Journal writing is a great way to inspire children to talk about their feelings. So often children think about wanting to be bigger or older, so today we read a book, "Si petit", which is about a little boy who wishes he were bigger. However, in the end he is happy to be little because he can do things that only little boys can.
Our journal sentence starter was, <<J'aime être petit(e) parce que je peux.....>>, here the children were to continue writing about why they like to be little. We discussed the difference between fictional and non-fictional ideas, and they could decide which avenue to take. The idea is not to have perfect spelling, but to experiment with writing (inventive spelling) by trying our best to get down our ideas. Some children may write squiggly lines, others may use random letters, some may sound out the words and write down some of the letters that they hear, and others may look to the words on the walls around the classroom. These are all great emergent writing skills to be appreciated and applauded for. Oh, and of course, we start with a picture to help us get our ideas flowing! My main focus with the JK's is for them to develop pictures will a lot of detail (e.g., background, foreground, people with clothing (not a stick person), facial expressions, colour, etc...), because as the saying goes, "a picture tells a million words".
Every day of the week we focus on emergent writing in some way (e.g., journal writing, letter printing, Star of the Week pictures, book study). There progress has been amazing!
Have a wonderful weekend!