| You are required to write one letter to me each week in your reading
journal. This letter could be about any of the books you are reading. The
day your journal is due is posted in class. Remember your letter should be
at least three paragraphs long. Each paragraph should address a different
prompt/strategy. Here is an example letter.
September 21, 2007
Dear Ms. Farber,
I have been reading Poppy by Avi. Poppy is a small deer mouse. An
evil owl, Mr. Ocax, rules the forest where Poppy lives with her family.
Poppy’s friend, Ragweed, is killed by the tyrant while Poppy narrowly
escapes. To her dismay, Lungwort, Poppy’s father, chooses her to accompany
him on his journey to ask Ocax’s permission to move. Hopefully, MR. Ocan
will not remember Poppy as the one who got away!
When reading about MR. Ocax coughing up owl pellets, it reminded me
of when I was in graduate school. In Science class, we had to dissect owl
pellets. An owl pellet is similar to a fur ball of stuff the owl can not
digest. They cough them up to rid their bodies of the excess waste. We had
to dissect the pellets and then put the bones that were inside back together
to figure out what the owl ate. It makes me sad to think about putting
Ragweed’s bones back together.
The author did an amazing job of painting a picture for me about
Lungwort’s office. When he said that it was an old boot with a neck tie for
a curtain, I could really picture that in my head. Also, I could actually
see the little windows he said Lungwort chewed out.
I think Mr. Ocax will not give Poppy and Lungwort permission to
move. I think that he is still so angry that Poppy got away that he’ll
never want to allow the mice to do anything again!
I wonder why Ocax’s sleeping spot is a secret. Also, does Ocax
really protect the mice from porcupines?
Your Student,
Jen
Here are some things you can write about in your journal:
1. Make PREDICTIONS
2. Make CONNECTIONS
3. CLARIFY a confusing part or a word you don't know
4. VISUALIZE- make a picture in your mind and on paper and describe what
the
author said that made you picture it that way.
5. SUMMARIZE
6. REACT to the characters and their choices
7. QUESTION (I wonder...)
8. What is the book about?
9. How does the book make you feel?
10. How does the author describe things?
11. Do you like the book. Why or Why not?
12. Why do you think the author wrote this book?
13. Why did you choose this book?
14. Would you recommend the book to a friend? Why?
13. Why do you want to abandon the book?
14. What would you change about the book or characters?
15. Did you find anything interesting?
16. Did you learn anything?
17. Is the book easy, just right, too hard? How do you know?
18. Tell about the genre.
19. What do you think is the author's message?
20. Is there anything you don't understand?
21. How does the setting affects the characters?
22. How did the author capture your interest?
23. Write a book talk
24. What point of view is the story being told in? Change it to another
point of view.
25. Disign a new title and cover for your book and explain why you chose it.
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