One of the most popular posts on this blog in one which shared a number of free Google Drive templates. Clearly, many educators around the world are looking for easy-to-use and flexible resources to use in the Google classroom. So I thought to myself – why not offer more free templates!?!

I did a search on Teachers Pay Teachers to see what the best sellers were. Many were around reading and writing. Whilst I wouldn’t claim that the freebie I created is of the same rigour or quality as those best sellers, I thought a writing journal with picture prompts would be a handy resource for many educators using Google Drive.

There is both a blank template and a template with picture prompts. These have been created using Google Slides because of the flexibility of the layout options.

The links below to the templates are VIEW ONLY. This means you will need to create a copy IN YOUR OWN GOOGLE DRIVE to be able to edit the file and share the file with your students. To do this use the following menu path:

File > Make a copy…

FREE Google Slides writing journal template with picture prompts:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1nPbXAvzE0FM5NS_YWV1P5oM_2a_ettoYG3bNpajlz_E

FREE Google Slides writing journal template with blank layouts:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Hivyjx7bRqPnFyOnUsGLEHakzVkc-63pNimr9tSSUiE

These templates are in US Letter size as the overwhelming majority of users of my other templates are based in the USA. This does not mean they cannot be printed on A4 paper as most printers do a good job of scaling between US Letter and A4. It is based on the ebook template I created a while ago – click here to find out more about using Google Slides to create ebooks and to get the template.

How to use the writing journal in your classroom

You can be as structured as you like when using the writing journal. However, depending on your students, it may be helpful to just allow students to write without too many restrictions and conditions. Sometimes, too many rules can discourage students.

• Use the Doctopus add-in to create a copy of the picture prompt writing journal for each student and have regular free writing sessions.
• Distribute the template to students via Google Classroom.
• Use the prompts to encourage students to explore a specific literary element that is being taught in class. For example, genre, adjectives, hyperbole, etc.
• Provide teacher or peer feedback using comments.
• A great way to document development in writing skills.
• Encourage student ownership by having each student contribute a prompt in the blank template and then share with the class as their writing journal.
• Customise and include other writing prompts, for example, YouTube videos, links to news items, etc.
• Select each students’ best work, combine into one ebook and distribute as a PDF.
• Can be used across platforms including Chromebooks, iOS and Android tablets and smartphones.
• Can be adapted to be used in any language classrooms to develop written language schools.