Journal brainstorming session (n): a time period where you think about how you will set up your journal or notebook and what theme may bring all of the layouts together

Layouts or Spreads: Individual entries in a collection in a notebook, Example: January layouts for the week, month, reflections, goals, etc

Inspiration for your journal is everywhere. This past week, I got caught up in thinking about how I might update my vision board for the month of January. Vision boards are typically collages with tons of pictures, and I noticed that I do the same process on Pinterest when I am looking for inspiration in my own journal for themes, layouts, doodles, and more. This post contains some ideas to get you thinking about your next journal entry.

• What will you learn to draw?

• What colors will you use?

• What tools will you need to make it happen?

Think of your next journal project as a vision board of creativity. This post has 12 different journaling mood boards to be a source of inspiration for your next project!

Week two flew by without even slowing down to catch a drink of water. It was tough this week to balance wanting to do the things that summer allows like landscaping, working on an assortment of house projects, leisurely drinking coffee, and writing. I was having some jealousy over those that got to have the time off. My goal was to make it to the beach at least three times. Let's just say my fingers are crossed. 

Today, I want to share some snaps of students who were working on "putting the puzzle pieces together" regarding theme. This is also a shoutout to the resource from Room 213 on Teachers Pay Teachers titled "Discovering Theme Learning Stations. I love stations. Whenever I can get students moving, I can. It is critical for engagement, and it is conducive to how they learn as young people (and old people, too). These theme stations had the concept of puzzle pieces. You could use them after any piece of text read; however, I am using them after we read the novel text Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor. Students are still trying to sort out plot elements and what they mean in sixth grade so I am having them rotate to each station with their book, and then look at the guiding questions at each station.