Dear Diary,

25 June 2014

Yesterday I taught my class how to write diary entries.  We began by reading an example diary entry in one of their textbooks.  I then explained to the class that diaries are always written in the first person and the past tense.  I wrote examples of first person words on the board (i.e. I, me, my, we, our) and beginnings of phrases (ex. The last time I was in an argument…) to help the students write their own diary entries.  I asked them to write an entry about the last time that they were in a fight.   They wrote silently for a few minutes then I asked the class for volunteers to share what they had written with the class.  Nobody wanted to read his or her work aloud.  Students at home are also often reluctant to participate as well but I was surprised that they did not want to read their diary entries because there was no wrong answer. Because most of what I have seen in the classroom has been very heavily guided response that aligns with the prescribed state curriculum, I wonder if the students are expecting a prescribed response.  In class the students either read directly out of the book or recite something they have memorized, this helps their pronunciation skills and the comfort level verbally articulating some English.  But I worry that they are not being given the tools to confidently create original thoughts in English or if they do not have enough vocabulary of the language to articulate what they want to say.