Exchange a journal notebook with an at-risk student, opening a channel of communication that will build positive rapport and allow you to more effectively interact with the student across the school day.
Roughly 4-12 — the student's writing skills are an important factor.
A student who is consistently exhibiting disruptive behavior — and whom you have struggled to establish positive rapport with. If you are trying to have "heart-to-heart" chats and the student appears shut down, a dialogue journal can help provide a workable channel of communication.
The goal is to establish and/or restore your rapport with the student. Positive rapport will make it easier to influence/redirect the student's behavior choices, motivate the student to try/persist on tasks, and for the student to receive feedback. If these daily interactions become smoother and friendlier, that's your dialogue journal at work.
In a blank journal notebook, write the first entry addressed to your student. Here's some key information that you might include:
I care about you, and I want you to always have a way to share things with me.
You can write anything you want to in this journal. Leave it on my desk, and I will write back as soon as I can.
This is just between you and me. That said, if I'm concerned about your safety or others' safety, I have to get help from other adults.
Find a few minutes to chat with the student one-on-one. Present them with the notebook, explain the key information (above), and answer any questions the student has.
Continue to exchange the journal until you and the student mutually agree to stop.
How Dialogue Journals Build Teacher-Student Relationships (Cult of Pedagogy)
Dialogue Journals (Addressing Wellbeing in Schools)
Dialogue Journals (Greater Good in Education)
