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Summary and Objective
Daily journal writing is a common part of many elementary classrooms. In this activity students will look at a variety of journal entries from other historical periods. Students will understand that people keep diaries or journals for a variety of reasons and that these texts have much to teach us about how life was lived in the past.
Teaching Plan
Step 1.
The teacher will need to search the various diaries, pick appropriate excerpts from each, and print them out.
Step 2.
The students will engage in a discussion regarding what diaries or journals are and why people write in them.
Step 3.
The students will be divided into groups of two or three. Each group will be given an excerpt from one of the journals in the activity collection. Very young students may need to have these excerpts read to them.
Step 4.
Each group will work together to answer two key questions: What was the author's life like? Do you know anyone who would appreciate this entry? Why?
Step 5.
Students make a brief presentation to classmates of their findings.
Step 6.
Closing discussion might focus on the diversity of the authors and the interesting things the students learned.
Step 7.
A follow-up activity could involve keeping an individual journal for a specific period of time. Challenge students to include things that would be of interst to future generations. Younger grades could do an end-of-the-day group journal about their daily experiences.
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