“Are you Gonna Help us with Writing?” Empowering Writers though Dialogue Journaling

Abstract

AbstractBefore ever entering a formal educational setting, children use writing to make themselves known. Yet by the time students reach the fourth grade, only a small minority of students demonstrate writing skills considered competent by national standards. By this time in their school career, many have begun to internalize that they are poor writers and have become apprehensive toward writing tasks and tests. Using an approach that applies the well‐established literacy practice of dialogue journaling, Leah, a teacher, facilitated an after‐school book club for fourth‐grade students who experienced writing apprehension. The outcomes of the book club were that students began to build confidence and develop more positive attitudes toward writing.