Dialectical Journals
Dialectical journals is a conversation you will have with the novels and/or texts that we read in class and at home. It is where you interact with the text and ask questions, note key information, identify and follow theme and central idea development. It is a place you will respond to texts with personal and world connections.
Some of the novels and texts we use will be novels we read as a class and other times it will be novels or texts you choose and then read at home.
You will never be told what to write down in a dialectical journal. This is where you pick out, think about, and respond to what stands out to you as you read. This process will help you better develop your own thinking and begin to better understand the different texts we read.
A two-column dialectical journal consists of a quote of your choice and then a personal response to that specific quote.
QUOTES:
While you read, you need to find quotes that have meaning or relevance to you, something that seems significant, powerful, thought-provoking or puzzling. It can be something that you liked, disliked, were confused by, were inspired by, could relate to, have experienced before, or had meaning to you. Make sure your quotes are typed, not copied and pasted from an online version of the book. Make sure you copy it directly from the text, making no spelling or grammatical errors, placing the author's last name and page number at the end of the quote in parenthesis.
For example:
RESPONSES:
For each quote you will also need a response. Your response should be:
To get started:
EX: Sometimes I feel this way about the desert in summer. It's like the heat slows everything down and even if you're in a hurry it seems like it all goes in slow motion. We get a glimpse of small town in our not really a small town valley. It gives the story a feeling of slowness, peace and then suddenly that last sentence happens and interest is spiked. "...nothing to fear but fear itself," is a pretty powerful and well-known expression although I don't think people really think about it or take it to heart much. It definitely adds intrigue to the story and makes me stop and think about fear, life, the familiarity of things and how quickly things can change. And oh how humans fear change.
Some of the novels and texts we use will be novels we read as a class and other times it will be novels or texts you choose and then read at home.
You will never be told what to write down in a dialectical journal. This is where you pick out, think about, and respond to what stands out to you as you read. This process will help you better develop your own thinking and begin to better understand the different texts we read.
A two-column dialectical journal consists of a quote of your choice and then a personal response to that specific quote.
QUOTES:
While you read, you need to find quotes that have meaning or relevance to you, something that seems significant, powerful, thought-provoking or puzzling. It can be something that you liked, disliked, were confused by, were inspired by, could relate to, have experienced before, or had meaning to you. Make sure your quotes are typed, not copied and pasted from an online version of the book. Make sure you copy it directly from the text, making no spelling or grammatical errors, placing the author's last name and page number at the end of the quote in parenthesis.
For example:
- effective and/or creative use of stylistic or literary devices
- passages that remind you of your own life or something you've seen before
- developments or turns in the plot
- examples of patterns - recurring images, ideas, colors, symbols
- passages with confusing language or unfamiliar vocabulary
- events you find confusing or surprising
- passages that illustrate a particular character or setting
RESPONSES:
For each quote you will also need a response. Your response should be:
- thorough and well-thought out
- explain why you were drawn to that quote
- what it means to you
- what connections you made to it
- why you liked or disliked it
- what you learned from it
- why it confused you
- compare or contrast the passage to another moment in the story, or even something else you have read
To get started:
- ask questions about beliefs and values stated or implied in the text
- give your personal reaction to the text
- discuss words, ideas, or actions of the author or characters
- tell what it reminds you of from your own life
- write about what it makes you think or feel and why
- agree or disagree with a character or the author
- analyze for use of figures of speech and how they contribute to the theme and meaning of the text
- make connections between different events and characters in the text
- make connections to a different text
- discuss the words, ideas, or actions of the author or characters
- consider an event or description from the perspective of a different character or point of view
- analyze a passage and its relationship to the story as a whole
EX: Sometimes I feel this way about the desert in summer. It's like the heat slows everything down and even if you're in a hurry it seems like it all goes in slow motion. We get a glimpse of small town in our not really a small town valley. It gives the story a feeling of slowness, peace and then suddenly that last sentence happens and interest is spiked. "...nothing to fear but fear itself," is a pretty powerful and well-known expression although I don't think people really think about it or take it to heart much. It definitely adds intrigue to the story and makes me stop and think about fear, life, the familiarity of things and how quickly things can change. And oh how humans fear change.