"Reader" Response Journal

• help you learn through writing
• get you to reflect on the meaning of what you have read, discussed and/or seen and
• hold you accountable for active reading and participation in class activities.

• Interact with the characters -- agree or disagree with specific things they do, say or decide; suggest alternative actions, responses, conclusions or outcomes, etc.
• Make personal connections between your own life and specific experiences, thoughts and feelings expressed in the readings.
• Apply anything we discuss in class to what you are reading and explain how it reflects or differs from specific experiences of the characters.
• Relate historical, cultural or current events and/or scientific principles to specific experiences of the characters or the setting of the works.
• Evaluate the author's style of writing or compare / contrast specific aspects of this work with other books you have read.
• Ask questions and hypothesize specific answers to those questions.
• Rewrite an episode from another character's point of view or imagine and describe a different sequence of events as if a character had made different choices.
• Interpret what you think the author is trying to say thematically in a specific passage.
• Argue and/or play the "devil's advocate" with the author or one of the characters taking issue with a specific passage, action or statement.

• Detail -- are you relating your thoughts, feelings and ideas to specific actions, words or images from the book?
• Depth -- are you going beyond plot summary, to use higher order thinking skills such as analysis, application, empathy, interpretation, critical thinking and creative thinking?
• Originality -- are you going beyond the conventional, popular or common view to explore what is unique, different, personal, or eccentric about the book?
• Creativity -- are you using your imagination to express your ideas and to gain a better appreciation for what is happening to the characters in the book?