A few weeks ago, I wrote about using Reader Response in High School English. If you missed that post, you should go skim it before you read this post where I share 11 Brilliant Strategies for Dialectic Journals to get your students to do better close reading. Close reading is my jam. I think is is the key to bridging the achievement gaps that students experience in high school English, especially now. And dialectic journals are a great way to get students on that path.
What is a dialectic journal?
Dialectical journals are sometimes called double entry journals and they are the essence of the reader response lens. The word dialectic comes from the word dialogue. Therefore anything that is called dialectic is a conversation. It is essentially a conversation that the reader is having with the text.
Students select passages from the text and copy them into the first column of a journal page. Then in a second column, they interact and respond to that text. Since the idea is to have a conversation with the text, these responses can be text to text, text to self or text to world. Students are not limited to making reader response, so they can incorporate new criticism or any other observations they are making about the text.
11 Strategies for Dialectic Journals for Better Close Reading
Traditional Dialectic Journals
Students select a passage from the text and copy it into the first column of a two column page. The passage could be something they thought was interesting or something that stands out. Directions can be limited in this type of journal. (Sometimes less is more.) Students then respond to the text in any way that seems to fit. It can be a personal response. They can write about why they selected the passage or what they think is important. Additionally, they might make connections to their other texts or happenings in the world.
Teacher Directed Dialectic Journals
To start off, the teacher may wish to suggest the passage that students respond to. This will help students begin to see the kinds of passages that they might suggest when it is their turn. This will also focus the kind of close reading that students are doing. You may begin with some annotation directions as well as a prompt for writing. It still works as a dialectic journal because it is the two column style and the dialogue between the text and the reader.
The Most Important Word
This can be a student selected passage or a teacher selected passage. Students choose a word in the passage they believe is the most important passage. Once they have selected the most important word, they need to explain why they have selected this word. They should connect it not only to the passage that appears in the first column, but also how it connects to the work as a whole. Additionally, students may wish to discuss the criteria they used to choose the word.
The Most Important Passage
Use this one with students when they have read a larger selection of text like a full short story or a chapter or even a whole novel. Students choose the passage they think is the most important passage in that length of text. As the teacher, you may wish to designate how long this passage should be, like a certain number of sentences. Then in the response column, students share why they selected the passage they did, the criteria they used to choose the passage and how it connects to the larger section of text (like the story, chapter or novel).
Repetition Dialectic Journal
Have students copy passages that incorporate some sort of repetition. It could be repetition of a word, a phrase or an idea. They should included at least three passages in the first column that include the repetition and then in the second column, students can respond to not only the repetition in the passages they have included, but also the work as a whole.
Questions Only
Students select a passage that they are confused about. Then in the second column rather than trying to respond with their ideas about what it means, they ask only questions about the passage. This shouldn’t be one or two questions but as many as they can think of. You may wish to encourage students to go deeper into their questions by not only asking questions about the plot or meaning, but also questions related to the schools of literary criticism. This is a great way to jumpstart full class or small group discussions.
Text to Self Dialectic Journals
Students select a passage to which they have a personal connection. They copy that passage into the first column and then in the second column, they write about their own connections. Their reactions should include both the personal connection, but also the feelings that they connect with both their own event as well as their feelings about the passage.
“I Like This” Dialectic Journals
Have students choose words or phrases that strike them. In the first column, they may choose to list rather than include longer passages. Students write about why they selected the words, phrases, characters, etc. Additionally, they note whether it is important whether that is to the story or to themselves. They can then discuss whether something can be important to the reader and not be important to the text or vice versa.
Association Dialectic Journals
Students choose a passage that they associate with something else. Their associations could be with their own lives, other texts, within the text, history or current events. The second column, students reflect on their associations and how it connects to the text as a whole.
Triple Entry Journals
Triple Entry Journals help guide students toward picking a passage by giving them a focus question or quotation. If you use essential questions, these work great for encouraging students to focus their thinking. I use triple entry journals as a way to help AP® Literature students focus on finding and supporting evidence for the open question essay as well as for my English 11 students to help them focus in more fully. For more, check out this set of Triple Entry Journals.
Contrast Double Entry Journals
In a Contrast Double Entry Journal, students look for contrasts within the text and then note them in the first column. They may choose to select one passage that includes the contrast or they may need to choose two or more passages to demonstrate the contrasts. The second column then focuses on why the contrasts matter.
Dialectic Journals for Better Close Reading
Since dialectic journals naturally encourage students to focus deeply on reading and rereading, they are a perfect strategy to guide students in doing close reading. When students choose their own passages, they are naturally more invested in the close reading at hand.
As you begin to use double entry journals to encourage students to do close reading, you may need to guide them further. For more on how to do this, be sure to check out my next post: Teaching Students How to Write Double Entry Journals.
Additional Resources:
If you are looking for more on strategies for close reading, be sure to check out these posts
Reader Response in High School English
5 Brilliant Strategies for Better Close Reading
For texts to use for dialectic journals, check out these posts:
Start with Short Short Stories: 20 Flash Fiction Stories for High School
Start with Film: 3 Excellent Short Films For Teens
Start with Poetry: 5 Perfect Poems for National Poetry Month… or Anytime
