To create a literate environment and to make each student a better reader and writer, each student will be expected to read 25 minutes each day and respond in writing 5 minutes each day, 5 days per week.
You are to read books —fiction or nonfiction—of your choice and write short personal reactions in a journal. Increasing your amount of reading will increase your reading fluency; responding to the reading will increase your reading comprehension, promote your connections with the text, and improve your ability to analyze a text.
Although you may read any book of your choice, you will be encouraged to read a variety of genres and authors. You do not have to finish a book that you are not enjoying; you may abandon it. You should know after a few chapters if you are enjoying a book.
I have accumulated many books in my classroom library; they are organized by genres.
Borrowing those books or books from the school library should make purchasing books unnecessary. If you have any paperbacks that you no longer want or need, you are welcome to donate them to the classroom library.
Daily book talks will familiarize you with the classroom library, and the Nicenet Book
Reviews will familiarize you with what your classmates are reading.
You will be required to read one specific category of book each semester depending on your class:

English I o First Semester —any Abraham Lincoln nominee o Second Semester —nonfiction

English III o First Semester —any Abraham Lincoln nominee o Second Semester —historical fiction
You will need a ½” or 1” 3-ring binder for your reading journal. You will be given Daily
Log Sheets, a Grade Sheet, a Record of Books Read, and a Genre Chart to put in your journal and to keep up-to-date. After a few weeks, you may choose to continue to use the Daily Log
Sheets or you may use notebook paper. Other reading forms will be added during the year.
Your response to your reading is a personal reaction to anything you read or think about while reading. This is NOT a summary of the story. You may react in your reading journal in any format you wish
—prose, poetry, letters to me or to the author, or, if appropriate, drawings, etc.
You will be given credit for each reading and entry. Each entry should be a five-minute response, which will be about one-third of a page. Each day you will log the date, title, amount of time spent reading, and the page numbers read.

You are to read as homework for 25 minutes , 5 nights per week —these do not have to be weeknights. You may use study hall time. If I am staying during 7 th hour and you have 7 th hour study hall or no 7 th hour class, I will write a pass for you to come to my classroom to read and respond.
When I have to assign class reading for homework (approximately once per week) that reading assignment will take the place of the outside novel. You will need to note the reading in your reading journal, but the response will be the Reader Response Worksheet. Please realize the class reading may be longer than the 25 minutes but will only count for one day’s reading assignment.
You will receive 4 points per daily entry and reading for a weekly grade of 20 points. You will receive additional grades for completing required elements, such as Book Reviews and the required semester book. The Reading Response Journal will be a large part of your grade, as it is a very important component of the curriculum
The Reading Response Journal will be collected once per week:

English I
—Tuesdays

English III —Wednesdays
By signing, I am indicating that I am aware of the requirements of the Reading Response
Journal.
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