Week # ______ Due Date: ____________
Step #1: Read and log your time, then get a parent signature before Friday.
Remember, your goal is 30 minutes per day!!!
DATE
Time
Started
Time
Ended
Total
Time
Parent Signature _________________________________
Step #2: Choose a sentence starter from the instruction page to compose a
paragraph about what you read this week. You must include specific examples
from your book and one piece of textual evidence, cited correctly, to support
your ideas.
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Did you finish a book this week? Make sure you complete a Novel Reflection Page before
you begin a new book! 
Week # ______ Due Date: ____________
What is it?
Compare It
Provide the word with sentence from book.
Make a list of SIX WORDS that are the same or opposite
meaning of the buzzword. You must have a total of six words to
receive credit.
“_____________________________________
______________________________________
Antonyms
Synonyms
_____________________________________”
(_______________________________)
(author’s last name, publishing date, pg. #)
Define it and
Use a dictionary or the internet to define the word
from your novel.
Parts of Speech
Circle the part of speech that your word is.
NOUN VERB ADVERB ADJECTIVE
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Illustrate a picture or symbol that represents the
word, and explain how it signifies the word in at least
one sentence.
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Write an original sentence below using your word as the
part of speech you circled above.
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Use a dictionary or the internet to research whether your
word can be used as any other part of speech. If it can,
write the other form(s) of your word and what part of
speech it is.
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Reader’s Notebook
Made Easy
Read 30 minutes each day.
Complete a weekly assignment about your book.
Turn your assignment in on Friday.
Earn an awesome grade.
Goal of the Reader’s Notebook: to help students stay
motivated and focused when reading and to learn to
interact with text.
Reader’s Notebook Due Dates
Semester One
Week #1
Week #2
Week #3
Week #4
Week #5
Week #6
Week #7
September 5th
September 12th
September 19th
September 26th
October 3rd
October 10th
October 15th (Reading Log Only)
Week #8
Week #9
Week #10
Week #11
Week #12
Week #13
Week #14
October 23rd (Reading Log Only)
October 31st
November 7th
November 14th
November 21st
December 5th
December 12th
Genre Chart
Fiction
Realistic Fiction
Science Fiction
Fantasy
Mystery
Historical Fiction
Horror
Dystopian/Utopian
Non-Fiction
Biography
Auto-Biography
Reference
Academic
Histories
How-to
Self-Help
List of Books I Have Read
Book Name
Author
# of Pages
1. __________________________________________________________________________________
2. __________________________________________________________________________________
3. __________________________________________________________________________________
4. __________________________________________________________________________________
5. __________________________________________________________________________________
6. __________________________________________________________________________________
7. __________________________________________________________________________________
8. __________________________________________________________________________________
9. __________________________________________________________________________________
10. _________________________________________________________________________________
11. __________________________________________________________________________________
12. __________________________________________________________________________________
13. __________________________________________________________________________________
14. __________________________________________________________________________________
15. __________________________________________________________________________________
16. __________________________________________________________________________________
17. __________________________________________________________________________________
18. __________________________________________________________________________________
19. __________________________________________________________________________________
20. _________________________________________________________________________________
21. __________________________________________________________________________________
22. __________________________________________________________________________________
23. __________________________________________________________________________________
Novel Reflection Pages
Novel Name
Author
# of Pages
Directions: Choose a Novel Reflection question to answer for your book from the list of
questions in the instructions/example section of your notebook. Your answer must be AT
LEAST TWO paragraphs in length and include specific examples from your book and one
piece of textual evidence, cited correctly.
Then, compose a paragraph stating whether you would or would not recommend your
book to a friend. Give specific reasons and details from the book to support your point, or
claim.
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Reader’s Notebook Instructions and Expectations
Goal of the Reader’s Notebook: to help students stay motivated and focused when
reading and to learn to interact with text.
Your notebook is broken into sections by color:


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
Instructions and examples
Weekly assignments
List of books read
Novel Reflections
You also have a chart of due dates and genres on the pocket flaps, as well as a
handout of reading strategies in the back pocket. Once we hand out Book Talk
Project requirements, you should keep a copy in the front pocket for easy
reference.
You are expected to have a book to read and your Reader’s Notebook with
you every day and for every class, not just Language Arts.
You are expected to read 30 minutes every day and will be given time in at
least one class period per day to do so.
The goal for 8th graders is that by the end of the semester you will have read
1300 pages (1500 for Pre-AP). This is a reasonable goal IF you are reading
EVERY DAY.
Your Reader’s Notebook weekly assignment will be grade every Friday, unless it is
a short week, and is worth 52 informal assessment points.
Weeks that have four days will be treated as normal weeks and will be graded the
last day of that week. In weeks that have less than four days, only the reading log
and parent signature section of the weekly assignment will be graded. See due date
chart for questions.
If you are absent on a day your notebook is due, it is expected to be complete upon
your return or it is late and the class syllabus late policy takes effect.
Weekly Assignment
Reading Log- Every time you pick up your book to read, log your time, even if it’s
just for 5 minutes. Your time will add up. Make sure you get a parent/guardian
signature sometime before your notebook is graded for that week. Teachers may
not sign the parent signature line. We want your parents to see what you are
doing!
Written Response- Choose one of the following sentence starters to write about
what you read this week:

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
I can’t believe that _____.
I was surprised when _____.
I predict that _____.
I was confused ____.
I can relate to ____.
I wonder _____.
My favorite part was _____.
I learned _____.
I would like to know more about _____.
Make sure to include specific examples from your book and one piece of textual
evidence, cited correctly, to support your ideas. Your response should be AT
LEAST one complete paragraph.
Buzz Word Vocabulary- Complete the vocabulary square, similar to what we do
each day in class, over one word from your reading this week. It can be a word
you’ve never ran across before, or a word you just want to explore in more detail.
Read the instructions squares and examples carefully to make sure you complete
all requirements!
Novel Reflections
Each time you complete a book, record the name, author, and number of pages on
the List of Books Read sheet, and then complete a Novel Reflections page. All
Novel Reflections pages will be graded at the end of the semester as part of your
page number goal grade. Reaching your page number goal and completing
Reflections for each book read with count as a test grade.
Choose one of the following questions, or set of questions, to answer about your
book:
 What was the major conflict in the story and how did it play a role in the
plot of the novel?
 From whose point of view was the story told? How did that perspective
affect the story? How would the book have been different if told from
another character’s point of view?
 What is the novel’s setting and what role does it play in the novel? (Think
about genre)
 What is the novel’s theme or central message and how does the author
incorporate it throughout the book?
 Choose a character and discuss how the author develops him/her
throughout the novel. Is the character dynamic or static, round or flat? Are
they essential to the plot?
Your answer must be AT LEAST TWO paragraphs in length and include specific
examples from your book and one piece of textual evidence, cited correctly.
Then, compose a paragraph stating whether you would or would not recommend
your book to a friend. Give specific reasons and details from the book to support
your point, or claim.