Journal Writing Idea - Seasons

This lesson plan is a journal writing idea for students. It's about keeping a journal on seasons and what the students experienced in the different seasons.

First, you will talk to the students about keeping a journal.

Then, you will talk to them about writing down the ideas that I presented in the following information:

Have you thought about the seasons: fall, spring, summer, and winter? Do any of these seasons remind you of some special memory? The purpose of this lesson is to help you start thinking about the different seasons and the events - past or present - in your life. Then, you can write a story about the special memory.

Fall

When you think of fall, what comes to your mind? Do you think of the outdoors such as the trees changing colors and falling on the ground? What about the change in weather? It's starting to get cooler and the days are becoming shorter. Fun time outside is going to be limited. What about the clothes. You are going into cooler weather where you will need to have warmer clothes.

Now let's think about the past. Do you remember some special event that happened in your life in the fall? What about when you were just starting school? Did anything special happen your first day of school? Were you afraid? Were you excited? Did you meet any new classmates? Did you like playing in the leaves as they fell from the trees? How about the colors of the leaves? Did you wonder how the colors of the leaves change? Did you have something special you did in the fall? Did you like going for walks or jogging? Was there another kind of activity you did in the fall that you remember as being special?

Let's think about the winter now.

Winter

Winter can be a special time, too, if you enjoy the colder weather or the snow. When it's winter, the weather becomes colder and it snows. You have to bring out your winter clothes and put away your summer clothes. Does the winter appeal to you?

Do you remember how you felt when you first saw snow? Did you like the snow? Did you want to play in the snow or build snow forts? Did you like putting on your snowsuit and boots in the winter?

Was there a special even that happened in your life during the winter? Did you ever go skiing or sledding? Did you enjoy the warm evenings in front of the fireplace drinking hot chocolate and toasting marshmallows, or was there something else you did inside during the cold winter nights?

If you don't prefer the winter, what about spring?

Spring

Springtime is a wonderful time of year because the snow is melting and the weather is getting warmer. Flowers are starting to bloom and the trees are growing new leaves. Everything is becoming like new. Does this season appeal to you?

What about when you were younger? You had to put your winter clothes away and bring out your spring clothes. The weather was still cooler, but it wasn't as cold as winter. The nights become longer and you begin to have more time outside. Does this season appeal to you?

Think about when you were younger. Did you enjoy spring as a child? You went from winter to spring and saw new leaves on the trees, flowers blooming, birds outside among the trees and singing. Did you enjoy listening to the birds and the other outdoor sounds?

What about as you grew older? Did you still enjoy the spring? Did you enjoy being outside and listening to the outdoor noise or smelling the fresh flowers? Is there something special that you did during the spring that you want to remember?

What about summer?

Summer

Summer is the last season. The weather is becoming hotter, and you will have to bring out your summer clothes instead of your spring clothes. It is also a time where you can start swimming outside and enjoy the water, ride bicycles, go on picnics, trips, and other activities.

Think about the time when you were younger. Did you enjoy getting out of school and playing all day long? Did you take a special family vacation? Do you remember where you went as a child? Was it a special time with your family?

What about as your grew older? Did you enjoy the summer and going on vacations? Do you remember some place special as you grew older that you would like to write about?

After you have presented the information to the students, then you will have the students enter the different seasons in their journal and some special moments in their lives that happened during each of those seasons.

Finally, you will have the students do the following writing exercise:

Writing Exercise

All of the seasons can be a source of generating ideas for a short story. In your journal, have a special section for the different seasons and write down what comes to your mind during each of the different seasons.

You can grade the students on their sentence structure, paragraphs, grammar, punctuation, spelling, and other areas of writing.