#1804. Journal Jars

Reading/Writing, level: Middle
Posted Sun Jun 18 20:11:03 PDT 2000 by Heather (Shimmerkix@aol.com).
MN
Materials Required: Paper (notebooks work great), Writing Utensil, Jar or Container of Some Sort
Activity Time: 20-25 Minutes
Concepts Taught: Creative Thinking, Writing, Brainstorming

This lesson is great! I use it every week!

You can get a container or jar of some sort. Peanut butter jars work really well, inexpensive. Every Monday, I give my students a small sheet of paper and have them come up with a question such as "What is your favorite sport and why?" or "Do you like Mrs. Brown's hair curly or straight" and fold, collect, and place all questions in your jar. Every so often (I do this daily Tues-Friday). I pull out a question, write it on the board, and have them respond in their notebook "journals." I give them about 20-25 minutes to do this. It is perfectly quiet relaxing time after lunch when my students do this. If they finish early, it's quiet reading time (SSR: silent, sustained reading). If you have any questions at all, please feel free to e-mail me with them!