Reading Responses
Reading Responses will be assigned every week. Unless noted differently, this homework will always follow the same procedure.
Students should choose a book or other reading material that they are interested in. They should read for at least 20 minutes. Parents can help make this a positive experience by taking the time to catch up on some reading of your own. Sit down with your child and provide a positive example and read when they do. If they see reading as an activity that you enjoy, they may have a more positive approach to it.
Once finished reading, they should write a response to the part of the reading selection they just finished. They should aim for a one page response.
At the top of the page the the date, and the title of the book should be written. If possible, also include the pages that were read during this session.
One third of the page should be a summary of what happened in the pages they read. They should try to include all important facts. It is important that this section only be 1/3.
The other 2/3s should be their opinions and ideas. I would like to read about what the section the read made them think about. How did what they read relate to their own life. The objective is to get students going beyond "What was said", to what do I feel about what I read, or what did this part of the book make me think about.
Parents guardians, siblings and others who are reading with the student can help by taking a few minutes to talk about how your book made you feel. if you explain how what happened in your book might relate to something that happened to you, it will encourage students to read their material with a more "critical eye". If you say "In my book this happened, and something like that happened to me, or I got upset about what happened because . . . Get them thinking and reflecting on what they read.
I would prefer that students pick one idea and spend the response exploring that one idea rather than giving four or five ideas or opinions without discussing them. Instead of saying that they liked the book because it was "Exciting", and then go onto another idea, spend some time discussing what made it exciting and why you especially like what happened. Students do not have to discuss everything that was read. They can take one small incident and go into a detailed discussion of how they felt about this one incident.
Some idea to get students thinking about their reading are:
What ideas did the reading generate (What did it make you think about?)
What did you think about the book? (Defend you opinion . . . Why did you have that opinion.)
Connection between the book and your life.
Connections between the book and other books
Connections between the book and other people or other things
Don't forget to extend the activity by questioning as well.
What do you think will happen next?
I hope this will not happen?
I think my character is going to . . . . I hope she is going to be happy?
Etc. Make reading a fun family activity. Do it when it does not have to compete with a favorite TV show. It is easier to encourage reading when there is nothing on TV anyway.