Journals in the Classroom

During student teaching (5th grade math) I learned how essential it is for students to understand and learn about note taking through a math journal. As I look back, I realize that fifth grade is the last stop before junior high where they are to expected to take notes on their own for the most part.
I recently went to a training where we learned about science journals as well. I'm ecstatic! They are so interactive and engaging with pictures, colors, and Ziploc (my new favorite classroom material and tool) activities. I went during my lunch break of the training and after to buy composition books which happened to conveniently be on sale that week for all 22 of my kiddos. I was able to, after 3 stores, purchase 50 for under $13 at Office Depot thanks to star teacher rewards and crazy back to school sales!

In training they discussed ways for students to decorate their journals. I decided that since I am new to my district and my students all know each other fairly well and have gone to school together since pre-k playing those "get to know you" games wouldn't be much fun for them.

I began thinking..., how am I going to get to know them without boring them with "get to know you" games? I decided I am going to allow my students to take home the composition books (1 for math and 1 for science) on the first day of school and make it a fun and easy homework assignment. They will simply get a grade of 100 for bringing their journals back the next day decorated.
This way I can get a feel for what they may have available at home, the amount of effort they put into decorating their journal, how responsible they are, and most importantly a little insight to their personality.

Here is an example I made to show my students.