A type of formal writing which emphasizes and reveals students’ positions on particular issues.

An inquiry-based writing activity that uses the letter format to communicate, inform, and persuade.

A medium through which students record ideas about topics they want to investigate or about their ongoing research and that promotes inquiry, reflection, and critical thinking. Students should be encouraged to begin their journal entries with “I wonder,” which can serve as the basis for peer discussions or conversations in

A type of formal writing used for engaging in inquiry-based learning, creative thinking, and research in content areas.

A type of writing in the drafting stage which occurs naturally in classroom activities that involve writing short responses to an open-ended question or writing journal entries.

A type of writing commonly associated with long-term projects, such as research papers or inquiry-based projects, which are usually evaluated through scoring guides also referred to as rubrics.

A step in the writing process focused on checking grammar and formatting.

A step in the writing process in which students externalize their ideas in writing. Informal writing such as journal entries, open-ended responses, and reading strategy applications generally stop at this stage, while formal writing such as research papers continue beyond this step to all stages of the writing process.

A teaching tool that helps teachers achieve various goals related to students’ educational activities, including monitoring their reading outside of class, promoting reflection, and providing a solid foundation for class discussion, conferencing, and peer interaction. Also known as Learning Logs, these journals are split in the middle wherein, on the

A conversation tool in which students communicate in writing on a variety of topics which may or may not be prompted. They are also known as interactive journals.