Writing Reader Response Journals

Students will use a variety of reading strategies to help them better understand what they are reading. After reading a shared text out loud, students will learn and practice writing reader response journals to dive deeper into their understanding. Students will also be provided with lessons and written examples to help them become more proficient writers. We'll be looking at paragraph structure, topic and concluding sentences, and citing evidence from the text in our writing. 

Students will need to be able to follow along with a text aimed at young adults. They will need paper and a pencil/pen. 

Reading strategies not only allow a reader to engage and understand a text, but they also make reading a lot more enjoyable. Once students know how to use these reading strategies, the strategies will be applicable to any text they are reading. 

As the class works through the text, students will be asked to share their findings. They will also be encouraged to message me their reader response journal and receive one-on-one feedback. 
 
Class at a Glance- 
Topics and Teachings- reading strategies, writing reader response journals, literary terms relevant to each text.

Class Structure- Reading of text, writing reader response journals, and class discussion are a part of each class. 

Teaching Style- I believe in a student-centered classroom where each student's voice, ideas, and questions are valid and encouraged. I also believe in having a structure to assure all learners can learn. Once enrolled, students are sent my class agreements which outline the expectations for our class. These are simple and include things like only one of us will talk at a time and no question is a dumb question. 

Teacher/Student Interaction- Students are encouraged to participate orally or via chat, however, they feel most comfortable. They can also message me with questions. 

Prior Knowledge- It may be helpful to take my introduction or 4 part series, Reading Comprehension- Using Good Reading Strategies to Understand What We Read first, though it is not required.