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Journal Prompts for 3rd Graders

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Thirteen journal pages about who children are, what they imagine, and what they think about, each with a full page of third grade lines.

Download the journal prompts worksheets

All about me

Journal pages about what you are good at, words that describe you, where you like to think, and what makes you laugh.

Imagine it

Make-believe pages: a day as a cloud, talking animals, a dream treehouse, and trading places with the teacher.

Think about it

Reflection pages about not giving up, goals, mistakes, school, and people you admire.

Print at 100% (actual size) for the cleanest tracing lines.

About these journal prompts worksheets

Journal writing builds the habit of writing every day. These journal prompts for 3rd graders invite children to write about themselves (something they are good at, three words that describe them, what makes them laugh), to imagine (a day as a cloud, talking animals, a dream treehouse), and to reflect (a time they did not give up, a goal for the year, a mistake that taught them something).

Each page has one prompt and a full page of third grade writing lines. Some imagine pages also have a box to draw in. There are no right answers, so there is no answer key.

Standards

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.3Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.10Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

How to use them

  1. Use one prompt a day as a warm-up or at the end of the day.
  2. Let your child talk about the prompt for a minute before writing.
  3. Set a timer for 10 to 15 minutes and write without stopping.
  4. Keep the pages in a folder to see writing grow over the year.

Teaching tips

  • Journals are for ideas, not perfect spelling. Fix spelling on other pages.
  • Ask for details: who, where, what did it look like, how did it feel?
  • Let children skip a prompt that feels too personal and choose another.
  • Read a page aloud together and celebrate one great sentence.

Questions teachers and parents ask

How long should a 3rd grade journal entry be?

Five to ten sentences is a good goal. Some children will write the whole page.

Do journal pages have answer keys?

No. Every answer is different.