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

~ Dawn DiPrince (Author), (Author) "1. Write a paragraph about a girl named Dot, but use no letters with dots (i, j)..." (more)
Key Phrases: Cottonwood Press, Uncle Patrick, Miss Klinkfelder (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

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.

About the Author

Dawn DiPrince is the author of A Month of Fundays; Row, Row, Row Your Class; and Twisting Arms. She is an elementary, middle school, and adult writing teacher and the former owner and editor of BlueSky Quarterly. She lives in Pueblo, Colorado. Cheryl Miller Thurston is a former English and writing teacher and the author of Games for English and Language Arts, How to Avoid English Teachers' Pet Peeves, Ideas that Really Work, and Surviving Last Period on Fridays and Other Desperate Situations. She lives in Loveland, Colorado.

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Product Details Reading level: Ages 9-12 Paperback: 112 pages Publisher: Cottonwood Press, Inc. (April 1, 2006) Language: English ISBN-10: 1877673706 ISBN-13: 978-1877673702 Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.5 x 0.4 inches Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,702 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books) Popular in this category: (What's this?) #5 in  Books > Children's Books > Reference & Nonfiction > Language Arts > Composition & Creative Writing

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
1. Write a paragraph about a girl named Dot, but use no letters with dots (i, j). Read the first page

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Cottonwood Press, Uncle Patrick, Miss Klinkfelder, Grandma Dorothy, Widget World, Proper Paula, Miss Shackleford, Yankee Doodle, Uncle Milhouse, Queen of Cute, Star Wars, Killer Commandos, Zebra Wink, King Kong, Uncle Buff, Cobra Girl, Jar Jar

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	77% buy the item featured on this page: Unjournaling: Daily Writing Exercises that Are NOT Personal, NOT Introspective, NOT Boring! 4.5 out of 5 stars (22) $9.13
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Customer Reviews

22 Reviews 5 star:  (14) 4 star:  (6) 3 star:  (1) 2 star:  (1) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 4.5 out of 5 stars (22 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 41 of 42 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Filled with prompts that make your fingers itch to write, May 22, 2007 By  Amy Senk "Read it, Loved it" (Orange County, CA, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)       Unjournaling sells itself as a book to get students writing without the usual prompts that insist on soul-baring. Instead, you have a book of humorous, goofy writing exercises that don't make the students/writers expose their deepest private thoughts. However, this is a sneaky book with more to it than a quick glimpse would indicate. It may be lighthearted, but it's definitely not lightweight. The exercises are frequently challenging, like the first one in the book that asks for a paragraph about a girl named Dot, without using letters with dots, like "i" and "j". They also use humor and whimsy to teach lessons about passive voice, cliches, wordiness, details, using a thesaurus and onomatopoeia. Appropriate for a wide range of ages, these exercises get the mind racing. About the only thing more fun that taking off and writing away would be reading your responses aloud. How many journal exercises are that fun, and funny? 27 of 29 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars required reading for any E/LA teacher!!, July 22, 2007 By  Chess Heart "paxbear" (Cattauraugus County, NY) - See all my reviews    Writing and reading came to me about as naturally as breathing. Even as a child I read books the way other people eat popcorn, and when I was about 8 a family friend had a tee-shirt made for me that said "I'd rather be writing my novel" (actually, I had the plots for THREE different novels going before I was 10). Therefore, I sometimes struggle to teach writing BECAUSE it came so natural to me. Want me to write somethin'? Sure! Like Ishmael I cry "Get me a condor's quill! Get me Vesuvius' crater for an inkwell! Friends, hold my arms!" Until I remember that there are a great deal of students at every level of education who struggle with writing for various reasons: it's boring, it's too tedious and confusing to create and then animate characters, English grammar is boring and difficult, or--as Ms. DiPrince and Ms. Thurston point out in the introduction to "UnJournaling"--it's too personal. Actually, I hadn't thought about that last one. Not everyone is comfortable sharing details about their lives with classmates or teachers, and yet that's one of the most popular writing genres out there: "tell me a story about a time when..." That's where UnJournaling comes in. With 200 different prompts, excercises and story starters, none of which are personal, even the most reluctant writers can be drawn out of their shell. What's more, these aren't all just some story starter ideas, most are downright challenging, starting right off with #1: "write a paragraph about a girl named Dot, but use no letters with dots (i, j)" and moving right into #49 "you can use 25 words--no more--for a billboard advertising a product called `Zebra Wink'. Sell your product with those 25 words." The authors are clever. Slipped in prompts teaching metaphor and simile (describe a car by comparing it to food), generating topics, finishing starters, language use (use the word "crumpled" in three different sentences and create a completely different feeling in each sentence) and describing things in great detail both by using and by NOT using certain words. Of course, there is the distinct possibility that any of the 200 excercises in this book could lead to a full-blown piece of polished writing; many schools here in FLA require students to have at least 5 polished pieces of writing in 4 different genres, and to have at least 10 published/polished pieces of writing by the end of the year. These really are interesting, un-boring topics and I found myself highlighting many of them right off as I plan for the beginning of the 07-08 school year. "ooh! I could USE that!" I think, especially considering our School Improvement Plan heavily emphasizes writing this year, and I'm excited about sharing this book with other teachers in my school. In fact, I'm SO excited, I can hardly wait for the year to begin just SO I can use some of these prompts!! ...well... maybe not THAT excited... Highly recommended for anyone who teaches any child of any age anything about the process of writing. Get this book, and it will quickly both have a place of honour on your bookshelf. In fact, you might need two copies--the first will probably get dog-eared and worn out right away. 16 of 16 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars It makes them think!, May 13, 2007 By  Amber N. O'connor "Cookie2652" (Graniteville, SC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    I use this with my 8th graders and it is really makes them think. The topics that ask them to write a paragraph about a happy person without saying the word happy and to write sentences using only certain letters of the alphabet really make them think before they write. I love using this book. The only problem some people may have is the length of the topics. If you are writing them out, it may be difficult to use many of the prompts because they are almost an entire page long. However, if you are typing them and giving them to the kids they are great prompts to use!		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Class Starter 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. Read more Published 1 month ago by M. Love 3.0 out of 5 stars Let's Stay Balanced 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. Read more Published 5 months ago by James Charnock 4.0 out of 5 stars Cute and creative 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? Read more Published 7 months ago by Joy 2.0 out of 5 stars A nice backup 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. Published 8 months ago by A. Burgess 5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent resource!! 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! Read more Published 9 months ago by Michelle Polk 5.0 out of 5 stars writing Great activities/ideas to get students to write thinking outside the box. I use this for my students weekly. Published 10 months ago by Karen Goldsmith 5.0 out of 5 stars practice writing English I bought this book to help my children practice creative writing in English. English is their second language and this book had helped make the whole process not only easier but... Read more Published 11 months ago by Joan Castro 5.0 out of 5 stars Some great journal ideas I'm using this book for middle schoolers. It's great for them, and I would recommend it for high-schoolers as well. These quick writes encourage higher-level thinking. Published 11 months ago by Vickie R. Hoey 5.0 out of 5 stars FUN way to journal! I am using this book with my homeschooled kids. This book is fun for middle or high schoolers who need to practice journaling but don't want to write about sappy or mushy... Read more Published 12 months ago by M. Hartley 5.0 out of 5 stars Calling All Writers! Even the most gifted and skilled writer can use a little more practice, and sometimes it's really satisfying to have someone else jumpstart the process of exploring a fresh... Read more Published 12 months ago by Victoria Hanley Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Cottonwood Press, Inc. (April 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1877673706
• ISBN-13: 978-1877673702
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,702 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #5 in

  Books > Children's Books > Reference & Nonfiction > Language Arts > Composition & Creative Writing

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Filled with prompts that make your fingers itch to write, May 22, 2007

By	Amy Senk "Read it, Loved it" (Orange County, CA, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Unjournaling sells itself as a book to get students writing without the usual prompts that insist on soul-baring. Instead, you have a book of humorous, goofy writing exercises that don't make the students/writers expose their deepest private thoughts.

However, this is a sneaky book with more to it than a quick glimpse would indicate. It may be lighthearted, but it's definitely not lightweight. The exercises are frequently challenging, like the first one in the book that asks for a paragraph about a girl named Dot, without using letters with dots, like "i" and "j".

They also use humor and whimsy to teach lessons about passive voice, cliches, wordiness, details, using a thesaurus and onomatopoeia.

Appropriate for a wide range of ages, these exercises get the mind racing. About the only thing more fun that taking off and writing away would be reading your responses aloud. How many journal exercises are that fun, and funny?

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars required reading for any E/LA teacher!!, July 22, 2007

By	Chess Heart "paxbear" (Cattauraugus County, NY) - See all my reviews

Writing and reading came to me about as naturally as breathing. Even as a child I read books the way other people eat popcorn, and when I was about 8 a family friend had a tee-shirt made for me that said "I'd rather be writing my novel" (actually, I had the plots for THREE different novels going before I was 10).

Therefore, I sometimes struggle to teach writing BECAUSE it came so natural to me. Want me to write somethin'? Sure! Like Ishmael I cry "Get me a condor's quill! Get me Vesuvius' crater for an inkwell! Friends, hold my arms!"

Until I remember that there are a great deal of students at every level of education who struggle with writing for various reasons: it's boring, it's too tedious and confusing to create and then animate characters, English grammar is boring and difficult, or--as Ms. DiPrince and Ms. Thurston point out in the introduction to "UnJournaling"--it's too personal.

Actually, I hadn't thought about that last one. Not everyone is comfortable sharing details about their lives with classmates or teachers, and yet that's one of the most popular writing genres out there: "tell me a story about a time when..."

That's where UnJournaling comes in. With 200 different prompts, excercises and story starters, none of which are personal, even the most reluctant writers can be drawn out of their shell.

What's more, these aren't all just some story starter ideas, most are downright challenging, starting right off with #1: "write a paragraph about a girl named Dot, but use no letters with dots (i, j)" and moving right into #49 "you can use 25 words--no more--for a billboard advertising a product called `Zebra Wink'. Sell your product with those 25 words."

The authors are clever. Slipped in prompts teaching metaphor and simile (describe a car by comparing it to food), generating topics, finishing starters, language use (use the word "crumpled" in three different sentences and create a completely different feeling in each sentence) and describing things in great detail both by using and by NOT using certain words. Of course, there is the distinct possibility that any of the 200 excercises in this book could lead to a full-blown piece of polished writing; many schools here in FLA require students to have at least 5 polished pieces of writing in 4 different genres, and to have at least 10 published/polished pieces of writing by the end of the year.

These really are interesting, un-boring topics and I found myself highlighting many of them right off as I plan for the beginning of the 07-08 school year. "ooh! I could USE that!" I think, especially considering our School Improvement Plan heavily emphasizes writing this year, and I'm excited about sharing this book with other teachers in my school. In fact, I'm SO excited, I can hardly wait for the year to begin just SO I can use some of these prompts!!

...well... maybe not THAT excited...

Highly recommended for anyone who teaches any child of any age anything about the process of writing. Get this book, and it will quickly both have a place of honour on your bookshelf. In fact, you might need two copies--the first will probably get dog-eared and worn out right away.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It makes them think!, May 13, 2007

By	Amber N. O'connor "Cookie2652" (Graniteville, SC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I use this with my 8th graders and it is really makes them think. The topics that ask them to write a paragraph about a happy person without saying the word happy and to write sentences using only certain letters of the alphabet really make them think before they write. I love using this book. The only problem some people may have is the length of the topics. If you are writing them out, it may be difficult to use many of the prompts because they are almost an entire page long. However, if you are typing them and giving them to the kids they are great prompts to use!