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Dialectical Journals
Foundation Lesson
Skills Focus
Levels of Thinking
Remember
Close Reading
Understand
Apply
Analyze
Grammar
Reading Strategies
Create
Composition
Types (modes)
Determining Main Idea
Generalization
Inference
Paraphrase
Prediction
Summary
Descriptive
Expository
analytical
Persuasive (argumentative)
Structural Elements
Body
incorporation of quotes (7)
use of commentary
use of evidence
Literary Elements
Composition
Evaluate
Character
Diction
Imagery
Theme
Tone
Figures of Speech
Apostrophe (8)
Metaphor
extended/controlling (9)
Metonymy (10)
Oxymoron (7)
Paradox (8)
Personification
Pun (9)
Simile
epic (Homeric) (9)
Literary Techniques
Symbolism
Materials and Resources
• “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst
• “Teaching the Multi-Paragraph Essay: A Sequential Nine-Week Unit” by Jane Schaffer
Lesson Introduction
A dialectical journal can be an important part of an English class employing Pre-AP strategies,
but only if teachers have a specific purpose and criteria for each journal assignment. Journals
can take many forms, but the wise teacher will select or create a journal based on the skill(s)
students are expected to learn. In order to use journals effectively, teachers should
• Teach students to write level one, two, and three questions.
Level One: on the line (knowledge/comprehension questions)
Example: “What kind of dog does Meg have in the story?”
Level Two: between the lines (application/analysis questions that require the
use of inference)
Example: “Why is the dog important to Meg?”
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Composition
Level Three: beyond the lines (synthesis/evaluation questions that go beyond the
specifics of the text and into the area of universal meaning)
Example: “How do pets help people get through times of depression or hardship?”
Some Types of Journal Entries
• Summarizing, Observing, and Questioning
• Character Analysis
• Literary or Rhetorical Analysis of Tone
Note: This type of journal helps students make the very difficult leap from the
identification of a device to the discussion of the effect or purpose of the use of
the device. Use essay prompts like those in “Writing Essay Prompts for Pre-AP”
included in this guide. Substitute the words “create a journal” for “write an essay.”
• Analysis of Theme
Note: Teachers can provide a thematic idea or have students discover one on their own.
Use this type of journal to trace motifs within a work.
This type of journaling requires modeling and practicing with students. Younger students should
be introduced to one journal type at a time and allowed to practice it with a variety of works. Once
students understand the journal format, it can be a valuable tool for assessing student understanding.
Tips to Teachers
• Begin with short passages and model the activity for students.
• Set specific criteria for journals such as
– number of entries
– specific skills
– titles/headings
– documentation of page numbers
• Make writing assignments tied to the journals.
The guides contain various sample journals within the lessons.
Note: The four-sentence paragraph in the tone activity is based on Jane Schaffer’s
4-sentence chunk.
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Composition
• Model the activity for students prior to making an assignment. With some students, and/or
complex journals, you may need to model these activities more than once.
• Establish specific requirements. e.g. three level three questions; five pieces of evidence
with inferences and commentary; cite page numbers, etc.
• Really evaluate the journals. They should not be so long or overwhelming that students
(and teachers) dread them.
• Require or allow students to use journals when writing essays or taking tests.
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Dialectical Journals
Foundation Lesson
Composition
Dialectical journals are journals in which a reader records a mental conversation with the
text. You can use these journals to
• summarize and question
• pose questions (the first step to analysis)
• read closely for details, images, diction, etc.
• notice patterns
• write analysis and make connections
• connect method to purpose, effect, and meaning
• make choices about evidence
• document quotes
• make inferences about characters, symbols, etc.
• write analysis justifying an assertion
Summarizing, Observing, and Questioning
• Summarize assigned paragraphs, passages, or chapters in the left column.
• Note observations and ask questions (specify level) in the right column.
The student example is based on the first paragraph from “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst.
Observations and Questions
Summary
Paragraph 1 – Speaking in past tense, the
narrator describes the time of year and setting
when the ibis landed in a tree in his yard.
What is the “clove of seasons”?
The narrator repeatedly uses words and images that indicate death and loss.
What is a “bleeding tree”?
Lots of imagery and figurative language
Did someone die? Who? When? What was the relationship to the narrator?
Do certain images remind us of the past?
Do people ever completely recover from the death of a loved one?
Choose a significant passage from a text you are reading to analyze it using the
format above.
Character Analysis
• Identify evidence about the character (words, actions, reactions).
• Use quotation marks around quotes and cite page numbers.
• Based on the evidence, make an inference about the character.
• Write commentary that explains how and/or why the evidence leads to or supports
the inference.
• Use the journal to write a character analysis essay.
– The inferences become the basis for assertions (thesis statements and topic sentences).
– The best evidence is integrated into student writing for textual support of assertions.
– The commentary is expanded and developed.
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Composition
Choose a passage from a text you are reading that seems to you to indicate a certain tone. The
student example is based on the first paragraph from “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst.
Doodle
Evidence
Inference – Commentary
Sensitive, appreciative – Doodle reacts emotionally to the wonders of
nature; moved to tears of joy at the beauty of simple things. He is attuned
to nature and in awe of its beauty.
“His eyes were round with wonder as he gazed about him, and his little
hands began to stroke the rubber grass. Then he began to cry” (191).
“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” (193).
Choose three character-based quotations from a text you are reading and analyze them
using the format above. Be sure to select evidence that indirectly describes a character,
evidence that shows what he or she says or does, how he or she acts or reacts, and what
other characters say about him or her.
Using your journal entries, write a four-sentence paragraph following the model below.
Assertion – Select an inference (your opinion) to become the basis of your assertion and
develop it into a complete sentence.
Evidence – Integrate the evidence into your sentence.
Commentary – Develop your commentary to explain how the evidence supports the assertion.
Commentary – Extend your commentary explaining why your evidence supports the assertion,
what it reveals, etc.
Literary or Rhetorical Analysis of Tone
• Focus on concrete devices and their effect, or purpose (abstraction).
e.g. Fill in the chart with diction and imagery that create tone.
• The commentary explains, analyzes, etc., how or why the concrete devices lead to the
abstract feeling.
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Composition
Imaginative, dreamer – 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.
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The student example is based on the first paragraph from “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst.
Composition
Evidence
Commentary
“It was in the clove of seasons, summer was dead but autumn had not yet
been born” (189)
The word “clove” suggests a rift or splitting. It seems to suggest there
was a definite divide between the seasons – marked by some other more
personal split or loss, possibly a death. The words “dead” and “born” also
support this idea.
“dead” “rotting” “graveyard” “dead” (189)
The diction reinforces the idea that someone died. Even the narrator’s
memory of the setting reflects the impact of the loss.
“empty” “untenanted” (189)
Suggest loss; something is missing.
“oriole nest…like an empty cradle” (189)
Even the bird nest is empty. Comparing it to a cradle makes you wonder if
a child died. Creates a feeling of pain and yearning for what is missing,
“graveyard flowers…their smell drifted…speaking softly the names of our
dead.” (189)
Personification of the flowers seems to imply that nature reminds the
narrator (all of us) about those we’ve lost. A sense of remembrance and
peace underlies the sadness.
Choose a passage from a text you are reading that seems to you to indicate a certain
tone. Analyze it using the format above. Include at least three pieces of evidence and
commentary. Conclude your journal with a statement about the tone.
Analysis of Theme
• Identify evidence that supports the thematic idea.
• Write commentary that explains the connection.
Thematic Idea – Pride
The student example is based on an excerpt from “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst.
Evidence
Commentary
The narrator confesses his need to make Doodle “better” in order to give
himself something to be proud of and to receive recognition for his actions.
Because he is speaking about an event that happened in the past he looks
back on it with the insight of an adult who has struggled with the consequences of his prideful actions. It’s not that pride in and of itself is bad, but
he has realized that too much pride can lead people to do things that can
have devastating results.
“But all of us must have something or someone to be proud of, and Doodle
had become mine. I did not know then that pride is a wonderful terrible
thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death” (192)
Possible theme statements: “Pride is a wonderful terrible thing.”
Too much pride can lead to tragedy.
Choose a passage from a text you are reading that seems to indicate one of its
themes. Analyze it using the format above. Include at least three pieces of evidence
and commentary. Conclude your journal with a one-sentence statement of theme.
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Composition
Symbolism
• Identify symbols within a work.
• Discuss the literal meaning of the “symbol” in the context of the work.
• Explain the symbolism in the larger context of life.
• Analyze the effect or purpose of the symbolism.
• Reflect on the insight gained.
The student example is from “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst.
The ibis is literally a tropical bird that has
been blown off-course and injured in a
storm. The bird dies in the narrator’s yard.
Symbolism – Abstract
Symbolically the ibis represents Doodle. The
ibis, like Doodle, is out of place, fragile, and
unique.
Effect, Purpose, or Insight
The bird, like Doodle, is uncoordinated and
struggles mightily. The death of the bird
symbolizes and foreshadows the death of
Doodle. Using the ibis as a symbol allows
the reader to see the beauty of Doodle’s
uniqueness and frailty and illustrates his
struggle to the end.
Choose a passage from a work you are reading that seems to you to be symbolic.
Analyze it using the format above. Include at least three symbols.
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Composition
Symbol – Literal