The Art of Journals

Responding to Burke, 180-197


I remember my years of school journals well--they were moments of reflection in which I could be myself and take risks in my expression, knowing that this was a safe space, knowing my personal thoughts and musings weren't judged with a grade.


It was a conversation I had with my favorite teachers.
It was out in the park, all of us under a different tree, writing poetry.


Journals are a space for students to ask big questions, figure out who they are and where they are going, where they fit into the world. They write to teachers, to themselves, to their own audience--whatever inspires and helps them through the process. Journals are a daily exercise; they are for warm-ups, brainstorming, responding, drawing, writing, creating diagrams and lists; they are for homework and drafts of papers, lyrics, questions, observations. They are for ideas, words, events, stories, poems. Still, students need guidance. Consider the use of prompts, such as:

• What do you think will happen next? 
• I wonder why... 
• This reminds me of... 
• I got sucked in when... 
• I had a hard time understanding... 

Journals can also be a place where students link their readings to a larger context, and explore their relationship with the world and what's happening around them--to hash out what they believe. They can be conversations with teachers and other students. The more ways you can use a journal, the better. Be innovative and creative with it. Burke offers a few ideas:

1. Written Dialogue: pair up with a friend and write letters to each other, responding to what you read.
2. Letter Poems: taken from ancient Chinese poetic forms, write a poem in the form of a letter, addressed to or written by a main character. 
3. Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Story/Character: Based on Steven's "13 Ways," or Nelson's "Autobiography in Five Chapters," use materials from the story to create a poem that describes a multi-dimensional character, or the changes within a story/character. 
4. Character Log: Follow a character from the beginning to the end of a novel, noticing details and their complexities. What motivates them? Why did they act a certain way? What do they believe in? 
5. Reader's Sketchbook: sometimes it's easiest to communicate through a blending of images and words. For each sketch, log where it was taken from in the story, and a quote or explanation of its significance.   
6. Interactive Reading: similar to cornell notes, use a wide left margin to jot down notes or topics you could use for a later response. After reading, review the list to see what interested you the most.