Academic Journal Topics
These academic journal topics can be adapted to many different topics and parts of the curriculum.
Continued Below...
Use at the Beginning of Lesson
- Tell what you know about ___________(a new concept).
- What is your opinion about ______________ (topic of the day)?
- Describe an experience you have had relating to _________ (topic of the day).
- Explain how _________(topic of the day) plays a part in your life.
- Explain how _________(topic of the day) will play a part in your life ten years from now.
- Summarize what you have learned so far about __________(previously studied topic).
- What has been the impact of _________(previously studied topic) on your life?
- Describe a difficulty you have had related to __________(new or previously studied topic).
- How do you think __________ (previously studied topic) relate to _______(new topic)?
- List from one to three questions about _________(new topic).
- Do you think your classmates understand what's going on? If not, why not?
- Why is the teacher presenting this lesson?
Use in the Middle of the Lesson
- Write a question you have about anything we have discussed so far.
- Write a sentence telling how knowing about ________(new topic) might be useful to you personally.
- What is interfering with your learning right now?
- How do you feel about this issue now?
- How would you feel about this issue if you were _________(someone likely to have a different perspective)?
- What are you thinking about right now?
- How to you feel when you hear someone one say______________(a controversial statement about the topic of study)?
- How do you think your best friend (or boyfriend or girlfriend) feels about ___________(controversial topic)?
Use at the End of a Lesson
- How do you think your feelings about ________(new topic) is different from your teachers (or friends or parents)?
- Summarize what you have learned today about ______(new topic).
- Write a revised definition of __________(new concept).
- Write a question you still have about ____________(new concept).
- Explain how ________(new topic) relates to ________(old topic).
- How could the teacher have made this lesson more interesting?
- How could the teacher have made this lesson easier to understand?
- How will you use the information you learned today?
- What went wrong with the lesson today?
- What was good about the lesson today?
Melissa Kelly
http://7-12educators.about.com/bljrnlacademic.
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Back to Journal Writing ArticleWritten by Diane Walker
Updated by Melissa Kelly
