Would journaling help all students not just ELL students?

We think it would because it creates connection and emphasizes the meaning when students are learning to write. 

How long would it take before the students picked up the correct spelling and usage? The students in the book picked up much better English usage by the end of the year, do they keep using the journals after they have become proficient?

We think continued usage would be helpful for continued writing development because they are learning to write in more complex sentences and because it further fosters the teacher-student relationship.

How do you create a relationship with students while dually making classroom a safe environment and teaching the content?
We discussed the difficulty that teachers face with so many responsibilities. They not only are responsible for teaching content knowledge to 20 some students all at different levels, but they must also foster relationships and form connections with each student. We discussed how cultural differences may make that connection harder, but how dialogue journaling could be an answer by creating personal connections with each student.

Where did the idea of journaling originate? Where did Robert get the idea from?

Summary of Chapter:
Robert, the ELL teacher, included written dialogue journals as part of his curriculum. The students were not graded for mistakes and Robert did not  correct the grammar or spelling of the journals. The students had to write out at least 3 lines about anything they wanted and Robert always responded. His responses included the corrected spelling and grammar of what was in the students journals. The main goal of the written dialogue journals was for the students to believe that they were writers and gain confidence and enjoyment from writing in a dialogue form. By the end of the year the students all showed huge growth in their spelling, grammar, and handwriting. Their journal entries became longer and they saw writing as a way to convert meaning and tell stories. Robert was also able to form deep connections and trust with his students.

Main Idea Takeaways:
Constant repetition of journaling, regardless of grammatical errors, created  obvious improvement at the end of the year.
We thought the way the teacher focused on meaning instead of mistakes was a great way to help students learn that writing is about conveying meaning. We agree with Roberts method of emphasizing the semantics over the syntax.

Confidence grew astronomically, the ELL students realized that they could actually write. They enjoyed it more and it became less of a chore.
"As they became successful journal writers, their self-respect grew" (pg 54).

"Robert found that the dialogue journal provided a safe and protected harbor for reading and writing, for overall language development, and for building confidence that all successful learners must have" (pg 61).
We think this quote is so important for future educators and think that in every activity and with every student it is important to focus on building confidence instead of focusing on mistakes. Robert was able to create a safe environment for the students where they did not feel ashamed about making mistakes and could really converse honestly. We really appreciated how Robert never made the students feel bad about what they were writing which made the students want to share more.

The ELL students were improving in their English development and at the same time they were being encouraged to develop in their first language.
"The crucial point is that Patricia is becoming more proficient in English, and at the same time she has an excellent change of becoming proficient in her first language" (pg 43)
We thought this was great and interesting because it seems that in many ELL classrooms the primary focus is on developing English and that a second language is seen as a handicap instead of as an asset. Robert viewed his students second language as an advantage for them and wanted them to continue to develop both languages. We think all classrooms should encourage bilingual students instead of making them feel ashamed of their first language.

The students could write about anything and it created a bond/relationship between teacher and student, they began to trust him.
The teacher took time to read and respond.
"Reading and responding to dialogue journals tend, we suggest, to humanize teachers and make them more aware of and accessible to their students lives" (pg 55-56)

The responses were huge for development because it helped model correct English. The students wanted to be corrected after their confidence and their writing abilities grew. Robert always tried to use the misspelled words correctly in his responses and we think the students appreciated that. We think this is an effective method because the students spelling improved by the end of the year and some of the students were asking for the teacher to correct their papers because they realized (even without the correction) that correct spelling meant they could convey their meaning.

The students started out writing only 3 sentences, but the length of their entries grew throughout the year. We think it was because their environment was safer and they trusted their teacher.
Robert created a learning environment that accepted and encouraged mistakes instead of making students feel embarrassed for making them. He did this by never correcting the journals and always seeking to know the meaning behind them. He wanted the students to connect that writing gives them the ability to transfer their thoughts to someone else.

The story of Fransisco's brother having difficulty with English stuck out because it showed that the teacher cared not just about the Fransisco, his student, but also their families. We thought this was important for us as teachers because involving the family will help the students by making them feel responsible for siblings and giving them support from their parents. Robert included their families in the learning process. The parents improved their English with the students through the books they took home. Fransisco decided to take a book home to his brother and read to him which will help both children.
"Robert encourages Fransisco by offering some strategies ... I can take the book today and read at home to my brother and my mom, too" pg (38).

Personal Connection:
We could relate personally through journaling at school and it developed teacher connections. One of us journaled in 5th grade about anything she wanted. She felt like it gave her freedom and made her enjoy writing. She loved the connection she had with the teacher through her journaling because it made her feel like she could share more with him and his responses made her feel like he cared.
We think it was similar for the ELL students in the book.

Takeaway for Future Classroom:
We all agree about the benefit of dialogue journals for both ELL students and students who speak English as their first language. We plan on implementing some kind of dialogue journal into our classrooms. The benefit is clear, "Students who write in dialogue journals more than double the number of questions they ask their teachers" (pg 40). The most important key takeaway for us as future educators is to foster confidence in students by focusing on what they have accomplished instead of on their mistakes. Additionally, teacher-student relationships need to be central parts of curriculum in order for trust be be developed, and families need to be involved in the learning process through take home books and journaling.

Participation Rating:
Olivia: 5
Katie: 5
Kaelyn: 5

This visual is of Larry's journal cover. Larry was one of Robert's students who was not enthusiastic about the dialogue journal at first. He barely wrote anything in the first part of the year and was very reluctant. As Larry started to see that his teacher was not going to punish him for mistakes or for anything that he said, he began to share more and more. He became much more confident and enjoyed writing more. The biggest change for Larry was that he began to view writing as means of sharing thoughts and not as a chore or work. His enthusiasm is clear through the beautiful drawing on the outside of his journal which reveal his excitement and how proud he is of his writing. 

Participation Rating:
Kaelyn: 5
Olivia: 5
Katie: 5

Visual: This is a picture of Patricia and Irma's descriptions of Aliens. They wrote detailed passages about their imaginary aliens and their partner had to illustrate the page based on their description. We liked this partner work because it helps the writer and the reader focus on detail and visualize what the adjectives are telling the reader.

Take away for Future Classroom:
Writing should be implemented into all subject areas. Writing across the curriculum helps students to learn the content. It can help students gain confidence in writing. This can be a fun way to get kids to gain information and knowledge. We plan on incorporating cross curricular writing into our future classrooms because of the benefits of writing about our learning. It can include pictures to help get the students point across and give a fun aspect to what they write, giving it meaning.

Participation Rating:
Olivia: 5
Katie:5
Kaelyn:5

Visual: This is a picture of two student's animal reports. They included a written report about the animal and they included a hand drawn picture of the animal. The  students' writing has improved dramatically from the beginning of the book and they are starting to write more academically but still in a fun and enjoyable way. 

We are curious about whether Robert included specific grammar instruction or if he completely stayed away from that and used his more organic approach. We are curious if the strategies we learned in this class like the word wall, list group and label, 10 interesting words, and all the others are effective for teaching vocabulary, grammar, and spelling. Are they too focused on decontextualized skills? We think it depends on the way you use them, for example, doing the word wall instead of having a word wall and using the vocabulary in everyday conversations and making personal connections with the words. 

We are curious is Robert's approach is used widely in schools after this book was published and if it has had an impact on what is being taught in schools and how it is being taught. We think it should have had an impact because the stories are so moving and his strategies are so easy to implement. It would not be difficult for teachers to start using more personal connections with their students, having them write dialogue journals, and publishing their writing. These methods are not complicated so why aren't we seeing them more?

Did these strategies work well with non ESL students? We think it is likely they would work well with all students. The only difference between ESL students and white, privileged students is their cultural upbringing, the privileged are not more intelligent or more capable. These students grow up with a print-rich, "read the word" environment from the moment they are born and it makes it easier to learn in the current system. However, we think all students would benefit from learning to read and write in context and with meaning, the same way that Robert taught his students.

As future teachers, we are nervous about the negative effects these tests will have on our students, particularly the students of color and ESL students who did not grow up in print-rich environments. We want to know how we can stop the cycle of lack of support for the underprivileged students. These students come into schools already behind and the teaching is catered to the other, privileged students once they actually reach the classroom. Grade-level bias persists from standardized tests as they grow up. We want to know how to keep these students engaged and know that the strategies Robert uses will be helpful, but is there more we can do?

Summary of Chapter:
This chapter was about the impact of Robert's teaching style on the students, their families, and on their test scores. The chapter starts by revealing that students must feel that they are able to write and have a safe community classroom where they are able to do so. A big theme of this chapter was empowerment and how Robert used his strategies and classroom to empower his students. He did this through choice and giving them options and control over their own learning, reading, and writing. Empowerment is self validation and the students began to gain confidence as learners when they did it more and were not constantly corrected. The typical school model is biased and can be racist in ways because it does not empower students or take into consideration their cultural diversity and unique learning experience. ESL students often "read the world", use context to make meaning, while privileged students are often taught to "read the word", use strategies and decode words out of context. The differences in their learning styles can put minority, ESL students at a disadvantage in the typical classroom. As in Robert's classroom, in order for minority students to be successful they must be able to make connections with their personal experiences. Another bias that exists is grade level bias that uses unfair testing methods to label minority students as unintelligent. Their lack of exposure to written word puts them at a disadvantage when taking written, timed tests designed for English speakers. Their low test scores can make them feel incapable of reading and writing and take away their confidence. Robert's method uses learning-driven reading and writing activities to help them grow in confidence and connect reading and writing to their lives instead of just meaningless tasks to complete. Robert uses the creating, drafting, editing, and publishing method to help students make meaning and understand the reason for writing. When they are required to publish and share their work they have a reason to spell correctly and use proper grammar, they want to be understood! This method is all about meaning. Robert also includes the parents and gets them involved in their children's learning. The children take book home to read to their parents and their stories to show their parents what they've been working on. Their parents are able to see what they have accomplished and how much they have grown throughout the year. The parents become partners in the learning. The tests also revealed the students progress because each student improved on their test scores significantly. Their final works showed how far they have come. In their final works they shared their life stories and what their lives have been like so far, they shared what they hope to be in the future, and they shared with Robert what he has meant to them and how he has encouraged and empowered them. He helped them change their perceptions of themselves.

Main Takeaways:

Participation Rating:
Olivia: 5
Kaelyn: 5
Katie: 5

This visual is of Florencia's paper about what she wants to be when she grows up. It is about how she wants to be an orange groove farmer. This visual is important because Florencia when asked if she wanted to be an orange groove worker, said she wanted to be the orange groove owner. This reveals how her confidence and belief in herself has grown. She knows that she is capable of big things and reading and writing have empowered her.