BPY’s first grade writers started a new unit focused on journal writing. The unit incorporates writing and social studies content and also addresses some social-emotional learning concepts. The goal for first graders is to experience writing as a way to process and reflect on their experiences, to consider their ability to write first-person accounts that can become historical records and to connect with classmates through writing, all while exploring the genre of journal writing. Students used “heart maps” to help them brainstorm ideas for their journal writing. Students then chose their favorite entries to share with their classmates. Since teachers no longer have access to view the class bulletin boards, they created a virtual bulletin board using “padlet” where classmates could view and reflect on their classmates’ work.