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November National Days Journals: Differentiated Special Education Writing for Grades 6–8

Grade levels
6th–8th grade
Subjects
Writing, Special Education & SEL, Reading & Literacy
Pages
167 pages
Format
PDF

A November morning journal built around a different national day for each of the 31 days, with a classroom poster and four journal levels sharing the same topic each day. Non-writers, tracers, beginning writers and confident writers all work on the same day's topic at their own level.

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Description

November brings a new reason to write every single day, and these journals turn each of the month's 31 national days into a morning writing routine for special education and life skills classrooms. Every day has the same shape: a classroom poster introduces the day with two simple facts, three talk questions, a picture-supported journal sentence and a three-choice opinion tally, and then each child works at one of four journal levels on the same topic.

The four levels cover the full range of writers. Level 1 non-writers circle the month and date, read and point, choose a feeling from errorless choices and color the picture. Level 2 tracers trace the date and the word, write the word, choose a feeling, color and draw. Level 3 beginning writers write the date and the word, finish an opinion from a word bank, write a sentence, color and draw. Level 4 writers write the day, give an opinion with because and two sentences, and then draw.

The poster is the teaching moment. Two facts give every child something to say, the three talk questions give the class something to discuss, and the picture-supported sentence gives non-readers a way into the journal page. The opinion tally turns the day into a quick class conversation: three choices, every child picks one, and the class can see where the votes land.

Teacher pages explain how to use the set, with teacher notes, a page guide and a list of all 31 November national days, plus a Journal Star certificate. The pages are black and white on US Letter paper. The listing states 167 pages; the itemized pages add to 160, and both figures are as stated in the listing.

📖 Teaching guide · 13 min readNovember National Days Journals: SPED Writing for Grades 6–8Read the guide →

What's included

Daily posters and journal pages

  • 31 classroom posters, one per day: date, 2 simple facts, 3 talk questions, a picture-supported journal sentence and a 3-choice opinion tally
  • Level 1 Non-writers (31 pages): circle the month and date, read and point, choose a feeling, color the picture
  • Level 2 Tracers (31 pages): trace the date and the word on handwriting lines, write the word, choose a feeling, color and draw
  • Level 3 Beginning writers (31 pages): write the date and word, finish an opinion from a word bank, write a sentence, color and draw
  • Level 4 Writers (31 pages): write the day, an opinion with because and 2 sentences, then draw

Teacher support

  • How to Use and Teacher Notes pages
  • A page guide and a list of all 31 November national days
  • Journal Star certificate
  • Same topic each day across all four levels

Format

  • PDF, US Letter, black and white
  • 167 pages in total
  • One national day per date, plus Thanksgiving
  • No answer key stated in the listing

Ways to use it

  • Special education and life skills classrooms
  • Morning meeting and calendar time
  • November national-days bell work
  • Speech and language practice with visual supports
  • Independent work and IEP writing goals
  • Weekend homework pages

Why it works

A shared daily topic lets a whole class talk together and then write at four different levels without anyone doing different work. The poster gives every child something to say, and the four levels give every child a way to say it in writing.

Questions & answers

What grades is it for?

The listing's Highlights field states grades 6th–8th. The cover and the description state no grade range, so the grade range comes from the Highlights field only.

How many pages are included?

The listing states 167 pages: 31 classroom posters, four journal levels of 31 pages each, teacher pages and a Journal Star certificate. The itemized pages add to 160, and both figures are as stated in the listing.

What are the four journal levels?

Level 1 is for non-writers: circle the month and date, read and point, choose a feeling and color. Level 2 tracers trace the date and the word, write the word, choose a feeling, color and draw. Level 3 beginning writers write the date and the word, finish an opinion from a word bank, write a sentence, color and draw. Level 4 writers write the day, an opinion with because and two sentences, then draw.

Is there an answer key?

No answer key is stated in the listing. The journal pages are open writing and opinion work, not pages with one right answer.

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