1. A creative D-i-y project for Siddeeqeen during summer vacation
English (Grade 4)
Making a diary at home + Writing A diary entry

2. Learning objectives and outcomes of this project
At the end of this lesson, the student will be able to
create a diary all by himself/ herself using the materials easily available at home
write a diary entry with the help of the given steps
express his/ her thoughts freely without any pressure improving his/ her creativity and writing skills

3. Dear Siddeeqeen. Assalam-o-Alaikum
Dear Siddeeqeen! Assalam-o-Alaikum! Hope you are enjoying your summer vacation to the fullest. You must have experienced a lot of enjoyable moments during this time, or have visited a lot of places at Eid-ul-Fitr. That means you have a pile of great memories with you, don’t you?

4. So, why don’t you preserve (save) all these memories in a diary?
But wait! Do you know what a diary is?
A diary is a written record of personal experiences, thoughts and feelings.

5. Wow! You can make your own unique diary.
Keeping a diary is a great way to record your thoughts, relieve stress and keep track of events in your life over time.
But before learning how to write a diary entry, why not learn how to create a diary at home!
Isn’t it fun?
Wow! You can make your own unique diary.

6. Let’s learn a few steps to make a diary of your own.
Don’t worry!
It is
super easy!
Don’t worry about the failure. Worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try.

7. Step 1: Get the materials. (which you’ll find at home)
Use the following materials to make your own diary at home:
White or coloured sheets of paper
A pair of scissors/ cutter (if available at home)
White glue or liquid glue
A ruler
A lead pencil
Cardboard pieces to make covers
A stapler
A soft white chart paper

8. Step 2: Take some plain sheets and join them together using a stapler.
Take eight sheets and fold these in half and place them inside one another.
Make sure that every piece is of the same size, so they line up evenly.
Staple the folded pages together on the left. (4-5 staples only)
One pile of sheets is ready.
Make 2 more such piles using the same steps.
Join the three piles using glue (Apply glue on the last page of the 1st pile and attach it to the 1st page of the 2nd pile. Repeat the same procedure with the 2nd and 3rd pile of sheets as well.)

9. Step 3: seal the sheets of paper
Pick up the white glue or liquid glue and apply it on the left side to let this part get attached to the spine of your diary.
Spine is the narrow strip where the cover of a book is joined to the pages.

10. Step 4: make a cover to Bind the diary.
When the glue is dry, cut another strip of paper and cover the stapled part of the diary.
Then, cut two pieces of cardboard (of a shoe box) equal the size of the sheets of paper.
Cut a narrow strip of the cardboard to make the spine of the diary.

11. Step 4: make a cover to Bind the diary.
Spread the soft chart paper on the table and place the two bigger pieces of cardboard and the narrow strip for spine on it.
Then, cut the extra chart paper as shown in the figure.
Glue the chart paper to cover the cardboard. Otherwise, your diary will give a rough look. Then, fold the chart paper on the edges. The cover is ready.
Apply glue in the middle strip and attach the pages (already glued) to it.
Then, glue the 1st page of sheets to the left side cardboard and last page of sheets to the right side cardboard.
It will give it a shape of a book. Your diary is ready.

12. Step 5: decorate your diary.
Use your creativity and imagination and decorate the cover of your diary.

13. Step 6: Open the diary and write your name.
Write your name on the 1st page of your diary.
You may paste your recent photograph on the first page of your diary as well.
Paste it below your name.
You may paste the photograph of your family as well if you want to.
This is now your personal diary.

14. You may decorate each page of your diary.
Use your imagination and creativity to decorate the cover and each page of your diary. You may use the following materials:
Coloured pencils/ markers to draw borders of your own choice
Buttons of the same or different colours
Ribbons of different colour
Trendy tapes with beautiful designs (if available at home)
Glitter sheets
Any other material available at home

15. Now that you are done making your own diary, think about what you want to write in it. Have you ever thought why it is important to write a diary entry?
Whenever you go somewhere, e.g. at some relative’s, or visit a place within your city or some other city/ a hill station, you always enjoy retelling and sharing the whole experience with your friends telling each and every detail of it to them.

16. But after some time, do you know what happens?
You simply forget most of its details, don’t you? You just remember that you went somewhere and nothing else.
But Don’t you worry,
dear kids!
You can enjoy the same experience all over again by writing it in a diary before you sleep. Whenever you read this written experience, all the memories come jumping into your mind and you enjoy them again and again.

17. Time to learn a few steps to write something in your own diary.

18. Steps to write a diary entry

19. Step 1: Write the date in the corner of the first line
Step 1: Write the date in the corner of the first line. (If you like, you can also put the time, day of the week, and your location alongside the date.)

20. STEP 2: Open your writing with ‘Dear Diary’.
A diary is a wonderful friend that allows you to discuss your emotions, record dreams or ideas, and think about your daily life in a safe, private space.
So, use the words ‘Dear Diary’ because you are sharing your experiences with it just like a friend.

21. Step 3: Start with a topic
Step 3: Start with a topic! You may call it a topic or introductory sentence.

22. Step 4: Write in the first person using the ‘I’ statements.

23. Step 5: Use the Past Tense.
You can freely write anything in your diary without the fear of any external pressure or assessment.
Write all those ideas that first come to your mind (ideas that made you happy or sad)
But it is suggested that you use the past tense to narrate (write the story of) your experience/ event because a diary is about what already has happened in your life.

24. Step 6: Use a lot of details to save the memories and moments in time.
Don’t forget to use the sensory details you have already read in the first semester. These details describe actions, thoughts, feelings to explain what happened.
(Reference: worksheet 7a)

25. Step 7: Write the events in an order.
If you are writing in your diary all that had happened during the whole day, start with events that happened early in the day, and end with events that took place in the evening. You may use these words (recount connectives) in your writing as well as shown in the image.

26. Step 8: Don’t forget to write an ending / closing sentence.
It is better that the way you properly started your diary entry with a topic sentence, you end your experience with a closing sentence as well.
It gives a good, organized look to your diary entry.
You may put your signature or write your name at the end if you like. (optional)
June 22, 2019 (Saturday)
Dear Diary,
Today has been an amazing day for me! First, we decided to go to the park. I was so happy that my lips were touching my ears. We walked quite slowly as the path towards the park was uneven and zigzag. When we got there, we went on the swings. I swung so high in the sky that I felt I could touch the clouds with my hands. Next, we skipped over to the see-saw. I really loved it! Finally, we jumped up on the monkey bars. It was truly a great day. I can’t wait to go there again.
Topic sentence
Closing sentence

27. Example of a diary entry
June 22, 2019 (Saturday)
Dear Diary,
Today has been an amazing day for me! First, we decided to go to the park. I was so happy that my lips were touching my ears. We walked quite slowly as the path towards the park was uneven. When we got there, we went on the swings. I swung so high in the sky that I felt I could touch the clouds with my hands. Next, we skipped over to the see-saw. I really loved it! Finally, we jumped up on the monkey bars. It was truly a great day. I can’t wait to go there again.

28. Some more helpful tips for you

29. Choose a specific time of the day to write your diary entry.
It will truly make you become more organized if you choose a time of the day to write your diary entry.
It can be the morning time (e.g. at 10 am every morning), the afternoon time (e.g. at 4:00 pm every afternoon), or the night time (e.g. at 9:00 pm every night)
Be sure that you stick to the time that you choose. Give it a try at least.

30. You may even use stickers, pictures, drawings, etc
You may even use stickers, pictures, drawings, etc. while writing your diary entry.

31. be honest in your entries!

32. Best of luck for this project!
Hope you have enjoyed the activity! You must have properly learnt how to make a diary all by yourself and how to write your experiences, feelings, daily routines in your hand-made diary.
Don’t forget to make this project along with doing your summer vacation assignment!
And do revise all the syllabus for the best preparation of the 1st semester exam. This is just a fun activity for you to do something creative during the summer vacation.
Let’s see who makes the best diary and who writes the diary entries in the best possible way.