When my students enter the classroom they have two writing tasks to complete. One is their journal writing. I believe it sets the tone of the morning and gets them focused on language arts. The routine is daily and they understand that they must write. I began with just ten minutes, but they decided they needed more time. Most students now write for approximately 20 minutes.
I did try the new standard of allowing students to write on any topic they wanted to. Confusion about what to write took place, even though in their journals they had ideas written down, posters on the wall about what to write about, and the teacher telling them that they can write about anything they chose. (Ex. What happened last evening or over the weekend.) That took up so much time and thinking. Most children didn't get a chance to complete anything. The whole process took too long.
So, I decided to go back to where my teaching of 33 years, told me to. I began giving my students daily topics to write about. I noticed that the students seem to write more fluently, when given this, and they actually enjoyed writing in their journals. (This also helps when they are given the Fourth Grade Writing Test.) They don't need any "think" time, so the writing flowed and became easier.
Since kids enjoyed the writing, the next normal progression was sharing what they wrote. This has produced a safe environment for even the shyest child. Since they feel free to write, knowing that they will not be judged by their peers, everyone was eager to share. (We even clapped for students when: we enjoyed what they wrote, or a child who had improved, or a student who just tried his/her personal best.) Oral language was developed, and a style of speaking in front of a group.
I always tell my students to revisit their journal writing from previous months to see the tremendous stride they have made in spelling, handwriting, and sentence structure.
Many teachers seem more comfortable providing a daily prompt for students. A prompt may be a sentence to complete, a question to respond to, or even the writing of poetry.
I received this e mail about the writing prompts. What a wonderful idea.
I home school my children and we keep a journal jar. I printed out a few pages of writing ideas and cut them up and put them in a jar they decorated. Each day they pick out a slip with a writing idea on it and write about it. They like it, because picking out of the jar is like opening a present, they never know what they will pick out and it excites them. Shannon from PA
Ryuz-4KiZ4 Community Member 
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