Teaching Strategies
Double Entry Journal
How to Use a Double Entry Journal
Also known as a dialectic journal, the double entry journal is very useful for English language learners because it helps them focus on key ideas and reactions within a manageable frame
The interaction between ideas in this graphic organiser can take on many different aspects as illustrated below: -
This is what the character did |
If I had been the character, I would have... |
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This is what the character thought |
This is what the character did |
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Quote from the story |
This quote reminds me of... |
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A new idea I learned from the text |
One connection to this idea |
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Ideas I had seen before |
When I read (or heard) this idea |
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These events in the story surprised me |
I expected... |
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Students can use their own notes from double entry journals in constructing essays.
Copyright © 2007 WestEd. All rights reserved. From Quality Teaching for
English Learners, by Aida Walqui and associates: www.WestEd.org/qtel.
Reprinted by permission of WestEd, San Francisco.
The Benefits of Double Entry Journal
- The entries in double entry journals are short and manageable and provide focused thinking and records that thinking for English language learners.
- When the teacher provides a useful guiding framework for the entries, the entries can be used to support longer pieces of writing.
