At the heart of it: Middle school writers use talk and multimedia journals to forge a literate classroom community

In this research study, I investigated how middle school writers use talk and multi-media journals to forge a literate classroom community. Talk and multi-media journals helped middle school writers to construct and maintain a safe, caring, supportive, and respectful learning environment where transformative literacy and learning experiences could take place. Classroom talk played a vital role in improving students\u27 relationships in this literate classroom community and engaging them in meaningful ways with their multi-media journals. During the research study, explicit instruction in the social aspects of talk emerged as important as explicit instruction in language arts content. The multi-media approach to journal writing evolved from my own membership in a Women\u27s Journal Group. The multi-media approach to journal writing involved the use of other mediums, especially the visual arts, while writing. Students reported that the multi-media journals helped them to begin and continue writing as well as increased their enjoyment of writing. I conducted this teacher research study over a six month period. I employed the tools and procedures of ethnographic and qualitative research in the data collection and analysis