My Language Journal is a series of personal student portfolio books that gives English language learners (ELLs) and all students the opportunity to develop content vocabulary and practice writing skills through activities that engage their visual learning.
Student Books
Each book begins with a sample lesson to model what students can expect. Format for all lessons:
Part #1: A personal writing prompt is the focus of each lesson. A unique graphic organizer helps students brainstorm their ideas.
Part #2: Students complete four-square charts for the vocabulary words from the word bank.
Part #3: They will write a response to the lesson prompt using their completed graphic organizer and the vocabulary they selected. In the books for kindergarten and grade 1, younger writers will also have the opportunity to illustrate their response.
Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary support the writing prompt content.
Writing genres include informative, descriptive, narrative, opinion, and visual response.
Content areas cover social emotional learning (SEL), English language arts, social studies, science, and math.
A Word Log in the back allows students to review and revisit their learned words.
Teacher’s Guides
Guides include suggestions for use and support for each lesson: topic, content, writing genre, writing standard, and tiered vocabulary focus.
Student Book: approx. 136 pages
Teacher’s Guide: approx. 8 pages
Hear what teachers have to say:
” The lessons provided writing practice in approachable, manageable ways, allowing my students to break down the writing process into understandable chunks. “
– Rachael McCain, Kindergarten Teacher, LA
” Some of my newcomers could write a few sentences after completing several lessons. That was amazing and impressive! “
– Meichu Huang, K-5 ESOL Teacher, West Side Elementary, GA
” The breakdown and graphics provided were awesome in helping all my students, especially those who are struggling, below grade level, and my ELL learners! “
– Neisha Bruce, Grade 2 Teacher, Parkway Elementary School, NJ
” After using the journals, my students’ final writing pieces used better word choice and more details than in the past. Thanks to the pre-writing activities, they were more confident in the topics, wrote more, and used a variety of words in their pieces.”
– Neisha Bruce, Grade 2 Teacher, Parkway Elementary School, NJ
” The graphic organizers created an easy transition for moving from notes into complete sentences. Since they progressed in more manageable phases, this led to an overall stronger writing performance. “
– Natalie, K-12 ESOL Teacher, NH
