Journal writing tips

Before going on holidays we discussed how to improve our Slice of Life writing. The students suggested that we do some prewriting and drafting at school, and revise and publish at home.  Returnign from holidays, we had many possibilities for choosing our slice. We also learned two new strategies to help with our writing.

The first idea gathering strategy involved post-it notes. On each post-it the students drew or wrote an object, an activity, a place or a person from their holiday week.

Then we used 1-3-10 minute strategy for pre-writing. The students chose one post-it. I set the timer for one minute, they wrote. Then I set the timer for 3 minutes and they improved their 1-minute writing with adding specific details. Finally I set the timer for 10 minutes and the students revised and lengthened  their 3-minute writing.

I look forward to listening to slices on Wednesday.