Everything In Between: Spring 2015
Reading Journal: Weekly Engagement with Class Texts
One of our learning objective s for the semester is to “learn to read and engage” with difficult texts. Part of how we will demonstrate this learning is through a Reading Journal.
Designate a section of your notebook (or loose-leaf binder, etc) as a Weekly Reading Journal. In that section you need to take notes from each reading we have for class. These should be completed for each class and follow a format somewhat like the following (you are welcome to be creative with your reading journal as long as it includes the information listed below):
 Date and title of reading
 Write out at least 2 passages/moments* in the text that you notice (see WA pp 24-25 for a refresher on how to “notice”). Places you might notice could answer questions such as:
 What is most interesting?
 What is significant?
 What is most revealing?
 What is strange? (anomalies in the text)
 Include the page numbers of each passage
 Propose 2 questions or 2 observations about the reading. These can be things you did not understand, or connections you have made to other texts
(from in or out of class)
Be prepared to share your passages and questions in class. Also, be prepared to answer orally in class why you chose the passages you did. You do not need to write out these answers, but I suggest adding a few notes to your reading journal entry to help prompt your memory.
Grading: I will collect and grade your journal at least twice during the semester. Each time I will be looking for completeness of the journal and your development as a skilled analytical reader. If we have more than one text to read per week, you should have an entry
for each text. This journal will count under the “Blog Posts and Other Writing” portion of your grade.
* Note: Do your best to limit your passages to 1-3 sentences of text. If it is more that 1-3 sentences (or a short paragraph) it will be harder to close read in class. Do your best to really narrow your scope here.