This template is useful for any grade level from 5th through 12th because it addresses the California ELA Reading Standard 3.0: Literary Response and Analysis. However, this specific Double-entry Journal was created for the 7th Grade Reading Standard 3.0 as it relates to historically and culturally significant text, which is studied in 7th grade history. The text in this case is The Midwife’s Apprentice by Karen Cushman.

The template is handy for creating other such journals for use with other texts, as needed. What is most helpful in this template is the example, which is what helps students understand what is expected of them.

Students can use these types of journals to examine characterization, practice inference, and generally respond to literature. Since Literary Response/Response to Literature is difficult for most students, it is good to give them a lot of practice.

The directions for this journal are as follows:

Directions: Choose one character from the story and write six journal entries based on dialogue and/or narration that pertains to him/her. What can you say about the character based on the quotation you have chosen? Be sure to place the quotation from the text, along with the parenthetical citation (page number only), on the left side of the double-entry journal. Continue on the back of this sheet.

You can change the directions and format of this template by typing in any text or passage on the left and having students respond on the right. You can even have them exchange journals and respond to each other’s responses. In any case, you will find many uses for this simple, yet helpful template.


Midwife's Apprentice Double-Entry/Dialectical Journal by Aghavni Pakradouni is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.