Writing a Relationship: Home–School Journals

Three elementary teachers share how they engaged in active listening with the families of children in their classrooms by using home—school journals. Their use spans pre-Kindergarten to fifth grade, and the techniques and responses by each teacher vary based on need and intended purpose. The authors share explanations of process, findings, and implications of using dialogue journals as related to relationships with families and student learning. Taking ideas from Davis Yang’s (2005) Parents and Teachers Working Together and Shockley, Michalove, Allen’s (1995) Engaging Families: Connecting Home and School Literacy Communities, these three educators adapted the use of home—school journals to meet the needs of students in their classrooms and their families. Freire serves as a foundational underpinning across the teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and actions within the classroom walls and beyond as all of the teachers express a strong belief in the benefits of meaningful home—school relationships and the positive effects of ongoing dialogue. As this is intended to be an authentic account, not a panacea or “one size fits all” suggestion for involving families, the authors identify challenges faced in the implementation of dialogue journals and share openly about their experiences.