Purposes of Response Logs
 

The Response Logs on this page are geared toward Middle School students. However, they can be easily adapted to fit any classroom.  They can also be modified to accommodate any subject area.  The suggestions here should be varied to best meet the needs of your students.  The types of Response Logs listed below show that Response Logs can be used to Demonstrate Learning or as a means of Writing to Learn.

Review/ Practice
Mathematics
Language Arts/ Reading

Pretesting
Mathematics
Language Arts/ Reading

Creative Thinking
Mathematics
Language Arts/ Reading
 

There are several reasons you may choose to use response logs in your classroom.  These reasons may vary from subject area to subject area as well as from class to class.  In this section, I will focus on Mathematics and Language arts as two subject areas where you may choose to use these logs.  However, they are not limited to these subjects.

Response Logs are typically used for the following reasons.

• The first reason would be to review or practice material discussed in class.  It is almost like a homework assignment, but it can be done in class, and checked in class in a short amount of time.
• The second reason you may use response logs, are as a form of pretesting students to determine what they already know about the topic you will be discussing in class.  It can be a springboard for the next day's lesson, or even the next chapter or topic you will be tackling.
• Another reason you may use the response log is to check student comprehension.  This is a more laid back means of evaluating the students' understanding of the covered material when compared to a "test."  I find that it is especially effective for students who struggle with test anxiety.

Countryman, J. (1992). Writing to Learn Mathematics. Portsmouth, NH:  Heinemann.

This site offers some background on Joan Countryman and her text.  There is a section which will inform you of what her book has to offer; as well as commentary on how the text has been beneficial to many.  She provides all types of ideas on using writing in mathematics.  There is also discussion on how writing can enhance your mathematics classroom.  I highly recommend this source for all Math classrooms.

This site is an extension of the NCTE web site.  It offers a few ideas on response logs (journals), as well as many great ideas on all aspects of writing.  You will have to do quite a bit of browsing to find what you are looking for.  Don't get discouraged. There are some wonderful ideas.

Paul Sloan's lateral thinking puzzles can be a great way to expand the two dimensional thinking of your students.  These great puzzles can be done as a whole class, or as groups.  They will challenge your students to think outside the lines.

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In my math classroom, learning logs take on a very different form.  Often, these logs are used as a review of previously learned material in order to allow students to practice the material prior to the test, and for them to work on speed in completing math problems.  We entitled our review/ learning log time as "Fabulous Four."

Instead of using a spiral notebook or notebook paper, we used a sheet which had 2 rows of 4 columns (8 blocks) on the front, and 3 rows of 4 columns (12 blocks) on the back.  Each day, students were given 4 problems to work.  These problems could be direct practice from what we learned the previous day, or they could be problems that they should have learned earlier this year or last year.  I took the time to also include problems dealing with terminology.  For example, one problem may ask:

• Is the number 4,254,679 even or odd?

• Even and odd numbers
• Decimal values (tenths, hundredths, thousandths...)
• Place value (tens, hundred, thousands...)
• Rounding
• Rounding to a specific place value
• Estimating
• Greater Than and Less Than
• Fraction

When working in Math, be sure not to limit their problems to arithmetic.  You can use problems which ask them to explain something, such as:

• How do you know if a number is even or odd?
• How can I be sure that I am using the correct symbol? (greater than and less than)
• What does estimate mean?
• What is the difference between place value behind the decimal and place value in front of the decimal?
• What do I do if I am trying to subtract 100-98 = since I can't take 8 from 0?  Explain the process.

Students are also held responsible for material that they had learned earlier, they couldn't use it and then forget it.  At the end, I chose to collect the papers, and then discuss the problems by working them on the board.  You could evaluate them however you see fit.  For us, they added up to 100 points and a test grade or review grade at the end of every week.

I also found that my students were struggling with managing their time.  To remedy my problem, I used Power Point. I found that my students began to work much quicker and they were very responsive to this idea.  By using Power Point software, you can create slides that display one problem at a time.  I put the first problem on slide one, the second on slide two, etc..  Once I had created my slides for the next day or week, I could save them to a disk or to the hard drive for later use.

With Power Point, you can also set a time limit on each slide.  This allows the students to look at the problem and work it, but then they have to be prepared for the next problem.  This requires students to increase the speed of their skills. You can also set the transition from slide to slide to have some type of sound so that students can hear when the next slide is being displayed.

In order for the whole class to see the slides at one time, I needed a way to display them other than using my computer.  There is a such thing as an "Aver key".  It will allow you to connect your computer to a T.V.  (you can use the T.V. that is already in your classroom)!  That way, the entire class can see whatever is displayed on your computer screen.  (Be careful not to have your T.V. on if you are doing grades on your computer).  If you do not have an Aver Key, speak with the technology specialist at your school or with the school librarian to find out what technology is available to help you.
 

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In Language Arts, these type of Response logs look quite different.  This particular technique is a great way of determining if students are comprehending the main ideas you are trying to convey.  It may also be a time where students can share what they are learning on their own.

Our learning logs were on either notebook paper or in spiral notebooks.  I would suggest using something uniform so that they are easier to grade and to keep track of.  In my classroom, it was extremely important that the students copy the question or prompt word for word before answering it.  This was not to be a form of punishment, but for their benefit.  On tests, I often used those response questions.  Therefore, their Response Log functioned as a study guide.  It also could be an effective source of review before taking statewide testing.

In our Response Logs, several types of questions may be asked.  My Review questions focused on several areas.  In writing, I could ask questions to cover concepts that we had discussed or that they should know.  For example:

• What is important for me to include in my writing when introducing a character? (a setting)?
• What does the revision process include?
• Yesterday we read some selections written by O. Henry.  What things were significant or unique about his writing?  How does that apply to your writing?
• What are the elements of a short story?

At the end of every question (during the first 5 - 10 minutes of class), we discussed our answers.  This was a time for me to hear what the students were thinking and to head off any misconceptions from the beginning.  It helps the students to focus on the day that lies ahead as well.

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Mathematics

Response logs may also be used as a form of pretesting, or of dividing students into groups based on their understanding of a particular subject.  For this purpose, you may use the log as an actual account of what they have learned day by day and how they feel at that particular time.

For example, in math you may be covering multiplying fractions.  Many students frequently have difficulty with the differences in multiplying fractions as compared to adding fractions.  Before I start teaching how to multiply fractions, I may ask them to write in their response log and answer the question:

• When multiplying fractions such as (3/4 x 1/5), what steps do I take to find the answer?
• What steps do I take to add the two fractions?

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Using Response Logs for pretesting in Language Arts can be very beneficial.  I have found that by learning the student's prior knowledge of the subject, I have a better understanding of where to start and don't bore them with information they already have a firm understanding of.  Often times, this is a great place to evaluate and discuss grammar and punctuation rules.  Although we take time throughout the year to discuss these elements we often discuss it first through our Response logs.
In writing, your questions can cover any material you are about to discuss.  For example, if I know that we are going to discuss the uses for commas, then I can use that in my journal entry the days or weeks before.  I could ask:
 

• How do I know when a comma is needed in my writing?
• What are the rules for using commas?

• DOL:     the boy goed to the store with his mom?
• answer: The boy went to the store with his mom.

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Mathematics

Sometimes it may be difficult to get those creative writing juices flowing, especially in mathematics. However, I believe it is necessary to require students to think "outside the lines" in all of their subject areas.  In math, this can be the opportunity for students to enhance their lateral thinking skills.  Some of the prompts may require students to work in groups and write their answers, while others require students to participate as a class by asking the class a question, or having the whole class help answer a question.

Many times, you can use word problems as a prompt for the group.  For example, before introducing fractions, you may give each student or group the question:

• Johnny has 6 cookies.  He decides to share them with his friends Tony, Shelly, and Cindy.  He does not want to have any cookies left and he wants everyone to get the same amount (including himself).  How much of the cookies does everyone get?  Explain your answer, use pictures or diagrams where needed so that we can clearly understand your solution.

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In Language Arts, creative writing in response logs is extremely important.  Through their writing, they can express their ideas, expand their thinking, and brainstorm for bigger writing projects.

1.  Creative writing in response logs can take on several forms.  Before St. Patrick's day, the following prompts were used just as a discussion piece and a springboard for writing short stories.  However, rather than the typical prompts, these told the ending and students were responsible for coming up with the beginning of the story.  You can limit their answers to as little or as much as you would like.

• ...there was a fairy that forgot how to fly!
• ...there was a wizard that cast a spell on the leprechauns!
• ...there was a leprechaun that lost his magic powers!
• ...there was a princess that couldn't stop laughing!
• ...there was a leprechaun that forgot where he hid the pot of gold!
• ...there was a king that loved the color green!
• ...there was a troll that stole the blarney stone!
• ...there was a witch that made a magical soup!

3.  One final idea would be to use the response logs to respond to poems, writings, or current issues.  If your classroom gets newspapers every week, it can be a great place to respond to something in the paper.  In my classroom, there was an article in the newspaper discussing John Walker Lindh.  It gave a timeline of his life, history, interviews with his family, as well as responses from Americans prior to his court hearing.  The students read the article and were then responsible for responding to the question:

• After reading the article on John Walker Lindh, do you feel he is worthy of our hate?  If so, why? If not, how should we respond to the situation?

Keep your eyes open for future articles that would require them to voice their opinion and support it!

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Any response logs need to be evaluated at some point and time, or they loose their validity in learning.  With some students, you may choose only to check them or read them a couple of times a semester.  In my classroom, it was necessary to evaluate them in some form every week.  You can choose to evaluate them in several ways.  I found it to be the best if I varied the way I checked them too!
You may:

• Actually read and grade each entry for content and/or grammar.
• Give a grade based solely on completion of the assignment.
• Give a grade based on their ability to follow directions.
• Have students pick their best entry and turn it in for a grade, or share it with the class.
• Collect various entries for further use in class or for publication.
• Have them share their entries with another class or with someone else (administration, another teacher, peers, or parents).
• Pick various students to type or rewrite their responses and post them somewhere in the room.

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