Double Entry Journals: an alternative form of formative evaluation

In a previous post, I spoke a little bit about the necessity of assigning students straightforward questions at the end of a lesson, unit, chapter, or novel. For the sake of having similar results and arriving at a quick assessment of student's comprehension and students' knowledge, one can use double entry journals. Best used in an English classroom, double entry journals could also be an across-curricular method of formative assessment.

I used double entry journals during all my practicums while teaching William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet the graphic novel and the original text. Instead of asking students questions that will eventually have them contemplate the text, a double entry journal allows teachers to focus on specific lines of the text, as well as allow students to comment, interpret, analyse, and question the same lines. Double entery journals can be a great gateway to a larger class discussion of the subject material.