Journals and Freewriting

I don’t know about kids today (she wonders, befuddled), but I’ve been keeping diaries, journals, and now blogs my whole life. I’ve moved with padded, fabric-covered diaries with locks and keys, to big hardbound sketchbook-type notebooks, and now here I am, tapping out these words on a pretty regular basis. Writing has always helped me figure out my life, and one of my dreams for my students to think of writing as not just something they’re forced to do in school, but as a survival tool, part of their personal growth toolbox.

In my most ambitious plans for next year, I would either start or end each of my ninth grade classes with a writing prompt, sometimes connected to the text we are studying currently, and asking them to express opinions, begin to form interpretations, and even make connections to their own lives. For about half of the units I teach, I already do have a fair amount of journal prompts, but not for the other half. I spent so much time this summer prepping for the new books/units we are teaching that I didn’t spend enough time thinking holistically about the curriculum, I think. I have never responded well to freewriting as a method, however, especially the kind where you are just suppoesd to keep pencil to paper for the allotted minutes. I need a prompt, a direction, to keep me on track.

But as usual when putting teaching theories and ideas into practice, there are so many other pieces to the puzzle. Should they keep a separate notebook for journaling? How can I make this a graded portion of the year’s assessments? Would I grade on content or writing skills or both? How often would I collect them? Would I add some entries they could do while reading, to have them reflect on their reading while they’re doing it, as well as in class? How long will it take me to compile enough prompts to have one for each class, all year round? I’m trying to read some different case studies and strategies to figure out what would work best for me. I actually enjoy this kind of work and find it stimulating, but have trouble finding the time when I’m trying to keep up with grading, meetings, teaching, etc.

I also finally ordered myself a copy of Shakespeare Set Free: Teaching A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, and Macbeth to help me rebuild my Macbeth unit for the ninth grade this spring. I have a fair amount of plans, links and ideas gathered together, but I want the unit itself to be more cohesive, and I’ve always loved the lesson plans from the archives at the Folger website (linked on my teaching page). One of my long-term goals is to model Dana Huff’s lesson plan pages, where she maps out her units and includes links to all the online resources she uses. I’ve benefited so much from the wealth of information available on the Internet, and I’d like to start adding my own contributions to fellow teachers.

As much as I felt wistful as the end of winter break approached, I’m always happy to dive back into the work of teaching and start wrapping my head around new projects and challenges.