8th GRADE DIALECTICAL JOURNAL
Text (Quote directly from the text)
“My lies were scary, involved, and
usually pointless, but Doodle’s were
twice as crazy. People in his stories all
had wings and flew wherever they
wanted to go
Page #
193
Example The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst
Response (What do you think about the text?)
Doodle’s fantasies reveal his vivid imagination as
well as his desire to be able to move freely and
easily. Through his imagination he can escape
the physical handicaps that hold him down in
real life.
For the TEXT column, you choose a piece of text and copy it onto the Dialectical Journal form, listing the
page #.
For the RESPONSE column, you have several ways to respond to a text:
•
Raise questions about the beliefs and values implied in the text
•
Give your personal reactions to the passage
•
Discuss the words, ideas, or actions of the author or character
•
Tell what it reminds you of from your own experiences
•
Write about what it makes you think or feel
•
Argue with or speak to the characters or author
An Exemplary Dialectical Journal Contains The Following:
• Total number of entries are 15 or more for the entire book.
• Each “Text” entry is 2 or more complete sentences.
• “Text” entries are from the entire book (beginning, middle and end). This is indicated by page
numbers.
• All “Response” entries have 2-3 or more complete sentences and demonstrate fully developed
thoughts or connections about the text.
DIALECTICAL JOURNAL ENTRIES
Text
Page #
Response