How to Keep
a
Ryan Thomas
Materials:
Students will need a spiral
bound notebook specifically designated for a reading response journal. Students will also need their class notebook
and the designated “Reading Procedures” section to take notes
in.
Time:
Approximately 15 minutes
Objectives:
NCTE Standards
·
6. Students apply knowledge of language
structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media
techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss
print and non-print texts.
NCSCS Standards
·
Competency Goal
1: The learner will use language to
express individual perspectives drawn from personal or related experience.
1.02: Explore expressive materials that are read,
heard, and view by:
§
generating a learning log or journal.
Purpose of Mini-Lesson:
The purpose of this
mini-lesson is to stress the importance of reflecting on what one is reading,
sharing those reflections, and reading others ideas and thoughts in their
reflections. This lesson will teach
students how to reflect on their reading and what the components are of keeping
a reading response journal. This
mini-lesson should be taught at the beginning of the school year when reading
workshop is introduced. Once this lesson
is completed, students will be better able to write their feeling about the
texts they are reading, both print and non-print, in journal entry form.
Activity:
The mini-lesson will discuss
what students need in order to create a reading response journal, what should
be included in a reading response journal, and the audience the students will
be writing to in their journals. I will
list on the overhead what components are necessary and have them take notes in
the “Reading Procedures” section of their class notebook. I will also share an example of a journal
entry of my own or a past student’s.
After this mini-lesson, student should be able to know what to reflect
on and how to write in their journals.
Script:
Today we are going to begin a reading response journal
that we will be keeping throughout the year and sharing with classmates.
Any ideas on what a reading response journal is? (Give students a chance to answer. Make sure answer includes that it is a
reflective process about what you are reading, allows you to make personal
connections to what you are reading, and influences those who read your
journal.)
Okay, please take out your classroom notebook and turn to
the “Reading Procedures” section. You
will need to take notes on the components of a reading response journal.
First of all, you will need a spiral bound notebook that
is used only for journal entries. The
notebook will be entitled “Reading Response Journal”. It is very important that this notebook stays
separate from all of your other class work.
You will be able to take it home, so you will need to make sure that you
keep up with it. If for some reason you
cannot get a notebook, please let me know.
I was included in your supply list that I gave your parents at the
beginning of the year.
Okay, please take notes as I write them on the overhead
about what I would like for you to think about when you are writing in your
reading response journal. First of all,
tell what you felt when you read and why you felt that way. Maybe you identified with a particular
character and understood what he/she was going through. Tell why you identified with the character
and use personal experiences or feelings to make the connection. Also include what you noticed about how the
author wrote. For example, did he or she
use foreshadowing, flashbacks, descriptive words that make you see the scene in
you head, etc. Then include what you
liked, what you didn’t like, and why.
The object of the reading response journal is to get you to think about
what you’ve read and make connections to the material.
I have an example that I am going to show you of an entry
in a reading response journal. (Choose a past entry or create one of your own
to show that class that contains all of the components given to the class on the
overhead.)
Please come to class tomorrow with your reading response
journal notebooks and we will get started with making entries. I will take up a few journals at the end of
each week to see what reactions you have to your reading.
Related Lessons
*Why an author uses the
sequence of events in his/her novel
*Reading others’ reading
response journal