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Journal Prompts

This started out as prompts but has evolved into a list including other ways to introduce writing into my classroom.

Prompts

1. “Describe how to … for someone who…”

• Was absent from class today

• Is in a lower level math class

• Is in a higher level math class

2. “Explain one thing you learned today that you understand, and one thing you are struggling with.” - Do this as a ticket out the door rather than in the journal, so I can get immediate feedback

3. “How did you study for this test? How did that affect your grade? What could you do differently to study for the next test?”

4. “Why did you make the mistakes you did on the test/quiz? What misunderstandings did you have that are now clearer? What is still unclear to you?”

5. “What are your goals for this class? What type of math will you be taking in your future studies, high school and college?” (at the beginning of the year)

6. “What topics from earlier in the year do you recall and still feel comfortable with?”

7. “How does a sinusoidal wave relate to an object that is moving in a circular motion? What objects do you use or encounter in everyday life move in a circular motion?”

8. “Which topics this year made you feel the most successful? Why? What about the topic or lesson made you feel comfortable with that topic?”

The next 4 are suggestions for “affective” prompts from an NCTM article

9. “Discuss (in paragraph form) three qualities of a good teacher and three qualities of a good student. Explain why these qualities are important.”

10. “In your own words, describe or define what is meant by a “fair” test. Also, describe how you prepare for math tests and quizzes.”

11. “Explain how you organize your math notebook or folder. How does your notebook help you?”

12. “Discuss whether or not you think journal writings have enhanced experiences in this math class. Which journal writing did you like most? Least? Why?

Other Writing

13. Write your math biography. Describe how you feel about math, and how you feel about yourself as a mathematician. Go as far back as you can remember. What do you like about learning math? What do you not like? (From Jane Countryman – do this on the 2nd day of school?)

14. Add “explain how to” questions on worksheets, tests and quizzes. (from Jane Countryman)

15. Have students write their “how to” explanations on large post-it-notes and stick them on the wall as a warm-up. (my idea – will students do it? Have them put their names on the back? Or maybe their student id #)

16. If I do this with prob/stat, have students write about probability or statistics that they encounter in the real world at least once a week. Have them bring in an article/example from the newspaper/internet (like current events for social studies class.)

17. Have students modify earlier journal entries based on my feedback.

18. Have students explain what they want to write about to a partner first, then write their ideas down.

19. Have students summarize a problem-solving activity. The students should explain the problem, strategies used to solve it, and the solution in their own words.

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