4A WEEK 1 WRITING JOURNAL

DATE	17/02/2015 TUESDAY
TIME	9:00 - 10:20 (80 min)
CLASS	4A
PLACE	Class

THEME/TOPIC : JOURNAL

OBJECTIVE : Students will be able to:

i.              write an entry of a journal
ii.             edit and revise other people’s writing

CONTENT : Journal writing

ACTIVITIES :

1.      Tell the class they are going to be reading excerpts from 3 diaries. 2 of the  diary is the real-life record and one of it is from a popular book.

• Anne Frank's diary is the record of the German-Jewish teenager's experiences in the Netherlands from 1942 to 1944 during World War II.
• Zlata Filipovic's diary is the 11-year-old's record of her changing life in her native country of Sarajevo during a much later war.

2.      As they read to themselves, have them note the personal details that the writer includes in the diary.
3.      Next, have students discuss the following questions about the writer and her work:

• What questions do you have about the writer?
• What do you and the writer have in common?

4.      Next, tell students they will be writing their own journals – discuss about the themes that have been distributed to the form 4 classes.

5.      To give students ideas for their first journal entries, present the following writing prompts and tell students they will have 10 minutes to write. Direct them to try to write nonstop and avoid erasing. Most students will be comfortable beginning with short, sustained writing times, building up to longer times as their fluency increases. The prompts are:

• Freedom
• Surprises
• Being honest
• The fight

6.      Give the theme to the students randomly- students will write their entry.

7.      Instruct the students with the same theme to sit in a group – tell them that they can opt to read each other journal or share with selected few.

8.      Choose the best entry – or students can nominate their own entry to be the best – they can read it to their group or class (if time permits)

9.      You can help motivate students to write in their journals by writing in your own journal and sharing your writing.

 

MATERIALS: hand out on excerpt of journals , personal journal

EVALUATION: Students' ability to write a self-reflection and to express their feelings

REFLECTION:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Excerpts from Zlata's Diary: A Child Life In Sarajevo By Zlata Filipovic Monday, June 29, 1992 That’s my life! The life of an innocent eleven-year-old schoolgirl!! A schoolgirl without school, without the fun and excitement of school. A child without games, without friends, without the sun, without birds, without nature, without fruit, without chocolate or sweets, with just a little powdered milk. In short, a child without a childhood. A wartime child. I now realize that I am really living through a war, I am witnessing an ugly, disgusting war. I and thousands of other children in this town that is being destroyed, that is crying, weeping, seeking help, but getting none. God, will this ever stop, will I ever be a schoolgirl again, will I ever enjoy my childhood again? I once heard that childhood is the most wonderful time of your life. And it is. I loved it, and now an ugly war is taking it all away from me. Monday, December 28, 1992 ...I look over at Mommy and Daddy. ... Somehow they look even sadder to me in the light of the oil lamp. ... God, what is this war doing to my parents? They don’t look like my old Mommy and Daddy anymore. Will this ever stop? Will our suffering stop so that my parents can be what they used to be cheerful, smiling, nice-looking? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Excerpts from: Anne Frank. The Diary of a Young Girl Tuesday, 22 December 1942 Oh, I'm becoming so sensible! We've got to be reasonable about everything we do here; studying, listening, holding our tongues, helping others, being kind, making compromises and I don't know what else! I'm afraid my common sense, which was in short supply to begin with, will be used up too quickly and I won't have any left by the time the war is over. Wednesday, 13 January 1943 Terrible things are happening outside. At any time of night and day, poor helpless people are being dragged out of their homes. They're allowed to take only a rucksack and a little cash with them, and even then, they're robbed of these possessions on the way. Families are torn apart; men, women and children are separated. Children come home from school to find that their parents have disappeared. Women return from shopping to find their houses sealed, their families gone. The Christians in Holland are also living in fear because their sons are being sent to Germany. Everyone is scared. Every night hundreds of planes pass over Holland on their way to German cities, to sow their bombs on German soil. Every hour hundreds, or maybe even thousands, of people are being killed in Russia and Africa. No one can keep out of the conflict, the entire world is at war, and even though the Allies are doing better, the end is nowhere in sight. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Excerpt from 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid” by Jeff Kinney SEPTEMBER Tuesday First of all, let me get something straight: This is a JOURNAL, not a diary. I know what it says on the cover, but when Mom went out to buy this thing I SPECIFICALLY told her to get one that didn't say "diary" on it. Great. All I need is for some jerk to catch me carrying this book around and get the wrong idea. The other thing I want to clear up right away is that this was MOM's idea, not mine. But if she thinks I'm going to write down my "feelings" in here or whatever, she's crazy. So just don't expect me to be all "Dear Diary" this and "Dear Diary" that. The only reason I agreed to do this at all is because I figure later on when I'm rich and famous, I'll have better things to do than answer people's stupid questions all day long. So this book is gonna come in handy. Like I said, I'll be famous one day, but for now I'm stuck in middle school with a bunch of morons.