Journaling allows students to express their reasoning and identify and self-correct their mistakes, leading to deeper conceptual understanding. Journaling can be helpful for students to annotate their work, share problem-solving strategies, and reflect on what they've learned. By reading the journals, teachers identify incomplete learning and see where they can best assist the students. Journaling resources are available in English and Spanish for students in Grade 3 and up.
Journaling is important because it provides a measure of accountability and a place for students to express mathematical reasoning. It also allows students to practice using the language of math. Journaling is the number-one way to reduce passive clicking by students and help increase their pass rates on Imagine Math lessons.
The following video explains the practice of student journaling, why it's important, what it should include, and how journaling helps students improve their pass rates as they work in Imagine Math 3+.
Additional resources including a Math Journaling Lesson Plan are available in-product in the Teacher Resources section.
To access the journaling resources:
- Log in to Imagine Math.
- In the Content section of the left navigation pane, click Teacher Resources.
- In the Category filter, select Math Journaling.
- Click on the title of a resource to open it; then download it or print it, as applicable.
Recommendation
For students, different journaling templates are available for different parts of the lesson. Select Math Journaling (All Student Masters) to get the templates for the Guided Learning, Problem Solving, and End of Lesson organizers all in one file.