Double Entry Journal

I often use a double-entry journal in my classes or tutoring sessions. It is a wonderful tool to get students to write their reflections about a text. Usually to start a double entry journal I will glue text on one side of the page of a composition notebook. On the other page, I will divide it in half (up and down). On one half students will write general notes or a summary about the text. This summary might include key ideas or definitions to vocabulary words. You could also have them write specific notes about a character or person in history (I do this in my history class). On the other half of the page, students write their own thoughts, responses, questions, confusions, personal reactions about what the information means to them. Double entry journals take note taking a step further. Instead of just asking students to consider what the text means, the process requires students to draw implications from the text, analyze the text, and wrestle with the prose. An interesting twist that you can take with this exercise is to have your tutoring student complete an entry and you as the teacher complete and entry and then share your writings.