Writing Your Reading Response

Are you still stuck on what would be a good Reading Response?   A great response would have a few characteristics:

1. Try to choose a different prompt each week, but, if it really fits, you may use a prompt up to two times.
2. You would have written a complete paragraph, with a topic sentence, specific details, and a closing sentence.
3. Your “details” are specific.  For example, you would include one or two examples of what was “funny,” and not just say that the book was “funny.”  Or you are explaining your reasoning, not just listing that this is  a favorite quote, but you show that you have thought about it by explaining the meaning of why you chose that quote.
4. You have few errors in CUPS (Capitalization, Usage, Punctuation, and Spelling).  Obviously you are only in 6th grade, so your writing doesn’t need to be perfect yet, but you shouldn’t be making basic errors such as forgetting to capitalize names or the beginning of sentences, or misspelling words such as their and there.  Here are some  are some examples from your peers to give you a better idea:

1. Select a quote from your reading that you liked. What made you pick it? Why does it make you pause and think?

Alison Jones wrote: “I’ve been reading Wings of Fire Brightest Night. My favorite quote from it so far is at the beginning of the story where there is something called the Dragonet Prophecy, it’s pretty much a little poem. The quote is,”Darkness will rise to bring light. The dragonets are coming…” I really like this quote because  I think it’s trying to imply that even though there is darkness there will always be some kind of light. When I say light I don’t mean the kind of light that  you can see with in the dark. I mean it like a source of hope even when there’s  darkness, “bad things” happening. I picked this quote because I thought it was pretty inspiring and kind of motivating.”

Another example of a quote, by Kaitlyn Cho: I am been reading Search for Sky.  It is about a girl, Sky, and a boy, River, who lived on Island for almost all their lives.  On Sky’s birthday, a boat comes to take both Sky and River to California where they are separated. Sky tries to adjust to modern life.  My favorite quote from the book so far is the quote where Sky says to River in a memory,”Memories are just stories you tell yourself.”  I really like that quote because that’s what memories are. When you remember something, you play back that memory, you tell yourself a story of something that happened before the present.  I thought that it was a really creative way to say that memories are things to remember and that sometimes, a memory can change as you grow older.

Ashley wrote “I’m still reading Insurgent and my personal favorite quote from this book is “One choice can transform you, one choice can destroy you, one chance can define you”, and I picked this quote because it could really help you choose your decisions more carefully. Also, it made me pause and think because it’s explaining how one choice can really make an impact on you.”  

Note from Ms. Baum:  These girls have the idea about quotes.  They quotes aren’t just interesting in the story, but make us think about our lives as well, and perhaps who we want to be.  Kind of like Mr. Browne’s precepts in Wonder.

2. Create a ‘WANTED’ poster for the antagonist.*

Here is Kyle Nguyen’s “Wanted Poster” along with the added explanation::  

Wanted

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

I have been reading this book for about 10 days and now I am on page 162 out of 190 pages.

        Mr. Willy Wonka is wanted for terrorizing multiple kids in his grand chocolate factory.  Augustus Gloop gets sucked up by a chocolate tube!  Violet Beayregarde gets turned into a giant blueberry!  Veruca Salt gets shoved into the nut trash by squirrels!  Mike Teavee gets shrunk into a T.V. screen!  There has been only one child that hasn’t gotten hurt yet is, Charlie Bucket.  Word has gotten out that Mr. Wonka trusts oompa Lumpas more than his own race.  Has Mr. Wonka gone mad?

Reward:  100 million Dollars

3. Describe your least favorite character and explain why. Describe your most favorite character and explain why.
4. Describe the major conflict. What side are you on?  Explain why.

Nolan wrote: I’ve  been reading  I Survived The Battle of Gettysburg. The main conflict is that the North is fighting the South for slavery rights. I am on the North side, imagine being able to be sold by farmers to work and not being paid at all. That would be Terrible! I wouldn’t even want to live back then because of that. I feel so bad for people being a slave. In the book Thomas was a slave in a farm in Virginia. I am glad slavery isn’t around anymore.

5. Describe the most important event. Give at least three reasons why you think it is the most important event.

Naomi Sun wrote, “I have been reading Divergent. I think the most important event in Divergent is when Tris takes the Aptitude test at the beginning of the book. This is the most significant event to me because Tris found out she was Divergent when she took the test, which is vital to her life because being Divergent puts you in danger to the Erudite. Another reason is that in simulations, she knew that she could control herself, and not be affected by the serum.  The last reason is the Aptitude test helps Tris decide which faction she wanted to choose at the Choosing Ceremony.”

6. Describe the similarities and differences between the main character and you.
7. Describe the theme (central meaning/message) of your reading.
8. Draw a comic strip or graphic novel page for what you just read.*
9.  If you could change the book, how would you change it? Why?
10.  Think of a problem that a character had to face. Write the problem and how the character solved it or is working to solve it. If you were that character, what would you do differently?
11.  Pretend your book is nominated for a national award. Explain why you think it should or should not receive an award.
12.  Summarize the book. Make me want to read it!