Independent Reading- Information Guide
I. After you have chosen a text write down a bibliographic entry.
Every 150 pages that is read and documented will be counted as a
completed book. It is essential, necessary, that appropriate documentation is
fulfilled to receive credit. Below is an example of how each new book will be
noted. It is important to let the reader know the title, the author, and publication
information. For example:
Johnson, Charles Richard. Middle Passage. New York:
Atheneum, 1990, 1-235.
You will notice that the author’s last name is followed by a comma, then
the author’s first name, next a period, followed by the title which is underlined,
then a period, after that the city of publication, which is then followed by a colon,
after that the publication company, followed by a comma, the year of publication,
the amount of pages, and finally a period. Every new title will have this at the top
of the Log.
II. After reading the text write a book summary including the name of the
protagonist, supporting characters, the main events, settings, and
conclusion of text.
III. Also complete one double entry.
As we read we often find interesting lines or something that stands out.
Therefore we can react in a double entry by writing down the line or lines and
stating what is important about them. For example:
QUOTATION FROM THE TEXT
MY REACTION
“Her cheeks were like red rose bushes” (Johnson
Excellent simile! It created a picture in my
178).
mind. Also I could relate to it. I felt
embarrassed and my cheeks felt red during a
presentation once.
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IV. Next write down three conflicts that occurred within the text.
There are internal and external conflicts in literature. These conflicts
involve characters and they are resolved in some way by the conclusion of the
text. Use the model below to fill in this portion of the independent reading book
log:
Internal Conflict: James vs. Self
James is worried that because of the lie that he told his parents they will never trust
him again. For example he trips over his own feet on the way to school because he is
having visions of his parents waiting to see him perform and he never comes out
from behind the curtain. The conflict is resolved when James goes to his parents, at
6:55 in the Westchester Middle School lobby, and he explains that he was afraid
they would be disappointed that he isn’t able to be in the play because of his
detentions.
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