Artist's Sketchbooks/Explorer's Journals

The artist's sketchbook is a book with blank pages that an artist uses to record, organize and clarify ideas and perceptions of daily events, objects and places from the everyday life experiences and from imagination and memory. Many sketchbooks by the Hudson River School artists have survived to the present. The explorer's journal has served a similar purpose. Using words and images, the explorer records experiences, observations, events, objects and places to document a specific journey on the spot when they occur. The Lewis and Clark journals are important historical documents that are still referenced today.

Materials

• Paper
• Cardboard or corrugated cardboard (usually used as packing material so can be purchased cheaply at paper stores such as Paper Express, 1050 West River, Boise, 388-0755) cut slightly larger than the paper or cut so that it wraps around the binding edge of the inside papers.  (Wallpaper sample books are also good sources for substantial, decorative covers.)
• Construction paper in two different colors
• Raffia
• Darning needles (optional - if the holes are large enough, the raffia can be strung through them without needles)
• Three-hole punch or hand-held punch

Instructions

1. First design the cover - a collage combining scraps of the cardboard and construction paper.
2. Using glue and/or raffia and needles, either glue the cover design together or sew the cover design together.
3. Determine the total number of sheets of paper for each student and have them gather their papers.
4. If the cardboard was prepared so that it wraps around the binding edge, three-hole punch the inside papers first, then wrap the cardboard around the paper and use the needles with raffia to sew the book together using a butterfly stitch***.
5. If the cardboard was prepared as two sheets, they may be three-hole punched with the papers inside and bound with the raffia either using the needles or by tying each hole with a separate piece of raffia.
6. Begin using the sketchbook/journal to document a specific activity and/or to pursue artistic endeavors.

***Butterfly stitch: Begin by entering the bottom hole from the back of the book. Leave a tail for tying at the end. Wrap the raffia around the edge of the book and re-enter the bottom hole from the back. Continue to the middle hole entering from the front of the book, wrap around the edge and re-enter from the front. Enter the top hole from the back of the book, wrap around the edge and re-enter from back of the book. Wrap over the top edge and re-enter the top hole from the back. Then enter the middle hole from the front and the bottom hole from the back. Tie the end to the tail that you left at the bottom at the beginning.  For an easier method, simply weave in and out the holes beginning at the bottom, wrapping over the top and tying at the bottom.

Ideas from Teachers for Practical Use in the Classroom

Language Arts

Use for journal writing, phonogram books, dictionaries, math story problem books, poetry books, year-end autograph books. (Idaho Standards 868.02B; 690.01E)

Daily journal writing. 
Science journals to record experiments and observations.
Legibly write in a variety of formats to record, generate and reflect upon ideas. (Idaho Standard 207.23)

Build a Sentence.  Each page you add a word to the sentence, until students have very descriptive complete sentences.  (Ex. The dog. The dog barked.  The dog barked loudly.  The tiny dog barked loudly.  The tiny, gray dog barked loudly. Etc.)
Build a Paragraph.  The first page students write a topic sentence.  The following pages need to have sentences that relate to the topic.
Demonstrate understanding and application of writing process steps:  Brainstorm; draft; teacher conference; revise; edit; publish; share. (Idaho Standard 207.22)

Use journal for a word bank, word wall words, spelling words or vocabulary words.
Develop a writing vocabulary and skills for using words.  (Idaho Standard 207.26)

Progressive story written by students.
Create a narrative composition that provides an introduction, middle and end sequence; establish and support a central idea and include simple facts and details. (Idaho Standard 207.29)

Read a book and create a book report cover based on a character, setting, mood or plot using materials such as wallpaper, buttons or any other type of material that could make a connection with the book.  On the inside of the report, along with the required written materials, have students create an object that goes with the theme of the book.  It could be an object that was used in the story or something the student invented that they feel could be a good addition to the story. (Idaho Standard 699.01a - demonstrate the use of the writing process through publishing; 699.01b - legibly write in a variety of formats to record, generate, and reflect upon ideas)

Math

Make flash card booklets.  Write the problem on the front of each page and have the answers on the back.  These could also be word problems.
Demonstrate proficiency with addition and subtraction facts through 18.  (Idaho Standard 208.12)

Music

These journals may be decorated with music related images such as a composer collage, instrument collage, instrument symbols, music vocabulary, etc.  When used throughout the school year, this project has the potential to assist any music educator and music student in meeting 6 of the 9 National Standards for Music Education.  Journals may be used for new vocabulary, music theory, as a sound journal, weekly practice time and parent signatures, concert critiques, staff paper for composition or music theory and free writing to music.  (Standard 4 - composing and arranging music with specified guidelines; Standard 5 - reading and notating music; Standard 6 - listening to, analyzing and describing music; Standard 7 evaluating music and music performances; Standard 8 - understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts; Standard 9 - understanding music in relation to history and culture.)

Science/Social Studies

The Iditarod:  The Greatest Race on Earth.  As part of a two week social studies unit on Alaska and the Iditarod, students record data in their journals.  Student track the progress of their chosen musher by collecting, organizing and explaining any surprises or changes in the race data.  They interpret information, form hypotheses, construct charts and/or graphs, and make predictions.  Students work in groups and obtain data online.  (Idaho Standards, Language Arts 698 reading, 699 writing, 700 listening, 701 speaking, 702 viewing; Social Studies 414 critical thinking, 416 exploration and expansion, 420 cultural and social development, 426 geography; Science 574 concepts of scientific inquiry, 576 concepts of physical science, 580 technology, 581 personal and social perspectives; Math 287 basic arithmetic, estimation and accurate computations, 288 mathematical reasoning and problem solving, 289 concepts and principles of measurement, 292 data analysis, probability and statistics) 

Preschool

Preschool students go outside on nature walks several times throughout the year to collect leaves, nuts, seedpods, feathers, etc.  Nature journals could be made to collect and keep some of these items.  The covers could be made from large wallpaper scraps, and the inside pages could be made from contact paper.  The children could then use their journals as storybooks to tell others about the changes they have found in their surroundings several times throughout the year.  The children would demonstrate a number of important skills when completing this assignment.  They would have to listen to directions, follow directions, practice fine motor skills when decorating and binding the journal, observe seasonal changes while on nature walks, and verbalize their findings when sharing their journals with others.