Formal Reading Response Journal Guidelines for Independent Reading
*You must follow the following guidelines in order to receive full credit.
Heading:
Name, Number, Assignment entry, & Date
Entry:
Neat handwriting
Must have at least 3 paragraphs
Each paragraph is indented
Restated the entry topic
Minimal spelling and grammatical mistakes
Paragraphs:
Each paragraph must have at least these 5 sentences:
1.
Topic sentence
2.
AT LEAST 5 detail sentences (“The Meat”)
3.
Concluding sentence
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Directions:
1.
2.
3.
Get a book approved by Mr. LaSusa.
Read, prepare one entry each month and hand in
on your due date. (Other types of responses will
be assigned during each month as well.)
When you finish the book, start over at number 1.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Things to remember when preparing your responses for your journals:
a.
Write thoughts down that come to mind while reading. Try to write
something down, even if it’s not necessarily for your entry, each time
you stop reading for the period.
b.
Connect text to yourself: What does the reading make you think of?
Does it remind you of anything or anyone?
c.
Connect text to text: Do you see any similarities between this text and
other texts? Does it bring to mind other related issues?
d.
Ask yourself questions about the text. Try beginning with, “I wonder
why...” or “I’m having trouble understanding....” or “I was surprised
when....”
Possible Reading Response Journal Entries
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This (character, place, event) reminds me of......because........
I like/dislike this book because.....
I like/dislike this part of the book because.....
This situation reminds me of something that happened in my own life.
(Tell the story and make connections to the story)
The character I (like best, admire, dislike the most) is.....because......
The setting of this story is important because.....
This book makes me think about...(an important social issue,
problem, etc.)
A question I have about this book is.....because.....
When I read this part/chapter I felt.....because.....
If I were this character, I would.....
(Character) reminds me of (myself, a friend, a family member)
because.....
If I could talk to one of the book’s characters I would (ask or say)......
I predict that.....because......and I was right/wrong because......
This (phrase, sentence, paragraph) is an example of good writing
because...
This (person, place, time) reminds me of.....
I admire (character) because.....
I didn’t understand the part of the story when.....
This book reminds me of another book that I have read. Explain.
The most exciting part of the book (so far/was).....
Some important details I noticed were.....They were important
because.....
My favorite part of the book (so far/was).....
I think the author wrote this book to.....
I found this book hard to follow when.....
The author got me interested when.....
This book is really about.....
After the book ends, I predict.....
I am like, or different from, (character) because.....
I learned.......
This book makes me want to (action, further reading)
After reading the first (paragraph of this section, page, chapter), I
felt.....
The title of this book says to me.....
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If I could be any character in this book, I would be (character),
because.....
What I want to remember about this book is.....
I’d like to read another book by this author because.....
The most important (word, phrase, idea) in this book is.....because.....
My feelings about (the book, characters) changed when.....
This book was an effective piece of writing because.....
As compared to other books (by this author, on the same topic), I
think this book is.....
I thought this book was (realistic/unrealistic) because.....
I question (part of the book) because.....
The genre of this book is......because it has (characteristics)
I (agreed/disagreed) with the author about.....
I think the illustrations.....
I noticed that the author.....
If I were the author, I would have changed the part of the story
when.....
To summarize the text, I would say.....
This section/book helped me to.....
Tell about the parts of the section/book that puzzled you or made you
ask questions.
Write about something in the section/book that surprised you or that
you found interesting.
Write a letter to a character OR from one character to another.
Create a diary entry in the voice of a character.
Two Column Response: fold a page of your journal in half to form
two columns. In the left column, record quotes that strike you
because they raise questions, remind you of a prior experience, or just
seem important. Directly opposite each quote in the right column,
record personal responses. You can interpret the quote, state
opinions, raise questions, evaluate the writing style or discuss related
topics.
53.
Four Column Response: fold a page of your journal in half to form
two columns. In the left, write a short summary and on the right,
respond to your summary explaining how you feel about what you
have read. On a second sheet, also divided in half, a peer reads your
summary and response and adds his/her own response on the left side
of the page. On the other side, the original student (you) write another
response to what your peer said.
54.
If you could change the life or lives of a story character, to make their
lives more like the lives of the characters in the book or story you are
reading, whose lives would you change? How would you change
their lives? Why did you pick these people or that person?
55.
If you were to put this story into your own life, in the area where you
live, around the people and friends that you know, how would the
story have to change. How would the people change? Would the
setting have to change? Why would these changes have to take place?
56.
Sometimes we are pulled toward one or two characters in the story.
We identify with them or feel sympathy for them. Which characters
do you identify in the book, and why do you believe you identify with
them?
57.
If you could ask any character a question, what would you ask? If
you could ask the author a question, what might that be? Explain why
you chose these questions?
58.
It is not unusual to wish that our lives were more like the lives of
characters in stories. How would you change your own real life to be
more like the world of your story?
59.
What did you learn in this section/book that you did not know before?
What surprised you and why?
60.
Were any questions that you had while reading answered? List the
questions you had and the answers that you came up with from the
reading. Are you satisfied with what you learned, with these answers?
Why or why not?
61.
Did you come across a problem in your reading that you had not
considered before? What was the problem? Could you solve it?
How?
62.
Are any of the real life situations or people that you read about in your
material similar to situations that you have experienced before in life?
How were they similar? How were they different?
63.
Create a Venn Diagram and then write how the main character is
similar and different than you.
64.
Create a different ending for the story.
65.
Illustrate a scene from the book and describe it’s importance.
Reading List
Title
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Author
Approval Date Compl.