In this article, classroom researcher Harrison Campbell recounts his research into the literacy experiences of eight junior high (grades 8 and 9) students over the course of a school semester in Western Canada. Using phenomenological inquiry, Campbell invited students into a process of making meaning through experience. These experiences, brought…

In this article, the authors discuss how teachers can help students to grieve through the power of writing. Six years ago, a student named Miranda, experienced a great loss. To make sense of the tragedy, Miranda did what came naturally to her; she picked up her pen to write in her journal. Now a college sophomore, Miranda has grown through the…

In this article, the author describes how she used a commonplace book assignment to help students expand their background knowledge and as a means to formulate mature, informed perspectives regarding issues of importance. In the assignment, the author wanted the students to: (1) investigate issues of the day; (2) develop multiple perspectives…

Offers 10 suggestions for more varied and creative use of learning logs. (ARH)

Describes how one teacher learned to eliminate ethical and pedagogical problems inherent in student journal writing by placing restrictions on assignments. (ARH)

When the literature anthologies did not arrive, Allen Webb turned to the Internet, where he found a wealth of classic and contemporary e-texts. Using these online resources opened up possibilities for new ways of teaching and learning traditional skills of close reading and critical analysis. Students created blogs of poems and commentary,…

Describes how reader response journals encourage students to interact with literary works. Presents 20 questions, based on David Bleich's response heuristic, which help guide students' responses. (MM)

Rejects grading student journals. Describes various approaches to journal writing evaluation the author used with her students and approaches used by her professors when she returned to school. Questions the educational process of grading student journals. Discusses how to create real dialog. (RS)

Explains the use of the personal anthology to stimulate wide reading and hold students accountable for what they read. Identifies strategies for and results of using the personal anthology in English instruction. (MS)

Discusses why and how the author uses writing-to-learn techniques in the study of literature to promote enjoyment, understanding, and imagination. Describes using learning logs (reader-response journals), varying aesthetic responses to link reading and writing, and incorporating technology. (SR)

Presents three strategies for teaching the personal, operational, and cultural dimensions of literary response. (MM)

Discusses students' responses to SIXTEEN: SHORT STORIES BY OUTSTANDING WRITERS FOR YOUNG ADULTS (edited by Donald R. Gallo), a collection of stories thematically grouped in a format based on a response-centered approach to literature. (MM)

Argues the relative merits of using in-process and retrospective journals, during and after the writing process, to empower students to explore and use their own ways of constructing knowledge to make connections as they write. (KEH)

Describes the activities in a student-centered advanced-placement English classroom, specifically methods used to foster discussion. Shows how student journals aid in generating discussion of literary works. Provides numerous concrete methods for fostering discussion. (HB)

Discusses uses learning logs for student assessment. Defines learning logs. Discusses structuring the logs; student voices and responses; a map drawing assignment; and using logs for evaluation. (RS)