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Mrs. Swalec, 6-Blue Language Arts |
Reader's Workshop & Independent ReadingIndependent Reading is a significant part of a sixth grader's development in Language Arts. This year we will be implementing the The independent reading program provides an opportunity to expose students to a variety of authors and genres. This program allows students to choose books which interest and challenge them at their own reading level.
Independent reading responses will be assigned periodically as both in-class assignments and as homework. Lists of prompts are included below. Independent Reading Prompts 1. Who is the main character of your novel? Describe this character in such a way that you create a word picture of what he/she looks like and what his/her personality is like. What is the main characters wish or the problem he/she is facing? 2. Explain the title of your novel. What meaning does it have in the story? Why do you think the author chose the title? 3. How do you feel about the novel you are reading so far? Would you recommend it to a friend? Why or why not? Give specific reasons and examples from the story. 4. Identify your favorite character in the novel so far. Discuss why you like this character so much. Is it because of the characters actions, personality, and decisions? Be specific. 5. Choose the event from the story that you think is the most important so far. Give specific details from the story that supports your reason for choosing this event. 6. What is the setting of the novel you are reading? Describe it using as many VIVID details/adjectives as possible. Why do you think the author chose this particular setting? 7. Is the author of your book a male or a female? Do you think the story would be any different if it were written be a person of the opposite gender? Explain why or why not using specific examples from the story to support your reasons. 8. What is the genre of the story you are reading? What in the story helped you to figure out what the genre was? Give some specific examples from your novel. 9. Did this book make you laugh, cry, cringe, smile, cheer, etc.? With details, explain why you had this reaction. 10. Identify a major hurdle or problem a character faces in your novel. How would you react under similar circumstances? What would you have done differently? 11. Select an interesting quotation from an important character in your novel. Explain with details from the story what the importance of the quotation was to your novel. 12. Review the different types of conflicts that can occur in a story. Identify the main conflict of the novel you are reading. Is it man vs. himself, man vs. man, man vs. nature, or man vs. society? Give details that explain how this conflict affects the story. 13. What could the author have done to make this story even more interesting than it already is? Give specific examples and explain why these changes would make the story even better. 14. Change the setting of your novel to modern times in the town of Holden. Explain how this would change the story. Be specific. This involves comparing and contrasting the existing setting and Holden. 15. Make a prediction as to what you think will happen next in your novel. Give plenty of details to support your prediction. 16. What is the most unusual thing that has happened in your novel so far? Describe it in detail. 17. What do you think the major theme of your story is? What was the author trying to teach you when he/she wrote this book? Give examples from the story that show this theme. 18. Compare and contrast two characters from the story. Be sure to explain both similarities and differences. 19. Create your own interesting reading log question and answer it in a minimum of ten sentences. 20. If your story is fiction, is it believable? Explain why or why not with details from the novel. 21. Write about a time when a character shows some kind of strength. This strength could be mental or physical. How does this display of strength add to what is happening in the story? |