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| Summer Writing Pages and Graphic Organizers |
Before leaving for summer vacation, ink into your plan book some summer writing activities. Write about upcoming summer goals and activities using these writing prompts that promote thinking and reflection before writing. A valid writing experience in your classroom for the end of the school year! which can lead into a worthwhile summer writing assignment, Keeping a Summer Journal.
During the last few weeks of school, students and teachers talk about keeping a summer writing journal using a composition notebook or using a teacher created summer writing journal booklet. NO PREP for you... just download, print and handout! Talking about your expectations for the summer writing journal is all you need to do after handing out the summer journal pages.
Students will engage in authentic writing experiences all summer long. They are encouraged to write in their journal each day but it is important to remember that this is a self-directed activity and some students might even write in their journals twice a day!! Writing Ideas and topics are provided to initiate the first spark in writing about their summer days.
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| Summer Writing Journal |
Finding and creating personal topics and ideas is encouraged. Teachers can collaborate with colleagues who teach one grade below or above; in this way the summer journals can become one of those first week activities when starting in a new grade and classroom. Be sure to tell students that you are excited and look forward to seeing their journals after summer. Encourage children to add drawings and photos, ticket stubs, book lists, and any other summer 'clips' that will fit in their journal. Students will share more readily when they have completed pages before them to talk with new friends. These writing pages include: organization of the page, writing about specific topics, using illustrations to explain, remembering facts, writing in sequential order, and finding noteworthy topics to write about. Sharing their summer-long writing project can be a positive way to meet new classmates and build friendships for the upcoming school year.
If you and teacher friends think keeping a 'summer writing journal' will keep your students growing in literacy then start now... preview the summer writing journal for beginning writers. Talk with teacher friends and include this writing assignment in your summer assignment packet. And be sure to get your students excited about writing this summer by sharing their summer journal assignment before leaving for summer fun!
