Journal Introduction

Fifth grade was the start of middle school.  In our town, middle school was the first year that students from our town and the town next door were coming together in one building.  That meant there were lots of kids who didn’t know Mikey at all.  

When decorating his journal, we included many photos on the cover to help the new students get to know Michael in a broader way.  He still had some time during the middle school day to share his journal with classmates, but there was much less time than there had been in elementary school. We wanted to make the most of the time Mikey had to connect with his friends.

We also included captions of each photo so Mikey could share who he hung out with in elementary school and over the summer. These showed Mikey’s new classmates things he wouldn’t be able to tell them with his language.  Things like: “I love to spend time with friends,” and “I’m a pretty fun kid, even though I don’t talk too much.”

As always, the journal helps bridge the gap between what Michael can say and what he might like to say to connect with classmates. Man, we love this journal!