EFFEcryVENESS OF JOURNAL WRITING AS A PROCESS APPROACH IN TIlE WRITI'EN LANGUAGEDEVELOPMENT
OFAGRADE TWO CLASS
By
@JuneHare.B.A. (Ed)
A thesissubmittedtotheSchoolofGraduate Studiesin partialfulfillment of me
requirementsfor the degreeof MasterofEducation
Department of Cwriculum and Instruction MemorialUniversityofNewfoundland
December1990
St.John 's NewfoundJand
TheauthorhaSgrantedenlrevoeablenon- excluslvelicence
_Ihe
NationalUb<aryofCanadatoreproduce,loan,distributeorsea ooples of htslher thesisbyany meansand In MYlorm orformal:,maJQngthisthesls8V8l1abla
to interested~: .
Theauthorretains ownership 01the eopyright kthIsIherthesis.Neither the ttiesls nor substantial extractsfromit maybepmted or otherwisereproduced withouthisIherper.
mission .
l'aute ur a aooordAunelicenceirTevocabIo at nooexclusivepermett8nt4Is Biblk)!Mque nationaleduCanadadereprodulre,pr61er, disbibuer01,1vendeedescopiesde sathese deque!Quemanlereatsousqcelooelonne Que cesoltpour mettr edes exemplairesde celiethese4 Ia dispositiondes personnes inleressees.
l'auteu'ccoseoeIapropl'iet8dudroitd'auteu-
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substantielsde cene-crne doivent 6tre irnprirnesau autre.;nent reproduils sansson autorisation.
Abstra<:t
Thisstudy assessedtheeffectiv eness of using journalwriting as a process approac honthewrittenlanguage developmentof a gradetwoclass.
Writi ng researchers claim thatchildren marureas writerswhen theywrite daily. tcptcs arc unassigned.theprimaryemphasisis on conteru,andthewritingis viewed as a process.The presentresearcherbelievedthaijournalwritingwas an ideal means of fulfillingthese requireme nts.Itwas alsohopedthat insights gainedfromthis studywouldaidotherprimaryteachersintheirunderstanding of the writingprocess.
The study continued for fifteenweekswhichincludedfiveweeksfor each ofthreejournal types: experience, literaturere sponse,andcontent.
Opportunitieswereprovidedforthe threestages of thewriting proc ess.
Precomposing activities includedgroupdiscussions ofexperiences.thoughts, and feelings during the experiencejournalsection;booksreadtotheclass duringthelitera ture responsejournalsection;and subjects of their curriculum duringthecontentjournal section. Thechildren were in total concet of all aspects of their writingduring the composingstage. Postcomposing activities included.the teacher'sdailywrittenresponses.andgroupsharing,discussion, andpublicationofselectedeneies.
Asa resultof using aprocess approach injoumalwriting, atotal impro vement in wrinen languageabilities was notedduri ng thefuUperiod of the study,with specificaspects foreach journal type.Most significant during experiencejournalswas the children'simproved ability10focusand expandon a topic.During literature respo nsejourn als,there wasan extensiveincrease in
complexityof sentencestructures,andawiderusc of vocabulary,'Iluooghout thecontent journals, the children manmd in their ability to eXpiesl a meracognitive awareness of coeceprformationin writtenform,Anoverall increased improvementin the children's organization oftheir thoughts.and refinementof mechanics and spelling wasalso noted.Theshari ng and publication of entries were seen asessential requireme nts in effecting improve ment.
As a result of this study,il isstronglyadvocated thatjournalwriting asa process approachbeused as an effectivemeans of promotingwritten language development,
Acknowledgements
I would like to acknowledge the following persons for their contributions towards the completionof thisthesis:Dr.Uoyd Brown,my supervisor. for hisadvice and guidanceduring the variousstages of the writing process:Dr.Joan Oldford Metchirn for her helpfulcomments at the end:my husband,Clayton,forhis invaluabletechnicalassistance and continuoushelp andsupport;my sons.Jason,Jonathan,andJoshua. fortheir undenandingand support; andthe youngchildren with whom I worked. for givingme this valuableopportunityto learnwith them from their dailyjournal writings.
iv
TABLE of CON1ENTS
1 TIlE PROBLEM...
Purposesof theStudy.
Limitations ..
2 REVIEWOFRELATEDLtTERATIJRE...
Writingin the Primary Grades
Introduction .
ExpressiveLanguage..
Writing as a Process ..
Writing for a Purposeand an Audience ..
Response to Writing . Joumal Writing...
Purposesof Journals Kinds of Journals...
page
...1
. 2 ..2
. 3 .3 ...•...•...3
...•.5
...•.•..7
. 9 . 11 . 13 ...14
...15
DialogueJournals... .. 15
Primary LevelExperience Journals... .. 17
LiteratureResponse Journals... .. 20
ContentJournals 23 Conclusion . ...•...25
METIIODOLOGY... ... ... .... ... ... . 26
Sample... . 26
Procedure... . 26
Experience Journals . . 27
LiteratureResponseJournals 29
ContentJournals ...31 Journal Writingas a Processapproach
Background to the Assessmentof Journal Writing..
Assessmentforthe PresentStudy ..
...32
.. 34
.. 37
4 ASSESSMENT OFJOURNAl WRITING .40
Introduction....
ExperienceJournals...
Content...
Organization..
Vocabulary
. 40
.. .40
.. .40
. 44
...50
Authenticityof theWriting 52
LanguageStructures . Mechanics
.. 58
...61
Interrelatednessof WritingandDrawing 69
Children'sResponse[0Journal Writing....
LiteratureResponseJournals...
Content .
Organization .
Vocabulary . AudienceAwareness...
Authenticityof theWriting .
Language Structures ..
vi
...72 ...74
.. 74
... ...83
.. 86
. 90
. 92 ...96
Mechanics ...99 Interrelatedness of WrilingandDrawing...
Growing Awarenessof Literature Children'sResponses toJournal Writing Content Joumals ..
Content
Organization .
Vocabulary Authenticityof the Writing..
LanguageStructures ..
Mechanics
Interrelatednessof Wribug ana Drawing . Children's Responsesto JournalWriting ..
DevelpomentalTrendsinJournal Writing
...104
.. 106
.110 ...111 .... It1 ...118
...121 ...124 .129
. 133
...136 ..137 ...139
5 CONCLUSIONSAND IMPLICATIONS .
ExperienceJournals...
LiteratureResponseJournals....
ContentJournals...
Importance ofTeacher Response . Imponanceof Usinga Process Approach
TheStudyin Review...
Conclusions..
Implications for Pedagogy ..
Implicationsfor Further Research.
.. 140
.. 141
...143
.. 144
...149
...158 ...158 .. 164
. 165
.. 169
vii
Concluding Statements
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
APPENDICES A:Books Read to theClass
...172 ...174
...189
B:Experience Journal Questionnaire 191
C:Literature ResponseJournal Questionnaire D. ConlentJournal Questionnaire
viii
...192 ...193
CHAPTER I TIfEPROBLEM
There has beena proliferationof researchinchildren'swritingduring the past decade,highlighted by theworkof Donald Graves (984) and Lucy McCormickCalkins (1983),who emphasizethat writing shouldbeviewed as a processratherthan a product. They suggest that the traditionalmethod of writing instruction,wherebythe teac herassigned topics and respondedto the mechanical errors,bereplace.1by a process-conferenceapproach.Children shouldbefreeto picktheirown topics andtheprimary emphasisshouldbeon content.Journal writing is onetypeofwritingwhich lendsitself tothis approach.However,whilemany primaryteachersinour provinceknow ofthis technique andmayhave used itintheir classrooms,manyare uncertainabout why andhow it canbeeffective.
In spiteof this increasedinterestin children' swriting,reading continues 10dominate ourlanguageartsprograms. Graves,however,claims that neglectof a child'sexpression in writinglimits the understandinggained from reading.
This neglectseems10betheCasein many of our schools.AstudybyCrocker (1983),involvingthirty-six secondgradeand thirty-nine fifthgradeclassrooms inEasternNewfoundland,indicated that very little emphasiswas placedon writing.It was foundthat most of thelanguageanstimewas devotedto spelting.At present,the Departmentof Educationhasno documented policy on writingin theprimary grades. Informationgatheredfrom thaisource, however, indicates that sucha document exists indraftfonn and that itdoesemphasfze the importance ofprocess writing and the use ofcommunicationjournals.
Through reviewing recent research findingson the value of journal writing and assessingits effectiveness through thepatternsof writtenlanguage development in a gradetwo classroom,it washoped that thisstudy would provide furtherinsightinto itsuse.
Pumase of[he SWdy
Thepurpose ofthisstudy wasthree-fold.First,literature relating 10 the uses and effectivenessof journalwriting was examined.Next, the knowledge gainedfromsuch an examination wasused 10 implementand carryout a journal writing program in a primaryclassroo m.A thirdpurpose of thestudywasto determineif,asa resultof journalwriting.there wereany improvementinthe students' writtenlanguage.
Since thisstudywas qualitative.descriptive innature, and based on the journal writingsof onlyone grade two class,the generalizabilityof its findings arelimited.
CHAPTER2
REVIEW OFRELATEDLITERATURE
This review of relatedliteratureflrsrattempted to establisha conceptual frameworkforthestudy of journal writing.Sincejournalwriting is mainlyin the expressivemode, this mode,andits ;lace inthetotalwriting process was explored. Second ,therelationshipbetweenjournal writing and language developmentwas discussed.
WritinginthePrimary Grades
Much resear ch indica testhatchildren can writebeforetheylearn to read (Oay,1975, Chomsky,1971,Deford,1980,Graves,1983). These educators suggest thatchildrenshouldbeencouraged to writefrt-rnthe first day they enter school.Theycome10schoolwitha greatcommand ofthe orallanguage.so they shouldbegin atonce,by inventing their ownspelling,to write thewordsof their own vocabulary.According to Chomsky(1971),thisprovides thenatural order forlearningtoread.She clai ms thatexpecting a child to read what someone else has written,as afirststepinliteracy,isbackwards.Throughinventingtheir own spellingto formwords to expresstheir thoughts,children become confidently and activelyinvolvedintheliterary process.Clay(1975),too,emp hasizes the valueofearlywritingforliteracy development.Her researchhas focused primarilyonthechild's exploratio nofthe perceptual features of print.She -taims that, whilewriting,thechil d'sattentionis directed to the visual details of theprint.Thisprovidesanatural complementto early reading.Written
expressionshould foUownat urallyfrom oral expression as the childattempts to putorallyexpressed thoughts into a writtenstructure.Teachers can help childrenrealize their thoughtsare wonhy of beingwrittendown by helping them realizethat theycometo schoolreadytowrite,and can learnto write as naturallyas theylearnedto talk(Calki ns, 1986).
Many adultsthink thatchildren can't writeuntilthey mastercertain spelling,punctuationand grammar skillsandthaitheyneedassignments,Story starters or wordlists as n-xivarors.Graves (984),however,claims that children can write with knowledge of onlyhalf a dozenorso consonants.From oneof thefirstmajorstudiesofchildren'sspellingstrategies,Pead(1975) showed that childrenas youngas four years can represent word soundsquite accuratelyand consistentlyin theireffons to spell.Ifyoungchildrenare to have the freedomtochoose their own words, theymust havethe freedom10invent thespelling forthese words. Calkins(1986)advisesagainstusing word lists or picturedictionariesasresourcesduringwriting as concernforspelling would thencompete with concernforcon tent Chomsky (1971) alsosuggests thatif weallow childrento writebyusinginventedspelling, they will view their writing as somethingthat belongstothem.Learningconventio nalspelling later will thenbecomeanatural andmeaningfulpart of thisactive role.
However,writing isaskillthar can only improveifchildrenare encouraged to experimentwiththewrittenword. Opponunitiesto communicate inwritingmustbeprovideddaily if children are to mature as writers. Teachers, whouse the processapproachasadvocated byGravesand Calkins,allow childrento develop theirown topics, discuss,reviseandshare their work,and publishselected writings. This study attemptedto show why and how journal
writing canbean effective way to providethese opportunities.
Expressive Language
Recent researchsuggeststhattheinformal language ofjournalsis too important to ignore. Leading language scholars, such as Britton(1975), Moffett (1983) andElbow(1973) claimthat childrenfmdmeaning intheworld by exploringit throughlanguage.It is throughexpressive, reflective or personal writingthat students begin to developtheir writingvoices, beginto give sense.
order and meaningto theirthoughts andbegintolearn (Collins. 1985).
Vygotsky's(1962) theory on the reflectiveinteraction betweenour cognitiveprocesses and our linguistic expression provides a basisforexpressive language.He states:
The relationofthoughtto wordis nota thing but a process,a continualmovementbackand fonh from thought to wordand fromwordtothought. Thoughtis notmerely expressed in words;
it comes into existencethrougb them (p.12S).
Moffett, who also views language as an expressionof thought development,foundthat:
The deliberateselectingof imagesandideas, andof words them selves, not only breaks up routineandrandom inner- streaming, butsustainsthe development of a subjectbeyond what wehavethought orimagined about it before (p. 62).
We know fromBritton 's (1975)study that expressivelanguage is close to theself,bestused for explorationanddiscovery, and enhanceme ntof personal growth.This support'sPolanyi' s (1962)claimthat all knowledge ,ifit istobe
genuine,mustbemade personal.Childrenmustconstructtheirownmeanings from theirexperiences.Teachers,whoencourage children to write expressively, are givingthem [hemessage that theyhave something important tosay(Gra ves, 1978 ).Expressive writingisalso a freeingexperience. Studentsare"freed from fear ofwriting,freedfromalac k of confidenceintheir writing,freedfroma lack offluency with written language"(Southwell,1977,p.679). Collinsalso states:
Students whowrite expressively arethinking on paper.They begin to see relationships, connections and ideas. More importa ntly, studentswho are able to organizetheiridea son paperarein a betterpo sition to understandanomerwriter's organizationof ideas (p. 48).
Britton (1975) claims thatthekind of writingwhichyoung writers use mosteffectively appears 10be essentiallypersonal.Earlywriting programs, then,heargues, should begin with thisform.Also,heseesexpressive writingas
"akind of matrixfrom which differentiatedforms of mature writingart:
develo ped" (p. 82).Individualexperiencesare flrst used asabase.but gradually, thestudent's writing andlanguageexpe riences will progressfromthepersonal tomemorepublic.Graves,also, emphasizesthe useof personalwriting as a basis for laterdevelopment.He claims thatyoungchildre n must begintheir compos ing careersbyusing die experiencesand language theybringwiththem to theclassroom.
It seems then, that any activity whichencourages more personal express ion through written languagewouldbe of greatbenefitto an individ ual's intelle ctual development.Journal writing wouldappeartobeonesuch activity.
Dyer (19 76), in discussing the value of journal writing asa meansof expressive writing,stares:
Not onlydo most kidsenjoy writing abouttheir own thoughts, feelingsand experiences,burjournals full ofsuch experiences areuseful resourcesforthefiction theymay writelater.Kids need10usctheirown livesmoreas sources of fiction,to believe that their experiences are just as valid, wonhwhile and interestingasthoseof profe ssionalwriters (p.40).
Writing asIProcess
Recently,there:has been increasedinterestin writing instruction.
Conclusionsdrawn from the works of Calkins and Graves indicate that students need ro be provided with morewriting opponunitics,and that instructional attentionshouldbedirectedtowardsmewritingprocessrather than the writing product.According10thisperspectiv e,thereareseveral componentswhichneed tobeincorporated intowritinginstruction:selecting topics,prewriting,re vising.
sharingand publishing.
JanetEmig(1911)is generallyrecognized asthefirst persontostudy writing as a process.Using a casestudy approach,she observedeighthigh school students while theywere engaged in theact of writing.Results showed a significan t differencein assigned and unassignedwriting.Studentsshowed moreplanning in unassigned topics,while theystarted and stopped more: often for assigned topics.
From a two year study of thewriting process behaviors of sevenyear
clds,Graves(1983)identifies three stages.He definesthese asfollows:
1. ?recomposing phase: Thisphaseimmediately precedesthe writing of thechild.
2.Composingphase:This phasebegins and ends withthe actual writing ofthe message.
3.Poslcomposing phase:This phase refers to proofreading.revision and complttionofthe final product (p.46).
Some educators suggestthat thewritingof youngchildrengoes through clearly definedstages.During a journalwritingstudy inher kindergartenclass.
Hipple(985)observed the followingstages:
l.~:Somewriters werecontent to draw theirstorieswithno accompanying text.
2.~:Some writersanemptedto imitate theline.shapeand direction oftraditional writing.
3.Random lettering: Many writers used one ortwo lettersfromeach word.
4.Labelingand listing:Manywritersreproduced names or words,either from memory orfromprint sources they had seen.
5. InvsDledspelling: Some writersdemonstrated beginning phonetic segmentationskillsby spellingsome consonantsin a word.
6.Transitionalspe!ling: Afewwriters used amixtureof conventional andinvented spelling(pp.258·259,.
Howe..er,theprocesses described aboveshouldnotbethoughtofas exactsteps throughwhicheachchild neatlymoves.As pointedoutbyWalshe (1986),"realwriting does nothappen as amechanical seriesof stages"{p.29).
Further researchbyGraves (1983),too,led him to believethat children do not compose insuchastrictly linear fashionas hehadconcluded from his earlier study.Composing,he now claims.isahighly recursive eventwhichdefies simplisticcategorization{p.17).Many ofa child ' spieces of writingwill pass throug hafullprOCeSS,whileothersmaybediscontinuedbeforecompletion of the finalproduce.
Youngchildrencan onlydevelopas writersif teachers underst andand recognizethe orderof developmentthat takesplacein writing and spelling (Kirkpatrick,1986).Lund(1984)claimsthat allowing studentstoengage in the expressivenatu re and dialogueof journalwriting isanessentialfirst stepin the masteryof the writing process.Thejournalcanbethoughtofas aroughfirst draft.whereone works out one 's ideas.leaving themechanics forsubsequem drafts.
Writingfor a Purposeand an Audience
Realwritingis purposefulcommunicationfrom writerstoreaders,based oncho ices madebythe writers themselves.Most writingtasks inschoo l, however ,are defined bysubject area.orinstructionalgoalsand objectives . Little attentionispaidto thechild's interestsand experiences outside of school.
Journalwriting wouldgivestudentsthe opportunity to integrateboth in- andOUI- of-schoo lexperiences.
EdelskyandSmith (1984)studied teacherand studentbehaviorina classroomin whichtheybelievedpurposef ulwritingwas laking place.There werefewinsrrucncnalmaterials,no workbooks,no graded basalreading series, and no grammar and spellingexercises.Instead,thestudents read andwen: read
10
children's literature, used references materials, wrote journals. wrote storiesfor publication. and receivedgrammar and spelling instructionas the need arose.
The teacherviewed writing as a social and linguistic activitythat children engaged in fora purpose.
Often, when assignedwriting,childrenneed to be coaxedand prodded.
as usuallyitis anexercise to be performed for a teacher'sevaluation.They are thennOI writing for theirownpurposes, but ratherto please the teacher.Langer (1982) claims thatifastudent' s writingis forevaluationpurposes.he or she willnotengagein thoughtful expressionand communication,butwillusesafe and stockresponses.Journalwriting,in whichthe writerhas control of the language.would facilitateauthentic expression.
Britten (1971)identifiedthree main categoriesof writing:
I.Expressivewriring, which is close totheself. usedprimarilyas a means of explorationanddiscovery.
2.Transllctionalwriting, whichis writinglhatis meant toinform or persuade.
3.~whichis writingused as an anfonn .
As notedearlier.youngchildren,whenprovided withunassigned writing opportunities.will write mainly in the expressivemode.However.as all three modes are interrelated, those of transactionalandpoetic will also be present.
The writingprocess.then.mus tbeauthentic to the student, and, accord ing toBrinon (1975), this means havingthestudentswriteforauthentic audiences.He suggests that movement from immatureto mature writing involv esadeveloping awarenessof audience.Students graduallydevelop the capacityto visualizea particularaudience,andwrite withthat audiencein mind.
II
Theteachermaybe amemberof the audience or theonlyaudience.According toBritten, theteacher may occupyone of fourroles:teacheras trusted adult, teacherin teacher-studentdialogue,teacher incombination professional and personalrole,andteacher as examiner. His study of thousands ofstudent wnrings inBritish schoolsshowed thatthe teacher as examiner role predominated.
If writersare to mature.however,their sense ofaudiencemustbe broadened beyondtheteacher.Graves(1985) contends thatthereare two main classific ationsof audience:thewriterhimor herself,and allothers.Calkins (1986)suggeststhatyoungwritersbecomeaware ofaudience ataboutthegrade twolevel. Before thattime.their writingisveryegocentric.Astheytake on this conceptof audiencein theircomposing, theydevelopwhatDonald Murray refers toasthe"otherself' (Graves.1985, p.194).Thechildren thenbecome awareof themselvesasthe first audience in thatthey beginto questionwhat theywrite.Sharing sessions,displays of theirwriting,and classpublicationsare allsuccessful ways ofprovidingstudents withasense of external audience.
Communicationis at the heart ofthe writingprocess.If students feelno urge tocommunicate theirthoughts to others,the needtoclarify and refine their writingwillbelessened.As suggested byGoodman andGoodman (984), "a successfulwritingcurriculumwillbeonethatbuildson personalwriting. and helpspupilsto findthereal purposeforsuch writingwith real audiences"
(p.157).The journal seems[0be oneactivitythatcould fulfilltheseconditions.
Response10WriJing
Feedbackthroughdialogue ismostimportant in theprocessoriented
12
app roach to writin g.Theaimoffeedb ack is tomotiv ate and generaterevision.
ultimately seeking internalrevision (M urray, 1978).Re sponse smay bewritten, as in dialo gue journ als. ororal.as inindivi d ualand groupconfere nces.
Moffett(19 68) clai msthat teac herresponsemustbeindividual.relevant andtime ly,leading the stude nt10 anewunderstanding ofthewriting process.
Thepurpose oftherespon se is tolead to improve men t in the qualit y ofthe student' swriting.Thenatureofthe responseshouldbe positive.and mayfocus on ideas, creativi ty.organiza tion.lan g uageandmech an ics (Rosen.1983).Koc h (9 82 ) identifiesfourstages ofteacherrespo nsewhichemphasize thepositive role:
1.Thetea che rrespond spositively onthemOSI interesti ngaspectof the wri ting.
2.Theteacher identifies the writer's purposeand howit is achieved.
3.Theteacherasks questionstoclarifythewriter's intent.
4.The teachersuggestsotherwaysthe writer might morefully achieve theintendedpurpose(Austin, 1989, p.188).
Graves(19 84)contendsthatthe bestway awriter canachieve hisorher intendedpurpose is throughconferences.He suggests thai the teachershould initiatebrief,individual conf: rences with thechildthroughout the various phases ofthe writingprocess.Thesearc:seen asessentialtoa youngchild's growthas a writer.Informationissolicited from thechildabouthis or her thoughtsand ideas.According to Graves,conferencesserveIWOpurposes.First, thechildrengaina senseofvoiceby hearing them selvesexpress ideas and opinionsorally,Second,thereacher gainsa sense of the children'slogical thinking andinterests,whichprovides valuable insightsintotheir composing
13
priorities(p.49 ).
Calkins(1986)identifies threetypesof co nferences:
1.CoPle ntconferences, whichoccur in thebeginningstages of writing, help thechild10 developa purpose.clarifythoughts,andidentify anaudience.
2. Designconfmng; s.which occur throughoutthewriting, help the child!Obalanceconten tand form.
3. Editi ngconferences,whichoccurin thefinalstages ofwriting, help the childacquireskills inusage, mechanicsandspelling.
Theultimate goalof conferencingis to developchildren'ssenseof authorityand voice,a.swell as to providequestions theywillask themselves whenwriting alone.Childrengrowas writersasthey strivetomakethe actual product fittheirintentions.Journal writing, with daily feedbackand conferences on selectedentriesfor publication, shouldgreatlyaid inthisdevelopment.
Moffen (1976) definesajournal as being"moreimpersonal andpublic than a diary,which iswritten more aboutoneselfand to oneself'(p. 326). The journalmaybeeitherteacher-directedorstude nt-directed withassigned or unassignedtopics. The entriesmayberead bytheteacher whothenprovides positive,perso nalcomments.Some teachers gradeonthe quantityofwriting or onthe qualityofwritten expression. However , asnot ed byOliver (1982). gradingoften hinders true expression. He states"Studentswill notbenefit . unlesstheyfe el completelyfree • freetomakemistakes and breakrules. free 10 express whateverthoughtsand words cometothe irmind" (p.167). The student- directedjournal. with unassigned topics.allows children this opportunity.
14
Progo ff(1975)claimsthat byrecording ideas,feelingsandbeliefs ,one is ableto gaininsightinto oneself. Hebelie ves the journal captures"the undergroundstream ofimages and recollectionswithineach ofus..,nothing mor eor lessthan ourinnerlife"(p.67).SisterTherese Craig (1983).who has applied Progo ff'sIntensive Jo urnalWorkshopmet hods toInc classroom,states:
Eachof us has a tale,a beautifultale,an excitinglaic.to tell.We learnmore aboutourselvesbysharing thai tale onpaper.Ifwe offer thatto children.as oneway ofgett ingtokno w themselves better.we've giventhem a valuable1001 for life(p.379). In summari zingarevie w of literaturerelated to journal writing,Naylor (1982)pointsout severalpositivefeatures:
I.Ajou rnal topic canbehighlystructuredandorganizedas amean sof facilitatinglo gical,cohe rentwriting.
2.Journal topicscanspan allaspects of student experience and interest.
3.Journalscanbe graded quicklyaccordi ngtoageneral impress ionor to a specific skill that is being taught.
4.Journals are ale s s fonnal andmore personal type of written communication which mayhelp to convince students thatthey do have something to writeabo utwhichis ofinteresttoothers.
5.Journals canbeasequentia lseries ofwritings whichcanbe used to demonstrate a studen t 'sgrowt h inwriting, as wellas to outlinea student's interests, conc ernsand feelings about a widevarietyof topics (p. 30 ).
Purposes ofloumals
In recentyear s,teache rs , al all grade levels and in many subjectareas,
15
have been asking students to keep journals.Theseinformal writingsserve a varietyof educationalpurposes, frompractice inself-expression tofiguringout problemsinmathclasses. Someteachers encouragestudents10 writeon topics oftheirown interests, whileothers specifytopics.Inme ncases.however, studentsare askedto expresstheirthoughtsandopinions. take risks and write in theirownnat ural voices.They can experimentwithlanguage withoutfearof beingcorrectedor criticized. The teachercorrects indirectly by providinga languagemodelthro u gh positive feedback.
Teachersassignjournalsfor a varietyofspecificand practical reasons.
TheCommission onCompositionof theNational Council ofTeachersof English(1986),in its guidelinesforusingjournals inschoolsettings.suggests thefollowing:
1.To helpstudents findpersonalconnectionsinthematerial they are studyinginclassandtexts.
2. Toprovideaplaceforsmdenrs 10 thinkabout,learnandunderstand coursemateria l.
3.Tocollectobservations, responsesanddata.
4.To allow studentstopracticetheir writingbefore theirfinalcopy (Fulwiler. 1987,p. 6).
KindsofJournals
LeslieReedis the elementaryteacherwhoisusuallycreditedwith first using dialogue journalwritingin the classroom(Bode. 19&9).Throughoutthe 1979school year, she beganby asking her sixthgrade students10respond10 her
16
in writing each day about what happened to them, and whatthey hadle arned or had problemslearni n g.Her datly written feedbackled to muchmore meaningful writing.Shedidnot correct the children'slanguageusage, but corrected their mistakesin her responses.
Dialoguejournalsprovide the meansbywhich individualstude nts,at anyage, can carry on genuineconversatio nswiththeirteacher.The studentand teacher interactthrough sharing ideas,feelings andconcerns in writing.This daily writtencommunicatio nalso provides practice inthreelevels of language;
spelling, use of syntactical rulesandsemantics(Staton , 1980).
The distinguishingcharacteristicof dialogue journals is the interactive.
functionalnature which provides themeans of creatingand developing mutually interestingtopics. Theteacher's competence in respondingandelaborating on eachstudent'stopicis essential to promotecontinua lexpan sion of ideasand funheropportunitiesforlearning. The teachermustbefullycommitted tothe task asitis hisor her responseswhich create motivation, sustain interestand provide models of thoughtand language.Regularjournals,which some teachers ask students tokeepand whichthey may read and check periodically, do not usually work for youngerchildren orfor those who dislikewriting,II seems thesechildren need the supportof someoneansweringbac k(Staton,1987).
Staton claims thateven kindergan en children are quirecapab leof entering into a dialoguein writing. Simple responses totheir earlydraw ingsandwritings encourage them to incorporate theteacher' s wordsinto(heir own messages.
Notonly do dial ogue journalspromote writing development,bur accordingto Shay (1986) and Staton(1986),they alsc improve reading comprebeostcn.Theiranalysis ofdialogue journals as a readingtextmowed
17
that teacher feedback isusuallymoresyntac tically complex,more variedin runcncn.and more mature in reasoningthanthe basal reading text for thatgrade level.Thus,teachersare continually challengingcom prehensio n and inference capabilities.
A basicpremiseof thedialoguejournalisthat writtenlanguagebecomes meaningful through socia l interac tion.The teacher accep ts the child's reflections ofhisor herexperiences andthro ugh positive,personalfeedback, encourage s rurthergrowth.Writtenlanguage acquisitio n,then,likethatof first orallanguage,mustbenatural and functionalwithin asupportiveenvironment.
Primary Leve!ExperienceJournals
Areviewof therelated literaturereve aledthatmany journalwriting studies have been conducted and evaluatedatthe primary level10 determine the effectson written langua gedevelo pment. The result shave been positive, supporting Briuon' sclaimthat personalwriting iswhatyoungchildre n dobest.
Thefinding salso offercredencetoGrave'sclaim thatchildren shouldbe encouraged towrite from the firstday theyenter scboo..
To testthe theory of whether young children could writebeforethey knewhow to read, Hipple(1985)undertook: a journal writing study in her kindergartenclass. Theresults showedtha i thestudents not onlyimprovedin writing,butalsoinspeaking, reading and listening.As topics wereunassigned, the children also grew in dec ision-making strategies.As theygainedco nfidence in theirabilityto create,theirself-conceptsincreased.
Using the suggestionsof Hipple,Kirkpatrick (1986) co nd ucted a lo ngitudinal studyof journal writing in firstgrade.She,100,tested thevalidity
Ii
of whetherchildren could writebeforelearningtoread.Inventedspelling and developmentalstage s inchildren' swriting werealso examined. All children atte mptedwritingbefore learning(0 read.as well as duringthe writingprocess.
Allprogressedthro ughfive developmentalstagesof spelling asdefi nedby Genrry(1982):
1.The precQrnmuniC!ujyestage , whe re thechilduses ra ndom letters strungtogether.
2.The~e mi phone ri c §Iage, wherethechild usesleit ers repre senting
beginningorfinal sounds.
3. Thephone lic slage , wherethe childspellswords theway(hey sound.
4.The transitional stage,where thechild uses visualmemoryfor patternsof spelling.
5.Thecorrectstage, where thechild 'sspellingcorresponds to the Englishonhographicsystem and its basicrulestpp.192.199 ).
Strac kbein andTillm an(1987) alsoclaim thatthe experience journalis one ofthebest beginning points for writing.Their kindergarten students wrote injournalsand receivedfeedbackdaily.Theyclaim fou rbenefits:
I.Studentsand teachers get to knoweachotherbetter.
2.Studentspracticesaying what theymean.
3.The teachergelsa class overviewaboutwhether particularlessons have become functionalin thechildren' s writing .
4. Theteacheris provided with an individualrecord of each child's growthin language awareness (p.31).
Gena (1984)alsoconductedayearlong studyof journa lwriting at the flrst gradelevel.The children' sdrawings and writingsreflectedtheirlearning
.9
about the worldand theirrelationshiptoit.Theirwritingprogressed from egocentrismto sociocentrismastheybecamemore awareof an audience.Cause andeffect were brough tinto theirwriting as theyformulatedquestionsand testedhypothe sis.
Asimilarstudywas implementedbya groupof eleven Oregon teachers todetermine the effectsupon the stude nts' writingabilitiesand language development(Dunkeld, 1983).Overthe ninemonthperiod. every journal writingclass showed gainsin spellingperformancerangingfromslight10 almost twoyears. Thetotal group mademodestimprovement in writing ability, whilethelow abilitygroupmadesubstantial gains.In addition, scores on language usage testsimproved.
Manning,Manningand Hughes (1987) were interestedin thecontentsof firstgrade journals.Theyanalyzed thedailyunassigned entries of twenty studentsfortheperiod of oneyear. The results showed that whilethe children chose10write onavari etyof topics.most oftheentries wereonpersonal experiences.Increased confidence in theirability10usewrittenlanguage was alsonot ed.
Kline(1987)claim s valuein the useof a class joumal atthe primary level. Comaraderie developed from thedaily sharingof experiencesand feelings. Asa leaching tool, itstimulatedinterest inreadingandwriting, and also reinforcedreading and grammarskill s. A collaborativethreeyear research study of 1080 journal entries of children from kindergartento thirdgrade also revealedthat the journals became tools for the reading program,the student sharingandthe assessmentofindividualinterestsandconcerns (Buxton,1982).
Kintisch(1986) reports on theresultsof a four yearstudy ofthe
20
processesofjournal writing in theprimary grades.Fromkindergartento founh grade, every student wrote daily for about thirtyminutes.The majorconclusions wereas follows:
1.Students develop from dictating stories in kindergane ntoindependent writing in gradesthree andfour.
2.Youngerchildrenconcentrate more ondrawing than writing.
3.Creativityandimaginationare enhancedby theliteraturechildrenhear andread themselves.
4.Hearin g and watching their storiesreadandreread helpschildren improvetheir reading.
5.Writingcanbea socialactivityor a solitary one.
6.Childrenexperiment withdifferentstyleswhichis influencedby the literatureread aloud.
7.Mechanical skillsrequire moreattentionasthe writer develops. 8.Topicsbecomemore imaginary as writers develop.
9.Writers becomemorefluent andconfidentas theymature (pp.171- 172).
All the literature citedstronglysupported the use of journalsatthe primarylevel.The teacher,hov ever,mustbelievethat the childrenarecapable ofwriting and providedaily opportunitiesto foster this development.
LiteratureResMnseJQurna ls
For more than a decadenow, criticshave been shiftingtheir emphasis from the text to the responseof thereader.Reading, like writing,is an active process ofmakingmeaning.Inorderto derive meaning, thereadermust act on
21
the text and interactwith it.bringinginself and pastexperiences.
Exposuretogoodliterature isprobablyone of the best experiences young writerscan have.Books enablethemto explore, to feeland toextend theirima ginations.Whenstudentsareasked [0 writeabouttheirreaction s to the selections,theybecomemorepersonallyinvolvedwiththetext.Theyexamine the literaturemore closely thanthey otherwisemight.and their thoughts are broughttoaconsciousawareness. Thesethoughtsarethenformed andshaped intowritten expression.Britton (1975) comments on thevalueof usingwriting tointerpret experiences:
There's awholeworldtobeinterpretedand writing isa major wayto interpretit . . .•Everytime a childsucceedsin writing aboutsomething thathashappenedtohim or somethinghehas been thinking,two things are likelyto havehappened.First,he hasimprovedhischancesof doingso thenext timehetries.In otherwords, the writing hasgivenhimpractice,and secondly,he has:interpreted,shaped, coped withsome bit of experience(p.
20l.
Belanoff (1987)claims that journals belongat the heart of literature classes so the students can record theirresponsesas theyread. Later,theymay readtheir responsesto asmall group orto the wholeclass.and thenrecord their reactionsto thediscussion.Writtenresponses, he believes, aid in the students' interpretation ofthe text.Sharing theseresponses with othersbroadensand deepens theirinterpretations.
Gatlin(1987) foundthatsharing his ownjournal responses in literature classwas agreat motivatorfor students.Almostall becamemoreconfident in
expressing personalreactionsandinsights.
Using journalsin literature class,Lindberg(1987) claims,makesreading and learningmore personal.Ratherthan written feedback, he respondsto the journalthrough oral dialogue in the fonn ofconferences. These,he believes.
allowstudents[0broadentheir interpretations and thus extend the processof makingmeaning.Tashlik (1987).likewise, agreesthat journals offerstude nts an active means of participating in a text.Through their writing.theyadd theirown voicesto that of the author.Davala' s (1987)experience withjournals hasled her tofirm ly believeintheir importance asanoutletfor students toexpress feelings freely.
Others,suchas Atwell (1984),have adapted thedialoguejoumalconcept into aprocessfordiscussingliterature.Afterdialogingwith herjunior high students ona weeklybasis,she encourages them to dialogwith each other.
Writtenresponsesto books,she believes.godeeperthan talk,givestudents lime to considertheirthinking and inspire newinsights. Also,throughpersonal feedback, the dialogue journal enablestheteacherto leacheveryreader.
Attheprimary level,also, Fulwiler(1985)seesgood reasonsfor asking studentsto respondto readinginjournals:
I.II allowsthe writers tofindandrehearsetheirthoughtsbeforethey speak.
2.Itmay moredeeplycommit the writer toa deeply held position.
3.Itallows the writer10 explore the issuewithout being influenced by other opinions.
Readerresponse theory, then. clearlyshows that reading is acreative act.
As students exploretheir ownproce sses of reading and writing,theyare
23
creatingatextofindividuallearning experiences. As concluded byDickerson (1987 ). "the journalmaybethesingle mostimportantactivity to encourage that inner synthes isofself andthe world necessaryforcrea tiveteami ng tolake place " (p.136 ).
ContentJQurnals
In thelast decade, teachers in allsubject areashavebeen engagingina new philosophy;thatstudentscan learnmore from writingthan from writing whattheyhavelearned (Saunders . 1985). Manyhave come 10uscthejournalas theplacefor learni ng.Itaidsthe learning process by allowing studentstorecord theirpersonalthoughtsas theyexplorenewconcepts.
McGonegal(1987)claimsmuch success withjournal writing across the curric ulum in her fifthgradeclas sroom. The stude n ts are asked to writedail y in at least oneoftheacademic subjects.She citesseveral reasonswhyshe uses journalsin contentarea subjects:
1.To assess whatstudents alreadyknow.
2.To makeknowledge apart ofstudent'slives.
;\. Tofindout whatstudents have reallylearne d.
4.Tomonitorself-images .
5. To determinecognitive ability (pp.202. 204).
According to Steffens (1987). the infonn al,expressivelanguage of journals is better suited to teaching andlearninghistory thantransactional learningexercises. Journals,he claims. allow forexploring ideasand recalling inform ation from previous experie nce. Mulholland (1981) agrees with Steffens thatjo urnal writing playsa crucialrolein the history curriculum.
As explainedbyKent (1987).thinkingisessentially relatedto writing.
as writing involves expressing onesideas in words.Journals.heclaims.are a placeto practicethinking .He givesseveralreasonsfor usingthemdailyinhis philosophy class:
1.Journalspromote confidencein ability towrite.
2. Journalsallow educationtolakeplace ina more relaxed.less stressful atmosphere.
3.Journals provide fordialoguebetweenstudentand teacher.
4.Journalsteach studentstoreasonclearly,and to distinguish between good andtoadarguments(pp. 272·274) .
Schubert (1987),a fourth gradeteacher, uses daily journalsbased on the premises that such writing develops authorownership and that active participation promotes learning.Besides experience journals.this teacheralso uses them in thecontentareas ofmath,scienceandsocialstudies.Suchtopics as fractionsaretaught byusing math journals.From ideas generatedintheir experiencejournals. the childrenwriteand publish manybooks.
Bemiller(1987) usesmathjournalsas a placeto learn,and10 practice thinking,problem-solvingand writing.He claimsthat abouttwo-thirdsof the writing in thejournals are transactional.which informsand instructs.About anotherthirdis expressive,whichis writingforoneselfas a meansof thinking.
The mainidea, he believes,is forstudentsto activelyparticipateinthe course conceptsby committing thoughtto writing. This relatestoBritton'sview that one must writeaboutan experienceinorderto understandones perception.
In order for journalsto work, theteacher mustestablish clearobjectives, carefullyplanned assignmentsand continualmonitoringofthe journal use
25
(Brodsky and Meagher,1987).Theyclaim thatjournals contribute10stude nt performa nce in several important ways.Theyprovideopportunitiesforthe srudemto:
I.Apply thelessonslearnedin classtoactual situations.
2.Developanalyticalcapabilities and understandingof key co ncepts.
3.Ask questions which they might nOIotherwiseask inclass.
4.Teach themselves.
5.Reactwithoutfearofcorrection.
6.Establish acloser relation ship withthe teacher(pp. 375·38 6).
From this review of relatedliterature,then, itwasconcluded that journal writing canbeanimportantmeansby whichchildren learn.Theresults fro m thevariousexperi ence jo urn alstudi esindicated thaithistypeof writin gnot only effected improvement sin written language,bUIalso in speaking,reading, listening,decision-making strate gies, and sell-concept s.Literature response journalsallowedchildren to becomemore personall yinvolvedwiththe text, thusbroadeninganddeepeni ngtheir interpretations.Itwas alsofound that by allowing childre n to record theirthoughts10 thenew concepts explored in the various subjectsof theircurriculum,thepassive acceptance of knowledgewas changed to an active construction ofmeaning. Thus,muchlearning resultedfor allstude nts inall subjectswhen writingwasusedasan active,exploratory means of discovery.
26
CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
The subjectsfor this study were the students of a grade two classwith the Bay of Islands-St. Georges. Burgee,RameaIntegrated School Board.The researcher was the classroom teacher.
The students were introduced to journal writing during the first week of theschool year.Thestudy, which continued forfifteenweeks,was divided into threesections.Weeksone to fiveweredevotedtoexperience journals.weeks'lIix.
to len to literatureresponsejournals and weekseleven10 fifteen to content journals. Entries were written daily(or a period of about thirty minutes. The teacherreadand provided a written response10 eachof thesedailyentries.
Theseresponseswere always positive in nature, focusingon the content ofeach child'swriting.Various types of teacherresponses included affmning ideas and feelings, providing additional infonnation, asking questions, modeling conventional spelling and more complex sentences,andguiding children 10 furtherexamine theirthoughts. Other Ihan theteacher's responsein pencil, no other marks were put on the student's entry page.
At the endof each two week writingperiod,the childrenwere asked to select one entry which they would editfor publicationin a class journal.This was done to ensurethatat least onefirstdraftinlen was taken throughthe various stages of the fullwriting process. To aidinindependentediting,a
27
checklistwas compiledand charted by the children andteacher.The following items wen:included:
Does my entrymake sense?
DidIincludeeverythingI wanted to say'?
DidIrepeatthings?
Could Ihave saiditin a betterway?
Did I usedescriptive words?
DidIremember[Quse capitallettersproperly?
DidIuse punctuationmarkscorrectly?
Did I check wordsIthink mightbe misspelled?
This chart was displayed in apro minent placein the classroomand referredtoat each editing phase for all publications. Individualstudent-teacher conferencesfurtherfocusedonrevising and editing skills. The publishedversion was usuallythe thirdorfounhdraftcopy.A total of six class journals were published throughout the study.Each child was givena copyto take home and a laminatedcopy was keptinthe classroom library.Asthe proced ure foreach journal type variedinsome respects, eachwasdiscussed separately.
ExperienceJournals
The decision to beginwithexperiencejournals rather thanliterature responseor contentjournals was based onBritton's claimthat early writing programs should begin with personalwriting as itprovides the basisfor more publicfonns ofwritinglater . Graves also supports this view,claimingthai youngchildrenshouldbegin their composingcareers by writing about theirown experiences.
28
The experiencejournalwasintrod uced as a specialbook in whichthe children would writedailyonany topicofintere st tothem.The specifiedtime 10writewas [he firstperiodeachmorning.
Atthebeginningof eachperiod,theclass was brought together as a groupto discuss anytopic ofinterestorconcern to them.Each day, a coupleof studentswere askediftheywo uldlike to lead thediscussion.Forexample, one studentmight sayRMy toothcameoutlast night." The others wereencouraged 10commentonand question theexperie nce.Theymightrespondbyrelating their own experienceswithloo se teethoraskingthe childfor furtherdetails.If thediscussionwereslow, theteacher wouldintervenebymodelingquestions.
such as"How diditfeel?What didyoudowith it?Why didyoudo that?"The childre n were encouragedtoask open-endedquestionswhich>l.-uldrequire morethan a yes or no reply.Onseveraloccasions.thistimewas used forpeer conferences. Partners wooldgettogether.discussandquestion each other's topic.These discussionsessionswen:usedto helpthestudentsextendtheir thinking, and thus.theirwritingonthe topic.
As thestudyprogressed,thistimewas also sometimesused tohave mini-lessonson common need s observedin the children's writing. Usually,only oneneed was dealtwithat a time.Often.transparencieswere made of student entries,with their pennission , andpositiveexam pleswereshared with theclass.
Inthisway the teacherwas abletoteach andreinforce thecorrect use of periods.questionmarks,exclamation points, contractions.quotationmarks.!he combinationof twothoughts ina single sentence,the abilityto focus on a topic, and to revise byinsertingnewthoughts intothe contentoftheir writing. The effectivenessofsuch lessons was noted by thechildren'sapplicationin future
29
entries.
Whilewriting,the:studentswere given total controlof topic choice.
organizatio n.vocabulary.andsentence structure. Theywe re also told to spell words as theythoughtthey shouldbe spelled.After the dailywriting,the class wasbroughttogether for volunteeredsharingof entries.Thechildren were then encouragedtocommentpositively on and question each other's writing.This wasintended to aid in furtherexpansion and clarification,notonly of the particular entries beingsharedbytheindividual students,but also of thefuture entriesbyall students.
Thechildren were asked to selectan experience journalentry for publicationin the class journal every two weeks.Itwas hoped thai this process would furtherextend and therebyimprove their written languageabilities.
Eachchildwas interviewed by the classroom teacheratthe endofthe experiencejournal writingsectionof die study.Questionswere askedto gain insightintomechildren'sthoughts abouttheirwritingoverthepastfiveweeks.
Thequestionsaskedareincluded inAppendix B.
Lherature Response Journals
Tointroduceme literatureresponse journal,the childrenandteacher discussed a list ofitems whichmightbeconsidered when responding 10a book.
This listincludedthe following:
Look at the cover.
Lookatthetitle.
Can you predict whatthebook willbeabout?
Who is the author?
30
Who isthe illustrator?
Do you know other books by thisauthor?
What doesthe insidejacket show? How aboutthe title page?
What year wasthebookpublished?
Dothe picturesgowiththewords?
Howdid the illustrator makethepictures?
Doyouthink itwaswritteninonedraft?
Whatpan didyoulike best?
Werethere pans youdidn'tlike?
would you have saidit in a differentway?
Whattype of bookisit?
Could you retellthestory?
Would you like yourfriend toreadit?
This list, whichwaskeptona chartin the storycomer, provided a framework for thediscussionofeach book. Toprovidea common groundfor responding, abookwasreaddaily10the studentsbytheclassroomteacher during the language artsperiod.All werepicrurebooks. selected from the genresoffantasy, realistic fiction, historical fiction, infonn ational booksand poetry.Thebookswerealsojudgedtobewithin the listening comprehension of sevenandeight year01<1.'1 al thegradetwo level. Thelistof books readare contained in .ppendixA.
The children wereaskedtowrie[heir responses followingthe reading anddiscussion ofeach book.To provide amodel, the teacherwrote,drewand shared her responses to a book justreadtotheclass.The children were
31
encouraged notmerelytoretell the story,burtowritetheir personalreactionsto the book.At the end of each response session. the children were brought together forvolun tee red shari ngoftheir writingsanddrawings.
As withtheexperie nce journals. after eachtwo weekwriting period, every childselectedan entrytoberevised andedited forthe classjournal. At theend of this sectionofthestudy, 100, the children were again askedto commenton theirthoughts and feelings concerningtheir journal writings. The questions askedare containedin AppendixC.
COD!c;ntloumals
Contentjournal writi nglook place during the last period of each school day.The children wereasked(0 reflect ontheday's learningand selectone subjecton which to write.Before the actual writing,the class was brought togetherasagroup 10 discuss and chan the various subjectsexperiencedthat pan icular schoolday.Questions.such asthefollowing,were discussed to aid thestudentsin theirself-reflections.
WhatdidI learninthi s subjec ttoday?
What didIenjoy aboutit?
WhydidI likeit?
DidIunderstandthe topic?
CanIexplainwhatIunderstood?
Did any panofthe lesson confuse me?
Toencourage the childrento bemore specificin theirresponses.itwas suggestedthattheypretendthattheir audiencewas not presen tin theclass.To provide anexample of a content jou rnal response,theteacher thoug htaloud
32
whilewriting her response to a sciencelesson experiencedthatmorning.
The volunteered sharingofentries,after the writing,was encouraged 10 promote furtherdiscussion anddeeper reflection.Itwasalso provide dso that children could see similarities and differences.aswellas difficultiesand attitudes,in oneanomer'slearning.
Aswith theprevious types ofjourna ls. childrenwentthrough theprocess ofselecting, revising,editingand publishinga favouritecotty atthe cnd of each two week writingperiod. Theywere also interviewedatthe endofthis section of the study to gainknowledgeof their perceptionsoftheirwritingexperiences.
Thequestions askedllf1":contained inAppendix D.
JournalWritingOS2pmeS$$App roach
Prominent researchers,such as Graves and Calkins,claimthatwemust view writingasa process,nOImerelyas a product. Thus,the researcherin this studythought it important that the children'sjournalentriesbe viewedin the same way.According toGraves(1983),there are three phasesofthe writing process; precomposing, composingandposteomposing.Themethodol ogyused inthe presentstudy providedencouragementand opportunity for allthree of these phases.
Theprecorr.posingphasefor allthreetypesof journals :experience, literatureresponse,and content,includedthinkingabout anddiscussingthe topic.Sometimes,this wasa class group activity,whileat othertimes,it was with a partner.Inexperience journals. the childwasfree 10 selec tany topic.In Jitererure response journalsandcement journals,topicselec tion was a little morerestrictive.In literature responsejo urnals,the childre nwe , asked 10
33
respond to a particularbookeachday.Theycould, however,choosethe aspect of the book towhich theywished 10 respond.Similarly,withcontent journals, topic selectio n was confinedtothecurriculum subjectsof that particularday.
Mo stdaystherewere seven topicsfromwhichtochoose.Discussion, then, cen tered eitheron thechosentopic,book readtothe class,orcon tent from the vario ussubjects of the grade twocurriculum. Theseprecomposingdiscussions we reintended tostim ulate lhinking ofcontent for dailyentries.
When thechildrenleft the group discussi on. they wentto theirindi vidual des ks 10begintheirjournalentries.Thechildre n were then on their ownto organ ize how and whatthey wanted to write, usingtheir ow n words and inventingspelling for unfamiliarwords.The teacherdid not inte rvene intheir tho ughts nor providehelpwithspelling.
The postcomposing phase of thejournal writing alway sincluded a sessionin which entrieswereshared. Severalchildren each day volunteeredto read theirentriesto theclass.Commentswere received andquestionswere asked about the contentsof these entries.Written teacherresponse s were pro vided foreach child'sdailyentry. TheseentrieswereconsideredtobefllSt drafts. As suggested byboth Graves (1984)and Walshe(1986),notevery piece of writing shouldberequired togo throughthe full writing process.The children shouldbeallowed to choosewhichpiecesare published.Therefore,the children wereasked toselect oneentryinevery tenfor publication in a class journal.Proofreading,revising and editingwereconducted asindependentlyas poss ible.Individualstudent-teacher conferences focusedon further necessary skill s. It was the child'sresponsibility to dctennine when thepiece was finally ready for publication.
34
Backgroundtothe AssessmentofJournalWriting
This study attempted '0 determinethe effectivenessof journ al writing as aprocess approachonthe written languagedevelopmentof a class of grade two stude nts. The writingresearchofmany educators hadagreatinfluence in detennining what should beconsidered important whenassessing these stude nts'journalentries.
Both Graves(1984)and Calkins(1983)claim thatwriti ngshouldbe viewedas a processrather than a product.They suggestthat childrenshouldbe freetopicktheir owntopicand the primaryemphasisshouldbeoncontent.
Journ al writingallowed thechildren thisfreedom.The contents oftheir entries.
then,were analyzed[0learn specificaUywhateach childchose to writeabout andwhethercertainthemes were prevalentfortheclass. According toBritton (1975),there are three primarymodes of writing;expressive.transactio naland poetic.The analysis of contentalsorevealed whichmode was prevalentforeach type of journal.
Moffett(1983)and Elbow (1973) bothclaim thatchildren findmeaning inthe world by explori ng it through language. These educatorssupport Polanyi's(1962 )view that childrenmustconstruct their ownpersonalmeaning fromtheir experiences.Theway the childrenchose to organizetheir thoughts was an expression of thismeaning. BothVygotsky (1962)andMoffell(1983) recogn ize theinteractio n betweencognitive processes andlinguisticexpression.
Ananalysisofthe organizationof thechildren's journalentrieswas cond ucted to provide insightsinto theordering of theirthought processes.A look at vocabulary revealed whatwords were chosen 10 expressthese thoughIS.
35
The children were told to spell words as they thought theyshouldbe spelled.Calkins (1986) supports this practice.advising thatif children are slopping tocheck wordlists and other spelling resources,their writing is impeded.Graves(1984) and Chomsky(197 1), also, both agree that children shouldbeallowed 10writebyusinginvented spelling. Allsupponed Gentry's (1982)view that spelling is a developmental process.An analysisof the children' sspelling inthe present studywas conducted10seewhetherthere was evidenceofthisdevelopmental progression.
Educatorssuch as Edclskyand Smith (1984)believethat real writingis purposeful communicationfrom writers[0readers. When given controlof their own writing, children writewith a definite purpose in mind. Entries were analyzed10determinethe authenticity andawareness of audience inthe children' swriting.
When childrenused both writing and drawingas a means of expressing their thoughtsin their journal entries.an analysis attempted to identifythe interrelatedness between the two. Asnoted by Graves(1983).inhis twoyear studyof thewriting processes of sevenyear aids, many children used both in a complementary manner.
Throughoutallthe relatedliterature. it was stressed that childrenlearn to write by writing.Opportunities10writemust be provided dailyif children are to mature as writers.Theseopportunitieswere provided in this journal writing study.An analysisof such criteria as sentencestructure andmech anics showed whethertherewas a maturing progressioninthese areas.
Additional knowledge gainedfromthe recentjournal writing studiesof Hipple(1985),Kirkpatrick (1986),weson-Bllam (1987),Ganz(1984), and
36
Buxton (1982), also contributed to the development ofthe criteria forthe analysis of entries inthepresent study.Asexperienced by Ganz,the assessing ofjournalwritingentriesis verydifficult because of the varyingbackgrounds of students.All have uniqueexperiences,thoughts. andfeelings.Sheadvocates usingthe case studyapproachofGraves (1983) and Calkins (1986) to look at similarities and differencesin patterns ofgrowthin
me
class population over a period of time. AccordingtoMoffett (1983)andBritton (1975), all young childrenmust mature from egocentrism10 sociocentrismiftheir writing and learning are to develop.Ganz observedthisgrowth.as well as the ways in whichthe studentsshapedtheir experiences tomake meaningintheir world.Hipple(1985) claims thai journalwritl'lg isaway10helpchildrenwrite and develop languagethrough inventedspelling. By removingemphasisfrom standardor correctspellingandknowing how to respond to invented spellingin an appropriate manner,teacherscanencourage children tolearn in a natural way. Both Hipple and Kirkpatri ck (1986) used Gentry's (982) five developmentalstages in spelling: precomm unicat ive,semiphonetic,phonetic, transition al andcorrect,[0 determi ne pattern s of growthin kindergarten and first grade journalwritings.
From a year long studyof math journalsin flrst grade,Wason-Ellam (1981) iden tifiedfourdistinctpurposes used by studentsfor their writing:self- questioni ng, organizing infonnati on, assimilating and accommodating infonna tio n,and making guesses.
Buxton (1982),who reported on a three yearanalysis ofone thousand and eightyjournalentries ofchildren ages five to eight, revealednine dimension s ashaving the most influe nceinwritinggrowth.These dimensions
37
weregrouped imo three mainaspectsof writing;the thoughtor meaning,the individuality or person of the writer,and theform or structureof thewriting.
These groupshighlightedthe what,whoandwhyof writing.Thesegroups and dimensions wereoutlinedas follows:
ThoughtfMeanjng I.Theme(s) 2.Organization 3. Vocabulary fw2ll
4.Approachofthe writertoward the audience 5. AuthorshiplUniqueness
6. Authenticityllndividuality
=
7.Interrelatednessof writing and drawing 8.Languagestructure s
9. Mechanic s(pp.to-Il).
Thesedimensions.according 10 Buxton.areinterrelatedasthechild thinksand writes in hisor her own journal. Close attention to theseparate aspect s. in relation to one another.and tothe whole. allows theresearchera complex.view ofthe writingas a total process.
Based on the knowledgegained from the worksof the above researchers.
thefollowing assessment wasdeveloped forthepresentstudy.
Asses smentfor thePresent 5mdy
The assessmen tforthe present Study consistedof the following criteria:
38
coment..organization. vocabulary, authenticity of the writing, language structures.mechanics, and interrelated ness of writing and drawing.The accompanying questions provided guidelinesfor the analysisof thejournal entries:
1.Doesthe child write on a varietyof topicsor are themes more prevalent:
2.Would the writingbeclassified asexpressive.transactional,or poetic'!
3.Doesthe writingprogress from egocentrism toward socioce ntrism?
4.Does the child achieve meaningthrough thewriting?
~
1.What isthe basisof organization for thechild' s writing?
2. Doesthe writing conveylogicalthinking?
3. Does the child show an understanding of cause and effect relatio nship s?
I.Doesthechilduse vividwordstoexpress meaning?
2.Doesthe child use a varietyof words?
3. Is the use ofwords appropriate?
4. Does the child provideadequate detail'?
Authemicityoflhe writing
I.Doesthe childseem to write forapurpose?
2.Doesthechildwritewith asenseofaudience?
3.Dothe personalfeelings, opinions andideas conveythe writer's individuality?
39
LanguageSt:!lJCtUl'Cs
I.Area varietyof sentences usedtoconvey differentmeanings?
2.Dosentencesprogressfromsimple ro more complex?
3.Doesthe word orderof sentencescombine10convey meaning?
I. Are suchconventions as capitalizationlU'Iti puncruation used appropriately?
2.Doeslhechildlake risbwithinventedspelling?
3.Isthere a progn:ssiontowards conventional spellin g?
Imern!alglne!j$ofWOrlD'and Drawjng I.Doesthechildusedrawingto stimulatethought?
2.Does diedrawing correspondtothewriting?
3.Whichrequires more energy and expressesthought more clearly?
The childrenwrote atotal of sevenhundred and flfly-fiveentries during thecourse ofthefifteenweek study. Allentries were analyzedindetail.andin the assessment. samplesare presentedto suppon thedrscuscons of the interpretations.An anernptwas madetoincludesamplesfromsome ofthe journals of alltheChildren.thusmakingtheanalysisrepresentativeoftheclass
asa'.vOOle.Thesamplesm:typedas written by the children,'Wheaspellingor
punctuation wasthought10impede reading,a scribe' sversionor partial version formalizedthewriting.The children'srespon sestoeachofthethreetypesof journals;expressive.literature-response andcontentare alsodiscussedat theend of each section.
40
CHAP1C R 4 ASSESSMENTOFJOURNAL WRmNG
The criteria discussedinthepreviouschapterwereused10analyzethe children's journalwritingentries in an attemptto determinesimiliarities and differencesin patterns of growth in writtenlanguagedevelopmentwithina grade two class.The firstsection of this chapterwillreporton thesepatternsof growthwithinthethreetypesof journal writing:experience,literatureresponse andcontent.Thechildren' s responses to theirwritingwillalsobe discussedat the end of each journal type. Next,adiscussion of noticeable developmental trendsin the children'swritingthroughout the periodofthestudywillbe presented.Finally,the imponanceof teacher response:andusing joumal writing asaprocess approach willbe discussed.Samplesof journal entries willbe providedtoclarifythediscussions of theanalysis.
ExperienceJournals
Atotal oftwohundredandfifty journalentries werewrittenby fourteen gradetwo students,Theseentrieswerethenanalyzedaccording tothe following criteria: content,organization,vocabulary, auihenticity ofthewriting,language structures,mechanics,andinterrelatednessof writing anddrawing.Each willbe discussed separately.
Thecontents of thechildren'sexperiencejournalswere categorized
41 underthe followingtwelve headings:me, school, friends,family,afterschool activities.pets,vacations,special days,winter,IOyS,concernsandother. While theywroteon a varietyoftopics. themeswere prevalent,withfamily,friends andschoolbeing themOSIcommon. Thewritingin thesethreethemes included approximatelysixty percent ofthe totalentries.The childrentended 10write on these topicsmore than once,either carrying on from onedayto thenext,or returningto them later.
The childre nwroteofevents in theirown lives. suchasbirthdayparties.
looseteemand bad dreams;andof groups theywere apanof,such asfamily, school andfriendships.Theywroteof thingsmat wereimportanttothemat that lime.Immediateexperiences alsoseemed to havea greatimpacton theirchoice of topics.For example.suchcum::nteventsasa Ronald MacDonald visit,a naturefield tripand thefirstsnowfallwere favourite choices. As thefocusin their languagearts basal reader at the timewas on friends, ideasfrom discussions onsuchtopics assharing,best friends,andfightsbetween friends wereof tencarri ed overintojournal writing.Sometimes, thetopic chosen seemed todepend onthesex of thewriter. Therewereseven boys andseven girlstakingpaninthestudy but girls choseto writeon friendsalmost twiceas oftenasdid boys. Also,only boyschose towriteon thetopicof toys.When Graves(1983)examinedlite thematic choices ofsixty-ninesevenyear aids in eighthundred andsixty unassigned topics,hralso found that girlsand boys showedseparate preferences.Themesofdependenc y andlimitedterritory such as home,school, parents and friends werenoted inthegirls'writing, while themesof aggression andterritorialexpan sion, suchasspace,war,and spans werevisibleintheboys'writing.Aswouldbeexpected,allstudents wrote of
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trueu.perieras;nonewroteorimaginaryevents,
Mostofthe experience journalenmeswereoftheexpressive modeand wrhe nin tbe firs tperso n.Forexample. mostchildrenusednn1penon pronouns suchas"I",'me",and"my".SincethisMiring wascloseto the5I:1f.
reeUngswere mostettenexpressed.Inthe followingentry, achild voiced thoughtsabouthisloosetooth:
Sept. 15, 1989
1 hav a lo ws toth. I hop it corns owt son.
Iv had it for a log
tam.it is stari ng to bother me . 1 bop 1got a
talfor it.
(IhaveIlooseIOOlh.I hopeitcomesoutsoon.I'vehadit foralong time.It isstarting tobother me.I hopeI ge t adollar foriL)
Ano therchildwroteof herdesperateconcernoverhomework:
Sep t. 15. 1989
I awes dowt remr wate to dowe . I fie sade all the time wan I frget, and I dowet. lace it I lie school But Jjaste dowet no w ale to dowet. and I dowe t lice it and it do wt fle gwde.
(Ialways don', remember what10do.Ifeel sada1l lhe timewhenIforgetandIdon'tlikeit.Ilikeschoolbut Ijust don'[knowwhattodo.AndI don't like itanditdon'tfeelgood.) Other entrieswereacombinationof expressiveandtransactionalmodes of writing.Inthenextsample,theauthorexpressedpersonalfeelings,butalso wrote10info nnanaudience:
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Step. 29, 1989
I go 10 brawnes on tosdays.
Itis fun going
tobrawnes. We do a lat of things. lick calaring pechers. and going ot sid. we rnak pupe ts too.
(I go to Brownieson Tuesdays.Itisfun going10 Brownies.We doalot of thingslikegoingoutside andcolouring pictures.Wemakepuppets,too.)
Theirpurposesfor writing weremainlyto relatepastor anricipalCd experiences,feelings or concern s. At theverybegi nningofthestudy,a few children had difficultyinfocusing on one paniculartopic.The following sample. where a child wroteon three topics allinthesameentry. showedthis lackof focus.
Sept. I I , 1989
I like scoole it is fun on wy Becas you can Lmn Lasse of theing and you can play to it is Las of fun and [ am happy Bekas I gat my har cat and no the to Days Af I haD Loss of fun playing wha my feinds.
(Ilikeschool.Itisfun.Knowwhy?Becauseyou can learnlois of thingsand youcan playtoo.It is lotsof fun.AndI am happy because I got myhair CUI.And knowthetwo daysoff!
Ihad lots offun playingwith myfriends.)
However.withthe helpgained from listeningtootherssharingtheir entries andmini- lessonson focusing, thesefewstudents,whoexperienced this difficulty, soonimproved.The next sample,from the same srudemquoed
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above.showedher improvedability10focusandexpa."donaropic:
Sept. 28, 1989
1 got a new dog his name is peplse he is safe and flafee he is soow cute I woud lake to hcge hem he is 2 yarse old he is varery funny for a dog he is ve ry Crash and clenn, he al so ets very mach.
(IgOIanewdog.HisnameisPebbles. Heissoftand fluffy.He is socute.I would like[0hughim.He istwoyears old.He is veryfunnyfora dog.Heisvery fresh and clean. He also eats very much.)
Thechild hadnow acquiredtheability 10 foc us ononeparticulartopic andhad also learned how10expand usingdescriptio nanddetail.At theendof experiencejoumals,allcnlrieswere focusedandhad increasedinlength.
Thechil~n's ability 10 organize their thoughtsshowed much improvement duringthe fiveweeks ofexperiencejournalwriting.While they allstart edwith theabili ty 10write oneortwosemeces independently,most progressed10muchlongerentries. showi ng more connec ted description,I'~
undentandingofcause andeffect relationships.and evidence of logical thinking.Todemonstra te such a progression. sam ples weretaken fromthe beginning,middle and end of twostudents'experiencejo urnal entries. At the beginningof thestudy,the rust child wrote:
