A collaborative journal is a journal in which more than one person gets to write, and I have two books that are collaborative journals.
They’re novels, but they’re written as if they are the collaborative journals of students in a classroom. The first book is called Please Write In This Book, and it begins with a letter from a teacher saying, “Please write in this book,” and as the book continues, all of the students in the classroom write in it.
So you’re hearing ten different voices, and the students in the book are all relating to each other, and one thing that one student writes will inspire another student to write something else. It’s a great way to show point of view because each child is writing from a different point of view. It’s also a great way to show character traits because student has a very strong personality.
So for a teacher, a wonderful writing project is to get a blank book, to write on the first page, “Hello, boys and girls. This is our new journal. Anyone can write in it. Please write in this book,” and to find a spot for it in the classroom and allow students to come and add to it.
That can be a great way of showing students that writing has meaning, that writing can be fun, and a wonderful way to see how one thing can inspire another.
