Dialogue Journals
By Michelle Joyce, Reading Specialist,
Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council, Pittsburgh, PA
One effective method for improving reading is to use a student’s own words that have been written in a
journal. The purpose of a dialogue journal is to have the student and tutor converse with each other in
writing. It is a non-threatening and fun way to have a student begin writing and can start or end a tutoring
session.
Here are some tips that have been shared on journal writing and spelling.
The Basic Rules of Dialogue Journal Writing:
1.
The tutor models format, punctuation, spelling and sentence structure.
Wednesday
August 26, 1999
Dear John,
Hi! I had a good weekend. We went to Chicago. We
saw the Cubs play. What did you do last weekend?
Your friend,
Mary
2.
Journal errors (spelling, punctuation, sentence structure) are not to be corrected. The tutor can make a
mental note of error patterns (e.g., capitalization of the first word of a sentence or adding s to make a
noun plural, etc.) and work them into the tutoring session at another time. The dialogue journal is not
for instructional purposes. It is for free-flowing, uninhibited writing.
3.
The student may feel a great need to spell correctly even though the point of the journal is to ensure the
flow of thoughts and writing. There are several ways to deal with the spelling issue. If students are
unsure of how to spell a word, the tutor can ask them to:
4.

Write down the first and last sounds of the word.

Leave a blank for the word and ask the tutor later.

Draw pictures or symbols to represent the word.
Days of the week and months of the year can be written on the inside cover of the notebook as spelling
references. The tutor should ask the student to write out fully the day, month, date, and year.
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5.
If writing a full sentence is initially too difficult for a student, the tutor can:

Discuss a topic first. This generates thinking about what one wants to write.

Have the student dictate to the tutor what he wants to write. The tutor writes it on a page and
the student then copies it into the journal.

Develop a pattern to use for two or three weeks (or however long is necessary) in which the
tutor and student both fill in the blanks.
What I like about myself is ______________________________________________
What I like about my job is ______________________________________________
What I like about today is _______________________________________________
6.
Other suggestions:

The tutor can include words that have been taught in the student’s lesson.

The tutor can write to match the amount and level of the student’s writing or write at a level
just beyond the student’s reading level.

If the tutor cannot read what the student has written, the tutor can ask the student to read it
before the end of the session. If the student cannot read what the tutor has written, the tutor
should read it aloud also.

Student and tutor can periodically go back and read the whole or portions of the journal out
loud.

After the student has become comfortable with writing, the student can write first, and the tutor
can respond.
11-04.Dialogue Journals FS
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