This is an example of the family message journal that we do in my classroom. The students love to write to a family member at home. Most importantly, students are writing to an audience. Found at www.primaryconcepts.com.
A family message journal seems like a great way to give students a real reason to write and for them to see people in their family writing. I bet they are excited to read a response from the teacher - the children and their family too. You are building a thread between home and school which can impact many things that happen during the school year in a positive way.
I really like this idea! I think my 3rd graders would have enjoyed it a lot. When I was interning in 5th grade the students wrote in journals almost every day, and the teacher read through them every afternoon and wrote a quick note back at least a couple of times a week. Those journals didn't go home until the end of the year, but I like this idea even better.
Comments by Ashlay: I love the thought of the family letter. Could you email that template please? Students get very excited when they have an audience to write too. HOw often do your studehts write to a family member? Do you think can do this activity to a classmate? Whats happens if a family member doesn't write back? Can you tell that I really enjoy this activity!
A family message journal seems like a great way to give students a real reason to write and for them to see people in their family writing. I bet they are excited to read a response from the teacher - the children and their family too. You are building a thread between home and school which can impact many things that happen during the school year in a positive way.
ReplyDeleteI really like this idea! I think my 3rd graders would have enjoyed it a lot. When I was interning in 5th grade the students wrote in journals almost every day, and the teacher read through them every afternoon and wrote a quick note back at least a couple of times a week. Those journals didn't go home until the end of the year, but I like this idea even better.
ReplyDeleteComments by Ashlay:
ReplyDeleteI love the thought of the family letter. Could you email that template please? Students get very excited when they have an audience to write too. HOw often do your studehts write to a family member? Do you think can do this activity to a classmate? Whats happens if a family member doesn't write back? Can you tell that I really enjoy this activity!