Distribute the notebooks to the class and announce that they will be keeping spelling journals from now on. Have the students label the notebooks by writing "Spelling Journal" and their names on the front cover.
Tell the students that they are to use their journals to record all new words that they encounter in their private reading as well as in their lessons in school. They should include words that they see in print as well as words they hear spoken.
Instruct the students to include the date when entering a word in the journal, as well as a sentence using the word in context. In addition, they should use a dictionary to check the spelling of the words they write in the journal.
Set aside a designated time each week for students to work in their spelling journals and reflect upon the words recently recorded. Ask the students to select three or four words from the week that they find the most interesting or the most difficult. Have them jot down some notes explaining why they find the words particularly challenging or interesting.
Ask the students to write additional words that seem to be related to the spelling words they select. These might be root words or similar words. For example, if the student selects the word "friendship," he might write "friend" as the root word or "friendly" and "friendlier" as related words.