What is a Dialectical Journal? A dialectical journal is a record of your dialogue (conversation) with the book you are reading. It is also called a double entry or reader response journal. In this journal, you will write down your thoughts, questions, comments, predictions, and ideas while you read. The process helps you develop critical reading skills and encourage you to expand your reflective writing.
Your Assignment - Requirements for Dialectical Journals
• Choose a novel. Read the novel. As you read, keep a Dialectical Journal wherein you record responses/reactions to your book (See Above). o You should respond in your Dialectical Journal approximately every 15 – 20 pages.
• The book may be any age and school-appropriate work of your choosing.
• You will submit your Dialectical journals every two weeks. Each submission will be worth a total of 50 points.
Some Suggestions for Reading: • Harry Potter I – VII, by J.K. Rowling (Fantasy Fiction) • Into the Wild, by John Krakauer (Non-Fiction) • Angela’s Ashes, by Frank McCourt (Memoir) • The Bean Trees, The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver (Fiction) • Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury (Science Fiction) • I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou (Autobiography) • Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison (Fiction) • The Color Purple, by Alice Walker (Fiction) • Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger (Fiction) • The Good Earth, by Pearl Buck (Fiction) • One Hundred Years of Solitude, Love in the Time of Cholera, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Fiction) • All the Pretty Horses, by Cormac McCarthy (Fiction) • The Kitchen God’s Wife, The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan (Fiction) • Lord of the Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien (Fantasy Fiction) • The Man Who Sold the Moon, Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlin (Science Fiction) • Cat’s Cradle, by Kurt