can be used in conjunction with ready-made story-starters or it can be used daily as a tool by student writers to record their day's activities, adventures, imaginative thoughts, etc. Journals can help students clarify their thoughts. Taking time to jot down feelings and thoughts about daily events can give young writers an opportunity to discover what they think and how they feel about different topics. Writing in a journal is comfortable for beginning writers because it is a casual and informal process. It isn’t structured or graded. Students are allowed to free-write and become immersed in expression. Students should be allowed to write about different topics, which will give them the opportunity to improve their writing skills while exploring their thoughts without being chastised for grammar, usage, or other errors. Let this journal be an “idea book”--a place where the student is free to "think" in writing.