Forms for Writing About Reading
Tally
Kind of Writing
Longwrite – a type of reading response in which you more deeply explore an
important idea from one of your post-its
Letter to your teacher or another reader-a letter to share your thinking about your
reading with another reader who writes back to you
Book Review/Recommendation – an opinion and analysis that includes comments on
the quality of a book and gives another reader advice
Essay – a structured analysis of a book written in multi-paragraph form; includes an
introduction and a conclusion
Poem – a poetic piece that responds to a book (characters, setting, story events)
Comparing and Contrasting
 What could you compare? Characters, problems, settings, themes…
 Ideas inside of one book
 Ideas in one book with those in another book
Double Column Entry (T-chart) – a phrase, sentence, or quote on the left and your
thinking on the right
Sketch-a drawing or series of drawings with captions to show your thinking
Graphic Organizer (for example, a web, a story map, a diagram, a grid, a map) – a
graphic that helps you see/analyze the way information is organized
Timelines
 Of the characters’ motivations/pressures
 Of the characters’ emotions/reactions
 Of the characters’ journeys
 Of the characters’ big changes/small changes
 Triple Timelines help us track many things all at once: For example: Plot
Events, Setting/Time Period, Character Feelings, Your Reactions