Travel Journal Entries:
th
5 Grade
ECED 4300B
Dr. Tonja Root
Spring 2010
Summer Cook,
Kayla Cleghorn,
& Whitney Guess
Stage of Writing: Pre-writing
Kayla Cleghorn

PLO: The student will choose a topic,
decide on an audience, and complete
a graphic organizer to organize their
thoughts and ideas for writing.
Travel Journal Sample
Nauvoovacation. (2007, April
). Retrieved on March
30, 2010 from
http://www.nauvoovac
ation.com/images/acco
mmodations/gallery_h
ouse/gh_journal_5.jpg
Stage of Writing: Pre-writing

GPS: ELA5W1- The student produces
writing that establishes an appropriate
structure, sets a context and engages the
reader, maintains a coherent focus
throughout, and signals a satisfying
closure. The student
 a. Selects a focus, organizational
structure, and a point of view based on
purpose, genre expectations, audience,
length, and format.
Form of Writing:Travel Journal Entry





a record made by a traveler
generally in diary form
contains a description of the
travelers experiences
normally written over the course of
the traveler’s journey
may or may not be intended for
publishing.
Stage of Writing: Pre-writing





“getting ready to write” stage
most important stage
topic
audience
graphic organizer for organizing
thoughts and ideas for writing
Graphic Organizer: Travel Journal
Practice Activity: Pre-writing


“This is the travel journal graphic
organizer we will be using today. This
graphic organizer will help us decide what
to include in our travel journal entry.”
During whole class instruction, the
teacher will use the shared writing
technique in which students will dictate
information for the teacher to transcribe
on the large graphic organizer on the
Smart Board.
Practice Activity: Pre-writing



“For this practice activity, we will use the
location of Wild Adventures.”
“Where should we write the location?”
 (On the line labeled “Location")
“Next, we should write about how we got
to Wild Adventures. The Location and
How We Got There portions of the graphic
organizer will be included in the
introduction of our draft.”
Practice Activity: Pre-writing


“Then, we should follow the same steps
for completing the graphic organizer. The
remaining portions of the graphic
organizer will be included in the three body
paragraphs of your draft. Your conclusion
will also be drawn from that information.”
“Should I have complete sentences on my
graphic organizer?”
 (No; thoughts must be organized in
words/ phrases.)
Assessment Activity: Pre-writing
“Now that we have discussed the pre-writing
stage of writing a travel journal entry, you will
complete your own travel journal graphic
organizer. As a class, we have completed a
travel journal graphic organizer, so you are
familiar with how to complete this assignment.
Your graphic organizer should reflect
information about your trip with Dr. Jones to
Lake Louise.”
 “Remember not to use complete sentences,
only words or phrases to express your ideas.”

5th Grade
Stage of Writing: Drafting
Whitney Guess

PLO: Students will use the graphic
organizer they completed in the
prewriting stage to compose a draft
independently that includes
appropriate facts and details.
Travel Journal Sample
Microsoft library media. (n.d.).
Retrieved on March 30,
2010 from
http://www.microsoft.com/
library/media/1033/windo
wsxp/images/using/abletp
c/journal.gif
Stage of Writing: Drafting

ELA5W4- The student consistently uses
a writing process to develop, revise, and
evaluate writing; The student

a. Plans and drafts independently and
resourcefully.
Form of Writing: Travel Journal Entry
 a record made by a traveler
 generally in diary form
 contains a description of the
travelers experiences
 normally written over the course of
the traveler’s journey
 may or may not be intended for
publishing.
Stage of Writing: Drafting






ideas from Graphic Organizer
label draft
title
name under title
X on every other line
5 paragraphs
Practice Activity: Drafting


The teacher will post the class
collaboration graphic organizer about
Wild Adventures.
 For the sake of time, we will only model
drafting the first paragraph.
“Today, we are going to complete a rough
draft using our ideas from the graphic
organizer we completed about Wild
Adventures.”
Practice Activity: Drafting

“Let’s look at our graphic organizers. I want to
make sure you all know what portions go with
the right paragraphs. Location and How We Got
There are to be discussed in the introduction.
Where We Stayed and Weather will be your
first body paragraph. Who I Saw/Met and
Things We Did will be your second body
paragraph. Your Favorite Part and Least
Favorite Part will be your third body paragraph.
Wrap-up and Any Other Thoughts will be the
conclusion paragraph.”
Practice Activity: Drafting



“I expect you to have at least 3 sentences
in each paragraph.”
“What is the first thing we should do to
our draft?”
 (Label it Draft at the top of the paper)
“Next we need to come up with a title for
our draft. What would be a good title?”
 (My trip to Wild Adventures)
Practice Activity: Drafting



“Make sure you write your name under the
title.”
“What should we put on every other line so
we can remember to leave space for
revision and editing marks?”
 (We should put an “X” on every other line)
I will plan on making some mistakes, so that
they can be corrected in the revising and
editing stage.
Practice Activity: Drafting
“Since we have our piece labeled draft, have
our title and name, and X’s on every other line,
let’s go ahead and begin.”
 “Looking at your graphic organizer, what would
be a great opening sentence about your trip to
Wild Adventures?”
 (Answers will vary. However, if students have
trouble coming up with a sentence, I will help
them out with this example: I went to Wild
Adventures last weekend. We went to Wild
Adventures in my mom and dad’s car.)

Practice Activity: Drafting

“What would be another great sentence
to write in the introduction about Wild
Adventures?”
 (Answers will vary. However, if
students have trouble coming up with a
sentence, I will help them out with this
example: Wild Adventures is a fun
place to go because there are lots of
rides, good food, and a lot of cool
animals!)
Practice Activity: Drafting

“Remember, if you feel like you need to
add more information to your draft, you
can always gather more information to
make sure that the subject of the piece is
fully expressed.”
Assessment Activity: Drafting

“Now it is your turn to draft. I want you to
compose a draft using your graphic
organizer about your trip to Lake Louis.
Don’t forget to label your piece “Draft”.”
Assessment Activity: Drafting

“I expect you to have a title on the first line
of your paper, along with your name
underneath, and X’s on every other line. I
expect you to have a draft that has five
paragraphs, which includes an introduction,
three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. I
also expect you to have at least three
sentences for each paragraph. Once you
have done the steps to getting ready to write
your draft, you may begin!”
Stage of Writing: Editing

Summer Cook
PLO: The student will use
proofreading word by word to correct
errors in spelling, capitalization,
punctuation, and paragraph
formation on the revised piece.
Sample Travel Journal
Vacation journal image by
gummybear09.
(n.d.). Retrieved on
March 30,2010
from
http://media.photob
ucket.com/image/va
cation%20journal/g
ummybear09/Misce
llaneous/IMG_7785
.jpg
Stage of Writing: Editing
ELA5C1- The student demonstrates understanding and
control of the rules of the English language, realizing that
usage involves the appropriate application of conventions
and grammar in both written and spoken formats; the
student:
f. Identifies and uses correct mechanics (e.g.
apostrophes, quotation marks, comma use in compound
sentences, paragraph indentations) and correct sentence
structure (e.g. elimination of sentence fragments and runons)
g. Uses additional knowledge of correct mechanics (e.g.
apostrophes, quotation marks, comma use in compound
sentences, paragraph indentations), correct sentence
structure (e.g. elimination of sentence fragments and runons), and correct standard English spelling (e.g.
commonly used homophones) when writing, revising and
editing.
Form of Writing: Travel Journal Entry
 a record made by a traveler
 generally in diary form
 contains a description of the
travelers experiences
 normally written over the course of
the traveler’s journey
 may or may not be intended for
publishing.
Stage of Writing: Editing






Proofreading
Word by word reading
Errors in mechanics
Allow wait time
Looking with specific purpose
Use proofreaders marks
Practice Activity: Editing


“Class now we will review some common
errors in mechanics before we begin
editing our collaborative draft on Wild
Adventures. First we will review comma
splices.”
“A comma splice occurs when you use a
comma to join two independent clauses,
instead of a conjunction, semi-colon, or
period.”
Practice Activity: Editing


“Can anyone tell me what you must have
to create a complete sentence? (a subject
and a predicate)
Sentence fragments are incomplete
sentences. Typically fragments are
pieces of sentences that have become
disconnected from the main clause.
Practice Activity: Editing

“Another mistake that is commonly made
that we want to avoid are run-on
sentences. A run-on is a sentence in
which two or more independent clauses
are joined without appropriate
punctuation or a conjunction.”
Practice Activity: Editing

Teacher will post the class collaborative draft
on Wild Adventures.
 The teacher will demonstrate the editing stage
of the writing process using interactive writing
as a class.
 The teacher will post the editing checklist and
take students’ suggestions for editing our draft
on Wild Adventures.
 The students (with the teacher’s assistance) will
use proofreaders’ marks to edit errors in
spelling, capitalization, punctuation, sentence
structure, and paragraph formation.
Practice Activity: Editing

“Now we will read the draft word by
word as I point looking for errors in
capitalization. If you see an error
raise your hand and tell me where it
is and which proofreaders mark to
use. We will do this for each type of
error on your checklist.”
Assessment Activity: Editing

“Now it is your turn to edit. Please take out your
Lake Louise draft. Use your checklist as a
guide to look for errors just like we did when we
practiced. Use the reference books available to
you such as the dictionary, thesaurus, and your
grammar book to assist you in editing. Go word
by word, pointing to each to make sure you
read everything. You will need to read your
piece more than once to do a thorough job.
Make all necessary changes to correct errors in
spelling, capitalization, punctuation, sentence
structure, and paragraph formation. Don’t forget
to use proofreaders’ marks when editing.”