Have Your Child Write Every School Day: Start A Journal
Journal Writing is an excellent way for a student to write and it gives them some freedom in the response as there is no true right or wrong answer. Even though you are their parent, I strongly urge you not to critique their thoughts or opinions in writing. Allow them to feel free and comfortable in that space. Instead, critique their thought process. Meaning, make sure they are following logic and backing up their statements with facts to show how they came to their conclusions. That way you will ensure they aren't just scribbling down anything and it is a good writing technique.
As my own son was homeschooling, I gave him a journal that I gave my students when I taught middle school as the Islamic School of Irving here in Texas. Basically, all you need is some strong journal topics and a rubric. If your child has his home school 4 days a week, then he needs to write 4 days a week. You can find a rubric for journal writing online. Here is a link to one I used for my son.
Rubric for Journal Writing
A Little On Journal Entries
I suggest you pick the journal entries for at least a week in advance. When I was teaching this, I had all the journal entries for the semester picked out with the dates. For homeschooling, it really depends on you and your schedule. If you want to sit down and look for entries for the coming week each week, then feel free. I personally prefer to have several picked out ahead of time so I don't have to revisit the search again for months.
The Medium
I like students to use composition notebooks. As long as the pages don't tear out easily, it is fine. You don't need anything fancy but if you like, you can have your child pick out a nice journal from the store. Another idea is to decorate their composition notebook with clippings from magazines or pictures, stickers, glitter, pretty much anything they want to personalize it.
Some people like to take this opportunity to have their child write a blog online. I would just caution you in regards to them feeling comfortable with sharing their true, raw responses online. This would definitely hinder that. However, you can keep posts private if they are left as drafts in Blogger.
Personally, I think my son and my students had enough screen time and I want them to have the original experience of looking at paper and writing with their hands which helps other areas of personal development as opposed to working with a screen.
Journal Entries
You can choose all kinds of things for your child to write a thoughtful response to. Just make sure they are age and developmentally appropriate. That in itself may vary from child to child depending on their experiences in life and maturation. As their parent, I think you're the best judge. So current events, hadith from the Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s. peace and blessing be upon him), or things you have thought up on your own are all great. A great place to look is Pinterest. I have saved quotes on Pinterest here: Amazing Quotes on Pinterest
I did a series of quotes from Omar bin Khattab r.a. and I'll share some of them with you. I chose Omar bin Khattab r.a. quotes because:
- This gives the child some variation to reading hadith from Muhammad saws.
- He/she learns about the great hero, leader and commander of the Muslim Ummah, Omar bin Khattab r.a.
- These are Islamic character building quotes
- These quotes help the child shape their perspective on life through an Islamic lens
- This is a great conversation starter on Islam. Watch, your child is likely to want to talk about it beyond the journaling
- This is a good segway into learning Islamic history
“He who does not live in the way of his beliefs starts to believe in the way he lives.”
“We were the most humiliated people on earth and God gave us honor through Islam. If we ever seek honor through anything else, God will humiliate us again.”
“Whosoever shows you your faults is your friend. Those that pay you lip service in praise are your executioners.”
"When did you start enslaving people, when their mothers gave birth to them free?”
“Acquire knowledge, and learn tranquility and dignity.”
"He who does not know evil will fall into it."
"When a man puts to me a question, I judge of his intelligence."
"What regresses never progresses."
"The wisest man is the one who can account for his actions."
“We were the most humiliated people on earth and God gave us honor through Islam. If we ever seek honor through anything else, God will humiliate us again.”
“No amount of worrying can change the future. Go easy on yourself, for the outcome of all affairs is determined by God's decree. If something is meant to go elsewhere, it will never come your way, but if it is yours by destiny, from you it cannot flee.”
“No amount of guilt can change the past and no amount of worrying can change the future”
"The most accursed ruler is the one whose misconduct leads to distress the people."
"Prefer for the people what you prefer for yourself. What you do not wish for yourself, do not impose on others."
"As long as you are pure of heart, you speak the truth."
"May Allah bless the man who speaks less and does more."
"When you see any scholar loves the world, then his scholarship is in doubt."
"So not be an arrogant scholar, for scholarship cannot subsist with arrogance."
"Avoidance of sin is lighter than the pain of remorse."
"Don't forget your own self while reminding others."
Directions for Your Child:
You can tailor these as you see fit. Here is what I gave. Feel free to copy. Be sure to go over the rubric with your child first.
Before You Write:
1. Go over the rubric. Review the rubric before you write each journal entry.
2. Read the topic/quote a few times. Take a few moments or minutes to reflect. Take as long as you need.
3. You may draw a mind map or picture to help you as you reflect.
Start Writing:
4. Answer these questions in your entry. Don't number them. Write it into your response in paragraph form.
What do you think the quote or topic means?
This is the part you will write the most about:
5. What does it mean/ say to you? Do you agree or disagree? Explain in detail why or why not. Give full support for your response. How can this apply to your own life?
You can support by giving examples from your own experiences or experiences of others you've heard of.
6. Use a dictionary so you don't make simple mistakes on spelling.
7. Use a thesaurus so you can add variety to your word choice.
8. When you are done, look at the rubric and grade yourself.
9. After grading yourself, if you see any edits you want to make to improve, do so before turning in your journal entry.
Creative Add-ons
I like to allow students to doodle or draw pictures to go along with their response. They can do this on the next page. In the first part where the student needs to reflect, you can allow them to doodle or draw a mind map. They can draw comics or what ever they need to do as long as it is on topic and helping them process and or sort the information. Here is an example of a mind map. You can use them for almost anything.
Grading the Journal Entry
When you are grading, be sure to give positive feedback where ever possible so they know what they did right. It is equally important to know what was right as it is to know what they need to improve upon. Get familiar with the rubric you chose to use. Go over each category of the rubric and see how your child measured up. In the beginning it may take a little longer but once you've graded a few and know what you're looking for, you will go through it fairly quickly. Be patient with yourself and your child in the beginning. Make sure to keep it a positive writing experience for you and your child. It shouldn't be a stressful exercise at all. Enjoy! Please leave me comments and share your own tips below. For more articles like this, please subscribe by email.
Visit my Shop Link below
0 Comments