Journal Writing

Journaling has been an important part of Kindergarten this year. Since journal drawing and writing will be one of our suggested tasks, we have created some helpful strategies for parents as each child is a different writer in Kindergarten. There is no expectation for Kindergarten students to be sounding out or writing words. In Kindergarten we encourage students to scribe words. Those that are independently sounding out, are encouraged to write down some letter sounds. We are all writers in Kindergarten! Here are the steps for journal writing in Kindergarten for each child: This is the poster we use in our classroom.

1. Have your child draw a picture first, a printed journal template found in the Google Classroom Drive Folder or a blank piece of paper. 

2. Students are first encouraged to draw a detailed picture in pencil and then colour it using crayons or pencil crayons. 

3. Next, students write about their drawing. Please see below four different ways kindergarten students 'write'.

Swirl Combo and Letters:

This encourages students still learning their letters and letter sounds to practice writing random what letters they know. Students may use swirls for any letters or letter sounds they are unsure about.  At this stage their letters may not connect to the picture they have drawn, and that is okay in Kindergarten. Encourage them to do their best and tell them that they CAN write! 

Example: I like to eat chocolate. --> XTDKDBEOINS


Sound Writing:
Some students may be beginning to sound words out. Some may need your support in sounding them out while they write down what letters they hear and some students may independently sound out some sounds in words. They may start writing the first letter of things in their picture. For example, if they have drawn a picture of playing ball outside their house, they may write the letters H and B on their page for “House” and “Ball”.

Example: House --> H               Ball --> B                 Cat--> K or C


Some students may also be able to write a string of letters to begin making a sentence. Even if they just print the first and last sound of each word that is okay. They may even write a letter that sounds like a word (example: "M" for the word "am"). Encourage them to leave a space between their letters. For example, they may print: “I M P B H” which means “I am playing ball at my house”.

Example: My cat likes to sleep. ------> M  K  L  S P

Your child may also be writing simple words to make their simple sentences: "I AM P BL AT MI HS" which means "I am playing ball at my house". Remember, always ask them to tell you about their picture and what their words mean and that they may make words by writing them like they sound rather than how they are spelled in English.


Book Writing: 

If our child is independently sounding out and phonetically writing multiple words in a sentence, encourage them to use a finger space, a capital at the start of their sentence and a period at the end Remember that they will take time to progress from one step to the next step, so take it slow. Writing sentences is NOT a Kindergarten expectation. 

Example: I like to go for walks and eat ice cream. --> I lik to go for waks and eat is crem. 



This should be engaging for students, not stressful or frustrating. Encourage them lots and have your child write about what interests them so that our students develop a love for writing! Happy Writing!