$ € £

Unjournaling: Daily Writing Exercises that Are NOT Personal, NOT Introspective, NOT Boring!

by Dawn DiPrince, Cheryl Miller Thurston

Buy new: $12.95 $7.10 Buy used: $8.93

Editorial Reviews

The more than 200 impersonal but engaging writing prompts in this exercise book help students practice their writing skills without asking them to share personal thoughts they would rather keep to themselves. Quirky, challenging, and humorous, the ideas encourage lighthearted creativity with such topics as writing about a girl named Dot without using any letters with dots (such as i or j), describing a person named Chris by the reactions of others as he walks into a room, or creating three completely different sentences with the word crumpled. Sample responses are included for all the exercises, making this an ideal classroom resource.

Customer Reviews

Excellent Class Starter, 2009-09-12
by M. Love (Central Florida)

I have been using this Unjournaling book as bell work in my 9th and 10th grade classroom. The students have enjoyed the off the wall topics. I have heard several times, "I love this!" And this is coming from my reluctant students. I have added specifics to some of the assignments - like "you have to use three of your vocab words in your paragraph and highlight them." Or a specific type of sentence needs to be used. I find that this is enforcing the rest of their work and they are actually starting to use their vocab in their daily writing. Love the book and would highly recommend it!

Let's Stay Balanced, 2009-05-18
by James Charnock (USA)

Let's not be one-sided. This non-personal approach may work for some (most reviewers agree), but not for all--as the title seems to indicate. I have found that when there is the OPTION, at least, of personal disclosure many students invest a greater interest in writing--both the writer and the reader.

A Non-Workbook, Non-Textbook Approach to Teaching Language Arts: Grades 4 Through 8 and Up.

Cute and creative, 2009-04-05
by Joy (Chicago, IL, USA)

This whole concept is refreshing--I always became bored by assigning cheesy writing prompts for my students like "Describe your favorite day" or "What does a hero mean to you?" Blech. I love the prompts in "Unjournaling" because they invite participation in truly creative thinking, not just regurgitation of what they think I want to hear. Plus, lots of the prompts connect to lessons (alliteration, active/passive voice, etc). I've started using this in my classroom and my students love them!

A nice backup, 2009-03-02
by A. Burgess (Jacksonville, NC)

I would not recommend this for daily journaling. Its a nice resource to use for real writing prompts or to mix up journals. My students tend to hate the journals from this book.

Excellent resource!!, 2009-01-14
by Michelle Polk (Mississippi, USA)

I have never seen my children write so fast or be so estatic about a writing prompts book. The author of this book has the touch with my children! Great and unique writing prompts. I recommend this book to all who homeschool or teach writing.