Reading Response Entries
Reading Response entries are expressions of the ideas and thoughts you have about the book
you are currently reading or have recently finished. Your entries should help you deepen your
understanding, as well as demonstrate it to others. Your teacher will use the entries to assess
your understanding of your reading.
First and foremost, allow the entries to express YOUR ideas about the book in ways that make
sense to you – using words, diagrams, and pictures (see Forms for Writing About Reading for
more ideas and descriptions) to capture what you’re thinking, and to grow bigger ideas from the
thoughts you have. As you create more entries, you need to push yourself to vary the form of
your entries, making sure you explore your thinking in writing, as well as in diagrams and
drawings.
Some things to remember:
 All entries should include the title of the book and the date at the top of the page.
 Use your post-it notes to help you create your entries.
 Your entries must include text evidence to support your ideas and thinking. Put quotation
marks (“ ”) around direct quotes from the book. Document the page where you found the
quote.
 Check that your writing is neat and easy to read.
 Check your spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.
 Use entries from your classmates and your teacher’s webpage as inspiration.
 For some entries, your teacher will supply specific directions and/or rubrics.
Below you will find a list of ideas other students have used. They’re organized by topic. Make
sure you vary the topic of your reading response entries from week to week.
Characters
 What are their traits?
 What are important facts about them, and important features of their appearance?
 What are the pressures they face?
 What motivates the characters?
 How do the characters interact with the other characters?
 Who are the important people in their lives?
 How do the characters interact with the setting?
 How are their perspectives different than other characters’? How does their perspective
shape their interpretations of things?
Setting
 How does the setting shape the events in the story?
 What words help you picture the setting?
 What have you learned about the time period?
Themes, Life Lessons
 What life lessons does the author seem to want you to think about?
 What big idea(s) is the book really about?
Symbolism
 Consider how some objects, names, places, etc. in a story are actually a symbol to
represent something else
Genre
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What makes this a good example of the genre?
What made it easy or difficult to identify the genre?
Something that surprised you or that you found interesting about the genre?
How do the setting and characters support the genre?
Story Elements and Structure
 How did the events and action create tension in the story?
 What are major turning points in the story?
 How does the author use twists and turns in the plot?
 How does the author use flashback and foreshadowing to help you better understand the
story?
 How does the author use point of view to set you up to pay attention to one or more
characters’ perspective?
If You’re Having Trouble Keeping Track of the Book, Try
 Character Lists, with important information to remember about each
 Summaries (think about beginning, middle, end & story arcs)
 Setting – sketching maps and diagrams can help here
 Problem Lists
After you’ve created your entry, try finishing this sentence: “This is making me realize…”
Other Ideas for Reading Response Entries:
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