reading responses / "Writing long" about a text
Three times a week, you will be expected to "write long" about your independent reading book by handing in reading responses. The purpose of “writing long” about your book is to develop your thinking further so that you come up with deeper and more complex ideas.
Use your notes to help you write your reading response!
You can use the following sentence starters to begin your reading responses if you are stuck:
-OR-
You can use any of the following prompts:
a. Write about a theory/inference you came up with and support it using details from the text.
b. Write about what you can infer about the protagonist in the story and support it using details from the text:
- What words would you use to describe his/her personality?
- What is his/her relationship like with other characters in the story?
- What does (s)he learn or realize in the story? How does (s)he learn it?
- How does (s)he change?
c. Write about what techniques you see the author using in the story. What goal(s) does the technique accomplish? In other words, what is the purpose of the technique?
d. Copy important lines from the story, then write about these lines. Why do you think they’re important? What do they reveal?
See samples of "writing long" entries / reading responses at the bottom of this page.
Use your notes to help you write your reading response!
- Choose 1-2 notes/Post-Its that you find the most interesting or that you think are important and expand upon it.
- Look at some of your notes/Post-Its and write about some "theories" that you are developing (about the character or about the conflict of the story, for example).
- Look at your notes and see if some of them have anything in common with each other. Is there a common theme or idea that seems to be popping up? If so, you can write about that.
You can use the following sentence starters to begin your reading responses if you are stuck:
- In the book/story ________________________, the author shows that _____________________. This is shown when _____________________________________.
- I think that ______________________. This is because _____________________.
-OR-
You can use any of the following prompts:
a. Write about a theory/inference you came up with and support it using details from the text.
b. Write about what you can infer about the protagonist in the story and support it using details from the text:
- What words would you use to describe his/her personality?
- What is his/her relationship like with other characters in the story?
- What does (s)he learn or realize in the story? How does (s)he learn it?
- How does (s)he change?
c. Write about what techniques you see the author using in the story. What goal(s) does the technique accomplish? In other words, what is the purpose of the technique?
d. Copy important lines from the story, then write about these lines. Why do you think they’re important? What do they reveal?
See samples of "writing long" entries / reading responses at the bottom of this page.
rubric
Your reading responses/"write long" entries will be graded using the rubric below:
If you would like to download a paper copy of the rubric, click on the icon below.
| Reading Response Rubric.docx |
sample reading responses
Reading Response for The Giver, p. 1-39
In the first five chapters of The Giver, I noticed a LOT of Contrasts & Contradictions, especially in setting. Jonas’s environment seems very strict and ordered. For example, they have restrictions on how many children a family has. “Two children – one male, one female – to each family unit” (p.8). They even have restrictions on the gender of the children! There are a lot of other rules mentioned too. Children are assigned jobs at the age of 12, and there are rituals that everyone has to follow. For instance, when students are late, they need to apologize to the entire class (p.4), they need to share their feelings at night, and they must share their dreams in the morning (p.34). The weirdest contradiction I read about was that someone’s Assignment (job) could be “Birthmother”! They have to have children for a living and then they don’t even get to keep their children! They are given away to other “family units.”
Another thing that I noticed about the setting is that release is mentioned again and again. First, the author mentions release when they talk about the pilot who made a mistake reading his navigational instructions (p.2), then Jonas’s father mentions a newborn who may be released (p.7), his mother talks about a criminal who might be released (p.9), and Larissa in the House of the Old talks about Roberto’s release (p.31). Sometimes release sounds good, like Roberto who had a look of “pure happiness” on his face when he went to the Releasing Room, but most of the time, it sounds bad. Jonas says that release was “a terrible punishment, an overwhelming statement of failure” (p.2). I understand why the community would release a criminal who wasn’t reforming, but it doesn’t seem very fair or nice to release babies or the elderly. They haven’t done anything wrong.
I think that the setting and the fact that his society has so many rules is really going to affect Jonas. Another thing that is mentioned again and again is the fact that rules are “very hard to change” (p.14). The author also hints at this when Jonas and Larissa break out laughing when Larissa jokingly says that they should suggest to the committee to enlarge the Releasing Room (p.33). The blurb of the book says that Jonas will begin to learn “dark secrets” about his world. If Jonas finds out things he doesn’t like, but they can’t change, I think this will definitely create a conflict for Jonas. Maybe he won’t want to live there anymore or maybe it will cause an argument between Jonas and the government? Either way, I definitely think the lack of change will be important later in the book.
Reading Response for Gone, p. 1-236
In Gone, everyone over the age of 14 has mysteriously disappeared and people are beginning to show or become aware of special powers. Everyone is looking for guidance and a leader. Two characters are beginning to emerge as the future leaders of this new world.
Sam is one of the characters. He does courageous things, but doesn’t seem to like the attention or being in charge. The “School Bus Sam” incident is mentioned again and again, with specific emphasis on how he faded into the background afterward (p.5 & p.78). Sam also said that he specifically chose to go with Astrid, away from all the kids who were looking to him (p.98). Sam also seems very helpful. He tries to help Astrid look for her baby brother and he tries to save the girl inside the burning building.
Caine, on the other hand, seems to be the opposite. It seems like he loves being in charge. He rolled into Perdido Beach in a long train of cars and everything seemed to be rehearsed. He also doesn’t like anybody getting in his way. When Sam was named as a hero, Caine’s smile “disappeared so quickly,” which shows he doesn’t like threats to his power. This is shown again when Orc, Howard, and Cookie challenge Caine in the church. The crucifix “mysteriously” falls and severely injures Cookie. It’s hinted that Caine is the one that caused it since he had “a coldly furious expression” and it happened when he raised his hands (p.149-150). I feel like he will be one of Sam’s major antagonists in the novel. He seems dangerous and ruthless if he is able to hurt other people for his gain.
Quinn is also an interesting character. AT first, Quinn and Sam are best friends, but Quinn starts to act differently when he discovers that Sam has powers. On p.179, it says that Edilio was “always the peacemaker now between Sam and Quinn.” If he is always the peacemaker, that must mean that they fight often. Maybe he is jealous of Sam’s power or maybe even a little afraid of it? I’m worried that Quinn will eventually betray Sam because he seems to be siding with Caine. Quinn didn’t take a stand when Bette was beaten under Caine’s orders, and when he was with Sam, he told him, “I don’t take orders from you” (p.213). He never would have said that before! Also, when Sam is at Astrid’s, Quinn is with Caine’s cronies and when Sam gets into an argument with them, “Quinn gave him the finger behind his back” (p.234). This is completely opposite from the way he acted in the beginning of the book.
Reading Response for "Inside Out"
In the story “Inside Out,” Francisco is facing many different conflicts. First, he is having trouble understanding and learning English. For example, he says, “the sounds made no sense to me,” and “I only got a headache.” It makes the problem even worse that he is not allowed to speak any Spanish either. Every time he does, Mrs. Scalapino says “ “NO!” with body and soul.”
Francisco is also having a difficult time making friends. Nobody wants to pick him for team sports and his only friend, Arthur, doesn’t want to hang around him when Mrs. Scalapino is around because he doesn’t want to get in trouble for speaking Spanish. He also gets into a fight with one of the most popular kids in his class, Curtis, because of a misunderstanding over a jacket.
At first, Francisco doesn’t really respond or react much to his conflicts. He daydreams in class and he just stays inside during recess with the caterpillar instead of trying to make other friends. I think this shows that Francisco is passive. He just lets things happen to him and he seems to be OK with being alone.
But, I think that Francisco is going to change because, when he was fighting with Curtis, Francisco says, “I knew I had no chance, but I stubbornly held on to my jacket.” This shows that he is beginning to fight back a little and that he is trying to stand up to what he thinks is right instead of just accepting things. This makes me think that, later in the story, Francisco will begin to be more active in trying to fix his problems. Maybe he will try to learn English and make other friends.
In the story “Inside Out,” Francisco is facing many different conflicts. First, he is having trouble understanding and learning English. For example, he says, “the sounds made no sense to me,” and “I only got a headache.” It makes the problem even worse that he is not allowed to speak any Spanish either. Every time he does, Mrs. Scalapino says “ “NO!” with body and soul.”
Francisco is also having a difficult time making friends. Nobody wants to pick him for team sports and his only friend, Arthur, doesn’t want to hang around him when Mrs. Scalapino is around because he doesn’t want to get in trouble for speaking Spanish. He also gets into a fight with one of the most popular kids in his class, Curtis, because of a misunderstanding over a jacket.
At first, Francisco doesn’t really respond or react much to his conflicts. He daydreams in class and he just stays inside during recess with the caterpillar instead of trying to make other friends. I think this shows that Francisco is passive. He just lets things happen to him and he seems to be OK with being alone.
But, I think that Francisco is going to change because, when he was fighting with Curtis, Francisco says, “I knew I had no chance, but I stubbornly held on to my jacket.” This shows that he is beginning to fight back a little and that he is trying to stand up to what he thinks is right instead of just accepting things. This makes me think that, later in the story, Francisco will begin to be more active in trying to fix his problems. Maybe he will try to learn English and make other friends.
"Writing Long" from "All Summer In A Day" by Ray Bradbury
Write about a theory/inference you came up with and support it using details from the text.
The setting seems like it will be important to the main character, Margot. Bradbury writes, “Margot stood apart from them, from these children who could never remember a time when there wasn’t rain and rain and rain.” This shows that the other children in Margot’s class have never seen or experienced the sun. They only think they know what it looks like or feels like. It sounds like Margot, however, does remember the sun since it says that she “stood apart from them.” This makes her different from the other children. She probably misses the sun more than the other rocket children because she actually has memories to compare it to. She actually realizes what she is missing.
The fact that Margot actually does remember the sun also makes me think that it might cause problems with her and the other kids. I could see them being jealous that Margot knows something that they don’t. Already, the author hints that the other kids might be a little jealous of her. When Margot wrote the poem about the sun, for example, William protested and said, “Aw, you didn’t write that!” Maybe he and the others resent her for remembering the sun and for being able to write about it in a way that nobody else in the class could.
Write about a theory/inference you came up with and support it using details from the text.
The setting seems like it will be important to the main character, Margot. Bradbury writes, “Margot stood apart from them, from these children who could never remember a time when there wasn’t rain and rain and rain.” This shows that the other children in Margot’s class have never seen or experienced the sun. They only think they know what it looks like or feels like. It sounds like Margot, however, does remember the sun since it says that she “stood apart from them.” This makes her different from the other children. She probably misses the sun more than the other rocket children because she actually has memories to compare it to. She actually realizes what she is missing.
The fact that Margot actually does remember the sun also makes me think that it might cause problems with her and the other kids. I could see them being jealous that Margot knows something that they don’t. Already, the author hints that the other kids might be a little jealous of her. When Margot wrote the poem about the sun, for example, William protested and said, “Aw, you didn’t write that!” Maybe he and the others resent her for remembering the sun and for being able to write about it in a way that nobody else in the class could.
"Writing Long" from "All Summer In A Day" by Ray Bradbury
Copy important lines from the story, then write about these lines. Why do you think they’re important? What do they reveal?
“It rained. It had been raining for seven years; thousands upon thousands of days compounded and filled from one end to the other with rain, with the drum and gush of water, with the sweet crystal fall of showers and the concussion of storms so heavy they were tidal waves come over the islands. A thousand forests had been crushed under the rain and grown up a thousand times to be crushed again. And this was the way life was forever on the planet Venus..” (p.1).
I think these lines are very important because they reveal many things. First, these lines show the readers the setting of the story. We know, for example, that the story is set in Venus and that it rains all the time. But, on a deeper level, these lines reveal the mood of the planet Venus too. I can infer, for example, that Venus is pretty dark and depressing. Bradbury uses repetition to show this. He says, “…thousands and thousands of days compounded and filled from one end to the other with rain,” and “A thousand forests had been crushed under the rain and grown up a thousand times to be crushed again.” This repetition of “thousand” makes it seem like the rain is endless. He also makes the rain sound violent when he describes it as “crushing” the forests. I also know from personal experience that when it rains for several days on Earth, it is usually dark and gray outside. This usually makes people tired and gloomy. If we get tired of rain only after a few days, I can only imagine how depressing it must be for the rocket men and women on Venus!
Copy important lines from the story, then write about these lines. Why do you think they’re important? What do they reveal?
“It rained. It had been raining for seven years; thousands upon thousands of days compounded and filled from one end to the other with rain, with the drum and gush of water, with the sweet crystal fall of showers and the concussion of storms so heavy they were tidal waves come over the islands. A thousand forests had been crushed under the rain and grown up a thousand times to be crushed again. And this was the way life was forever on the planet Venus..” (p.1).
I think these lines are very important because they reveal many things. First, these lines show the readers the setting of the story. We know, for example, that the story is set in Venus and that it rains all the time. But, on a deeper level, these lines reveal the mood of the planet Venus too. I can infer, for example, that Venus is pretty dark and depressing. Bradbury uses repetition to show this. He says, “…thousands and thousands of days compounded and filled from one end to the other with rain,” and “A thousand forests had been crushed under the rain and grown up a thousand times to be crushed again.” This repetition of “thousand” makes it seem like the rain is endless. He also makes the rain sound violent when he describes it as “crushing” the forests. I also know from personal experience that when it rains for several days on Earth, it is usually dark and gray outside. This usually makes people tired and gloomy. If we get tired of rain only after a few days, I can only imagine how depressing it must be for the rocket men and women on Venus!
