This annotated bibliography refers to extensive material available for teachers, researchers, and administrators desiring to know more about dialogue journal use and research with many different student populations, from elementary through adult education, regarding teaching English-as-a-Second-Language. It is divided into four sections. Section…

This book presents an eighth grade science teacher's diary. For 36 weeks during the 1998-99 school year, this middle school teacher explored her teaching life on the World Wide Web. Each week, hundreds of visitors to MiddleWeb followed the ups and downs of her professional journey, experiencing her enthusiasm at the opening of school, watching as…

This study, part of the "Study of Instructional Improvement," assessed the validity of quantitative measures of reading comprehension instruction derived from a language arts instructional log. The log was designed to measure the language arts instructional experiences individual students received over time, and measures from the log were to be…

The practice of weblogging--or "blogging," as it is popularly known--has gone through a series of growth spurts during the past four years. At present, a weblog is best defined as "a website that is updated frequently, with new material posted at the top of the page" (Blood, 2002b). Two recent developments, in particular,…

This project is designed to engage families in shared literacy activities. The K-2 students take turns taking home a book bag that includes a stuffed toy, a book, art supplies, a topic to discuss with their families, and a journal to share their thoughts and ideas. Through the experience they build positive memories of literacy activities. During…

This digest explores the literature related to journal writing from various disciplines, including psychology, language studies, outdoor education, and experiential education. Although journal writing has been around since ancient times, it was not until the early 1960s that it flourished as a learning tool. Instructors from a wide range of…

Diverse procedures need to be used to appraise pupil progress in reading achievement, because it takes different approaches to appraise in a comprehensive manner what pupils have learned in reading. There is much to evaluate, including knowledge acquired, skills developed, and attitudes fostered. Approaches which might be used include: (1)…

Designed to help teachers get started using literature circles in their classrooms, this book gives teachers a boost to begin, offers some insights from other teachers, and helps teachers clarify where to go next. It notes that literature circles (or literature study groups, book clubs, or discussion circles) take many forms and engage students in…

Discusses journal entries of Meranda and Susan, Milpitas (California) High School students exploring difficult issues about social justice, fairness, and participation in their Facing History and Ourselves class. Developed in 1976 by Massachusetts middle-school teachers, this program provides a model for teaching history in a way that helps…

Describes how the use of journal prompts is closely aligned with the use of student discourse and open-ended, open-response test items. Students can use their responses to assess their own growth, whereas teachers can use them to detect trends across and within classes regarding the progression of understanding of specific topics, concepts,…

Chronicled the use of journals in a required undergraduate educational psychology course, offering a template for incorporating response journals into educational foundations courses for preservice teachers, suggesting relevant prompts and evaluation methods, and summarizing preservice teachers' perceptions of and final responses to journals…

Notes that journal writing can be effective in cultivating formal discourse while respecting cultural differences. Considers how the author modified his introductory composition class to help students to communicate in a context that united or at least respected the diffusion of languages that permeated diverse classrooms. (SG)

Describes the buddy journal (a diary that two students keep together, in which they "converse" in writing) and suggests ways to use such journals to build children's literacy. Proposes that buddy journals can highlight the reading-writing connection for children by involving purposeful, personal communication to enhance students'…

Describes structured journal writing as a pedagogical tool to help learners become effective lifelong learners. Suggests using the journal writing to promote collaboration which makes effective use of the consciousness-raising and self-help group activities that have been used extensively in the Women's Movement. (KO)

Explains how a teacher used Shakespeare plays to engage special needs and at-risk students with whom she had had limited success in engaging in other ways. Describes Shakespeare-related activities such as journal writing, acting, and something the teacher calls "write around," which requires students to visit different stations and write short…