I have reposted this student diary for the 2024-2025 School Year because I want you to have another opportunity to download this diary to use this year!
I created this free, totally digital, form fillable diary for your students because I believe in the power of writing in one. The beauty of a diary is in its power. I simply mean that we have no idea what the words written on a page or pages will mean to someone in a week, a day, a year or years later.
I found my diary in a box of childhood things one day. I immediately remembered the leather book with the gold clasp that locked my diary with a key. I was in fourth and fifth grade when I wrote in that diary. It was amazing to me what I wrote, (nothing elaborate) how I wrote it (with purple, and pink pens) that I actually remember. The funniest thing I did writing in this diary was that I actually started over with it the next year, changing dates, with colored pens 🙂. Funny, I wasn't worried about the dates not really working correctly because I had started it over a year ago. I learned little things about myself all over again. I had forgotten that I had gone on my bike to the park, to get ice cream and to hang out at a friend's house I hadn't been in contact with for years.. I wrote about books I was reading and what a silly girl said to me about my hair. Nothing earth shattering but it was fun to think about those things again. The words I misspelled, how I misspelled them, the vocabulary I used, it was all so funny to me.
I remember enjoying having the book to write in, finding a secret spot and hiding it from my brothers, sister, mom and dad. It was not a journal, just a diary of what I had done those couple of years. Nothing deep. The treasure for me was the snapshot of what I was doing back then. It was a mini time capsule I was transported to that time and had insight into my younger self. I remember at the time that I found the book, that I regretted not continuing keeping a diary for the remainder of my childhood. The things I could have learned and (re-learned) about my life as a young adult would have been so insightful, fun and maybe even mind-blowing!
That is why I decided to make one for your students' to write in. It is not really intended to be a writing assignment that you grade or even have them share. Although, It could be fun to have them share their diary with you if they wanted to. It is really about providing them with the opportunity to begin to reflect on what they are thinking about, what they are doing and want to be doing. Of course, there are several ways you might wish to use and present this with your students.
The diary is a two page layout with a place for Ideas, Thoughts and Inspirations (I have a similar page in the lesson plan books for you to have for your teaching), and the other page has prompts for them to think about what they are doing, like, etc.
This book is for 180 days, so it will work for the school year. Students could certainly get additional pages from you for the summer if they want to continue their diary. Who knows, it could be something that will encourage some of your students to keep a diary of some sort for much longer than I did.
If you wish to receive the freebie, please sign in below. An email will be sent to you to confirming your subscription. Enjoy your download! ♥️denise
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