I have all my English students write something in their journals Monday through Thursday. On Friday we do something fun. Journals shouldn’t just be about writing, they should also be forms of expression-- works of art. I got most of my Friday journal ideas for this year from the fabulous book Wreck This Journal by Keri Smith. Here are a few of her ideas and pictures of my students’ results.
One Friday I put out a box of paint bottles. Assignment on the board: Drip paint and press pages together, then pull them apart to dry.
Here is another creative "paint your journal" project.
One Friday I put a few M&Ms on their desks. I told them they could lick the candies and smear them on their paper, or lick them and then lick their papers. One student actually crushed them into his journal. Here is a journal page actually "painted" with M & Ms.
