DOUBLE-ENTRY JOURNAL RESPONSES
Sentence Starters
Connection
 Make a connection between the text and you: similar experience or memory
 Make a connection between the text and the world: similar experience from the past or present
 Make a connection between the text and another text: similar information, plot, character, theme, writing
technique, etc.
 Note: Connections must be meaningful and not “surface level,” i.e., The main character had a dog; I have
a dog.
 Sentence starters
o This passage reminds me of a time when . . .
o This passage reminds me of a place where . . .
o These words/phrases make me think of . . .
o I had a similar conflict/situation when . . .
o I would have handled the situation differently/same because . . .
o This character believes what I believed when . . .
o This passage reminds me of (event/person from past or present)
o This passage reminds me of ____ in another piece I have read (tell what it is you read) . . .
Analytical response
 ANALYZE means to break down into smaller parts and examine critically.
 Examine a part of the story: character, plot, mood, setting, theme, and point of view.
 Examine the writer’s style: word choice, sequencing of events, character development, literary devices,
sentence style, and point of view
 Sentence starters
o A problem this character has is ___. I know this problem is significant because . . .
o A message the author is trying to give through ___(character’s actions, setting, mood) is ___
o The author is doing a good/poor job of “showing not telling.” I think this because . . .
o I like/don’t like when the author . . .
o The character’s attitude about ___ is ___. I think this because…
o The author has created a ___ mood by . . .
o The author uses ___(literary device: foreshadowing, flashback, allusion) to . . .
o The author develops the character well/poorly by . . .
o My thinking has changed in this way . . .
o The most important part is . . .
o I infer . . .
Question
 Question text you do not understand or that confuses you.
 Question the author.
 Question things you have never thought about in order to gain a greater understanding of new concepts.
This is the I wonder question, e.g., I wonder how Harry Potter’s decision to leave Hogwarts in his final
year to search for Voldemort will affect his reliance on the friendship he has with Ron and Hermoine.
 Question yourself and your own beliefs or understandings if the text prompts you to do so.
 Sentence starters
o I am confused and this is how I got unstuck . . .
o Why . . .
o How . . .
o I previously thought ____about ____. Now my thinking has changed because . . .
o I do not understand why the author . . . because . . .
Source:
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