“Knowing the families of the children we teach is as important as knowing the children.”
–The Responsive Classroom Approach (as stated in The Morning Meeting Book by Roxann Kriete)
One of my favorite parts about being a “connected educator” is the ideas and inspiration that come from talking with educators across grade levels and geographic areas. This summer, I began a Voxer conversation with Peter Anderson, who teaches English Language Arts to middle schoolers in Virginia. Peter and I are both members of the National Writing Project and have some mutual connections between the Long Island Writing Project and the Northern Virginia Writing Project. Initially, we began discussing how Peter moved to a “grade-less” classroom. During our discussion, Peter referenced Family Dialogue Journals. My interest was piqued and so I asked lots of questions about the whats, whys, and hows such a journal would work. Peter shared the blog post he wrote about using Family Dialogue Journals with me. He recently revisited the topic in another blog post you can read here. Peter found inspiration for this idea from the book Family Dialogue Journals: School-Home Partnerships That Support Student Learning (Practitioner Inquiry).
My understanding of a Family Dialogue Journal is that it is a place for teachers, students, and families to have a conversation about what the student is learning in school. The teacher writes a letter to both the student and parent or family member. The student responds to the teacher’s letter or prompt, writing to his/her parent or family representative. The parent or family member then writes back to the student. After the journal is returned to school, the teacher responds to what the student and parent wrote and then the cycle continues. Students can share the letters with their peers or during a class meeting.
This idea appeals to me for many reasons. It is another authentic way for students to write, for a real, meaningful audience, about their ideas, reflections, and learning. It also gives parents the opportunity to share stories in writing with their children, creating space for more conversation and potentially deepening the relationship. I like how the Family Dialogue Journal removes the teacher as “expert” as the learning is being shared and discussed by the students and the parents, along with the teacher. Each person has a voice in the written conversation.
When Peter first told me about this idea, I asked, “What about the students who have parents who don’t speak English? What if parents don’t write in the journal?” Peter said that all of these things are real possibilities and likelihoods. Parents are encouraged to write in whatever language or style they are comfortable with. Some families might not participate. In his blog post, “Family Dialogue Journals Revisited- One Year Later,” Peter writes, “Many families allowed me a glimpse into their lives. But not all did. Some offered me only random sentences here and there, inconsistent descriptions of inconsequential things. That’s part of the process. Meeting every family where they’re comfortable and then trying to build something of value. There can be no judgement in a family dialogue journal.”
And so, I am taking an inquiry stance as I start the Family Dialogue Journal. How can I use writing to strengthen relationships between home and school in order to enhance student learning and reflection? How can I make parents more part of our learning community? How might I get through the roadblocks of language differences and communication breakdowns? I honestly have more questions than answers as to how this will all develop, but I am looking forward to trying this strategy of writing to build deeper connections.
How do you use writing to help families understand what is happening in the classroom? Please share your ideas and experiences to continue the conversation.
TWO WRITING TEACHERS 
I am using something similar in my Gr 2 class this year. I am not writing letters myself but each Friday we review the important things we have done that week and the students write a letter detailing the parts that are important to them. I teach French Immersion so we are writing in French to primarily English speaking parents, which I hope encourages a conversation at home about the writing & what we have done that week. I have asked parents to write back to the students as well, and for the most part they have (in a mixture of French & English). So far so good and I have had lots of positive feedback from parents about the idea.
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This sounds like a very interesting idea and I’m thinking to give it a try with my 4th and 5th graders. When you write in the student journals do you actually ‘write’ in each notebook or do you photocopy and paste into the notebooks?
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I print out my letter to the class but handwrite my response to the students and families. But I am brand new at this! There are surely many ways to do it!
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I love this idea. I too have questions and concerns but anything worth anything starts as a shot in the dark. I’m aiming my arrow. Thank you for this fabulous idea as I work to decrease the homework I send home each week.
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Kathleen, I loved this post. Years ago, at my school, fourth graders kept family message journals. Students wrote weekly letters and the journals came home on weekends and families wrote back and sent the journal back to school. I love that you are expanding its’ use to include your letters too. Sharing this with fourth grade teachers- maybe we can start this again. It was such a good way to jumpstart the conversation at home…
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I am so intrigued by this idea! I am a HUGE blogger, and I know I have many families that interact with our classroom that way, but not everyone is able/willing. Also, some years are better than others as far as how much families comment and make it a two-way communication. I love the child’s voice in this whole thing, too. Any tips, tricks or documents you can share besides the intro letter that you are using? Could you share an example of a returned letter (without breaching confidentiality of course!)? Thanks for posting this!
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Hi Jen! I don’t want to share the letters here as I don’t have permission from the families to do so. I will say one student had 3 family members each write rich stories of how they got through challenging times with perseverance. I love that this child had 3 family members willing to take the time to share his/her perspective!
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Several years ago, our district changed “family involvement” to “family engagement.” Family dialogue journals are a fantastic means of shifting in this right direction, strengthening relationships in homes as well as to and within the school. What a simple yet powerful approach for building community AND a community of writers.
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I’ve been so excited to read the parent letters so far. Some incredible stories that are helping me get to know the families better as well!
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In the fourth grade classroom, we refer to our journal as the Letters From School journal- LFS for short. When discussing the project with parents and students at he beginning of the year, I talk about how it will become a treasured keepsake. The notes I write are on post-its, and placed in the journal. The journal itself is a back and forth between parent and child. The children can opt to share during morning meeting. The project is a keeper.
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Thanks for sharing Julie! Would love to talk with you more about the idea since it is new for me! So glad you are finding success with it!
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