Later I want to get a brace for my knee. How know who told you. I learned when I used to play basketball. To underscore her point the teacher drew a picture of a taped ankle in the middle of her sentence. The more time students spend writing in their dialogue journals, the better writers they will become.
Daily writing is the most effective.
In my experience, students look forward to reading what their teachers have written. An ideal routine would be that students write in their journals for the first 15 to 20 minutes of the school day. This is an excellent way for them to make the transition from home to classroom, from leisure time to academics. Schedule a regular time to respond so that you can have your responses recorded in their journals by the following morning. Soon you will find your students rushing to read they will want to know what you have written.