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AFTER READING
OBJECTIVES
Genre Journal Entry
Writer's Craft Transitions
Writing Trait Sentences
  • Identify qualities of a journal entry.
  • Write a journal entry with effective transitions.
  • Focus on sentences.
  • Use a rubric.
ELL
Writing Support See the writing support activities in the ELL and Transition Handbook.
VOICE Writing is engaging
and lively. The writer's feelings
come through clearly.
WORD CHOICE The writer
uses precise nouns to define
the experience (oatmeal,
marshmallows) and a strong
interjection (Yummy!).
CONVENTIONS There is
excellent control and accuracy, including effective use of an exclamatory sentence.
Traits of Good Writing
FOCUS/IDEAS Strong
supporting details help the
reader experience the camping
trip.
SENTENCES Use of
interrogative and exclamatory
sentences, including an
interjection, catch the reader's
interest.
ORGANIZATION/PARAGRAPHS
The entry describes the day in chronological order, using
transitions to move through
the events.
DAY 1
Teach and Model
DAY 2
Prepare to Write
DAY 3
Prewrite and Draft
DAY 4
Draft and Revise
DAY 5
Connect to Unit Writing
READING-WRITING CONNECTION
  • Lewis and Clark and Me
    is fiction, but it is written
    in the same way a person
    might describe events in
    a journal.
  • Seaman, the narrator,
    tells in detail what
    happened on two days
    during the expedition.
  • Students will write their own journal entry.
Target Skill
When writing a journal entry,
remember that the author's
purpose (reason for writing)
is to give an account of
events and feelings.
Comprehension Skill
EXAMINE THE MODEL Display
Writing Transparency 2A. Explain
that it is a journal entry and read
it aloud with the class. Discuss
the model in terms of the writing
traits listed to its left.
Writing Transparency
Writing Transparency 2A
with | without Answers
WRITER'S CRAFT
Transitions
Display Writing Transparency 2B.
  • Read aloud the information at
    the top.
  • Ask students to tell in their own words why transitions are useful. (They help a reader understand the connections between events, places, or ideas.)
  • Have students find the transitional words or phrases that best complete the paragraph. Encourage them to explain what events or ideas the transitions are linking.
GUIDED WRITING Invite
students to use some of the
other transitional words or
phrases listed at the top of
the transparency in sentences
of their own.
Writing Transparency
Writing Transparency 2B
with | without Answers
READ THE WRITING PROMPT
Write a journal entry about a day
in your life. Remember to include
important events and your
thoughts about them.
Drafting Tips
  • Focus on two or three
    important or interesting
    events. Don't try to say
    everything about your
    day.
  • Reflect on how events
    made you feel. Writing a
    journal is like talking to
    yourself!
  • Vary your sentences to
    make your writing exciting
    and keep your readers
    interested.
GETTING STARTED Students
can do any of the following.
  • Make a list of things that
    happened on the day they
    are describing. Read over
    their list and put a star next
    to the events they want to
    include.
  • Take a few moments to
    ask themselves how events
    made them feel or what
    they learned from something
    that happened.
  • Think of ways to make their
    writing interesting. (e.g.,
    sentence variety, word choice,
    vivid details).
EDITING/REVISING
CHECKLIST
  • Are events and ideas connected with transitional words or phrases?
  • Do I explain how I feel about the day's events?
  • Have I used any exclamatory sentences?
  • Are words with the long a and i sounds spelled correctly?
Revising Tips
Sentences
  • Vary sentence length to keep your writing interesting.
  • Vary sentence type. Exclamatory and
    interrogative sentences can add excitement.
  • Use transitions such as
    first, then, but, however,
    and while to make
    sentences flow smoothly.
PUBLISHING Have students
contribute to a classroom
anthology of journal entries.
Students may wish to revise
their work later.
ASSESSMENT Use the scoring
rubric to evaluate students' work.
Week 1
Memoir 39g–39h
Week 2
Journal Entry 65g–65h
Week 3
Postcard 87g–87h
Week 4
E-mail Invitation
111g–111h
Week 5
Narrative Writing
133g–133h
Personal Narrative
PREVIEW THE UNIT PROMPT
Write a personal narrative about a time that you were a newcomer to a place or situation (a school, club, team, or neighborhood). Explain how you felt and what you found challenging or exciting.
APPLY
  • A personal narrative is a story about an interesting experience or event in the
    storyteller's life.
  • Journal entries describe the narrator's day-to-day life and thoughts.
Writing Workshop   Journal Entry
 
   
Close  
Scoring Rubric  Journal Entry
Rubric 4 3 2 1
Focus/Ideas
Interesting account of day's events with lively details
Record of day's events with some details
Unfocused account of day with few details
Confused and undeveloped entry
Organization/ Paragraphs
Events and thoughts tied together in natural, interesting way
Most events and thoughts developed naturally
Events and thoughts not tied together well
Lacks any logical order; events and thoughts confused and jumbled
Voice
Sincere and personal; writer interested in events
Serious effort, but writer sounds a little bored
Writer not very involved with topic
Writer sounds totally uninterested
Choice
Careful word choice brings day's events to life
Words accurate but ordinary
Ordinary, sometimes vague word choice
Incorrect or
confusing word choice
Sentences
Varied sentences, including exclamatory sentence
Some variety in sentences; writer falls into pattern
Many sentences lack variety, sound unnatural
Fragments or run-on sentences
Conventions
Excellent control and accuracy
Reasonable control with a few errors
Errors may prevent understanding
Frequent errors obscure meaning