Strategies for Reading Romeo and Juliet: Class Notes

Strategies for Approaching a Difficult Text: 

1.  Know your resources: if you are struggling with a text, it's ok to consult a resource to help make meaning so that you can approach and discuss the text confidently.  However, it is NEVER ok to substitute the resource for the text.  

a. your book: the Folger edition is filled with resources: the best thing you can do is to read the scene summaries before you start reading and the glossary as you go and consult the character list if you are forgetting who is who.  Also, feel free to make an "annotated" character list of your own to keep track of descriptions and actions

b. guides: book guides can help explain the plot, have character lists and often introduce you to major themes you can track.  These can help supplement your understanding and can be used alongside of the original text.  For Romeo and Juliet, consider No Fear Shakespeare--not as a substitute, but to help make meaning as you are reading.

c. film: movies can give an overall storyline and a visual of what is happening.  Choose wisely how you approach film (before, during, after) and remember that it is an interpretation of the text.  For Romeo and Juliet, think back to the film to help you imagine the scenes and what the characters were like.

2. Apply the close-reading skills you already know!

a. read more than once!

b. read collaboratively with a partner or group

c. remember to observe and infer: look for figurative language and poetic devices

d. make a character list to track important moments and actions of characters so that if you are getting names or plot points confused you can go back and check

e. use writing as a tool for thinking--what is your response to the actions you are seeing?

This kind of reading takes initiative, time, and effort, but you'll be amazed at the kind of reader you'll become!

3.  "Monitor For Meaning": check to see if you are tracking with the text in order to decide if you are prepared for class discussion

a. REACT to the reading experience: how is it going? How are you creating meaning if you don't "get it" right away?

b. RETELL what happened in the plot: if you can, you're ready to go deeper.  If you can't, consider what resources you should consult for help

c. RESPOND to the text: once you can follow the plot, it frees you up to think about the issues and complexities...we aren't reading for the plot, but to explore! We will be doing this kind of work in class!

New Monthly Non-Fiction Blog Post!

Starting now, you will be required to include at least one blog post per month that is in response to a NON-FICTION TEXT.  

You are looking for an article that is at least 5-6 paragraphs long that presents an idea that you can analyze and think deeply about.  Doing this assignment well requires finding an interesting article! Take the time to do that! Ask your family what kind of online news sources they read.  Great resources for this response are: 

The New York Times' Upfront Magazine (There are also copies in the classroom) 

USA Today's Opinion Section

The Daily News' Opinion Section 

The New York Times


You should use the same techniques for reading non-fiction that we have been working on in class.  Think about the main ideas (the explicit, or, what the author wants you to know) and what the author wants you to feel or think (the implicit, subtle ideas) and how the author achieves this (what intentional craft moves did he/she use?)  Your response will be structured like your non-fiction summaries, with an added third part - YOUR OWN OPINION.  Each paragraph MUST be 5-7 sentences long.  You must formally cite where your article came from (page R-3 in your agenda or noodle tools at ms51library.org) and provide a link if possible. Here is an overview of the structure: 

Part 1: a summary that includes what the author wants you to know? 

Part 2: an analysis of what the author wants you to feel and think and HOW the author achieved it (statistics, an appeal to emotion, loaded words, perspectives that are present or missing, etc.)

Part 3: your personal response to the article: formulate your own opinion on the ideas and issues presented in the text.
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Here is a writing guide with questions to help you get started.  This is a review from what we did during the first unit.  Revisit your notes!

For Part 1 of a Nonfiction Blog Post, answer these questions:

1.  What is the overall main idea of the text (remember, you found this by looking at the main who+what of each paragraph)?  What is the entire text mostly about?  Include 3-4 details and try to directly quote at least one. 

     For Part 2 of a Nonfiction Blog Post, answer these questions:

        1. What does the author want readers to think or feel?

           2.. What are some craft moves the author uses to achieve this?  How do they work?  Try to include at least one direct quote here.

  
For Part 3 of a Nonfiction Blog Post, write your personal response, using these as sample questions:

         1. What will you take away from it?  

         2. How has your thinking been shaped or changed, and why?  

         3.  Do you have an opinion on the issue now?

3       4. Is there anything else you want to know?

  *********************************************************************
Use the Non-fiction Blog Response Student Checklist in order to help you prepare for and write your posts! 

Critically Thinking in Video Research

It is important to look at video research with the same critical eyes that we used to analyze written texts.   When you are watching these videos, consider our three questions:

1. What does the director/creator want me to KNOW?

2. What does the director/creator want me to FEEL?

3. What does the director/creator want me to THINK?

***and, of course, what "craft moves" are used to convey these things?

Here are some specific questions that will help you notice "craft moves" that can guide your viewing experience both now and whenever you are watching visual media. 

Notice and write about how the creators use any or all of the following:

Images/imagery, in visual media, can be in the form of pictures or words

What images do you see?  

What images do you hear described?

What feelings/thoughts do they elicit?  How?

The words that are being spoken can add to the image you are seeing

The images are presented in a certain order; how are they organized?

Sounds are really important.  What incidental sounds do you hear (from the real world) and what added sounds (music, sound effects, etc.)?  

What is the tone of voice of the people who are speaking?

What are the elements of the video (interviews, clips, etc.?)

Who is represented?  Whose perspective is missing?  (Just like in written media!)

What emotional, opinion, or loaded words are used?  (Also as in written media!)

1. A video that gives a bit of background on child soliders and talks about what UNICEF is doing to help former child soldiers heal: http://teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=232161 (almost 4 minutes)

2. A video that accompanies "Armed and Underaged" by Jeffrey Gettleman, one of the articles we read in class: http://vimeo.com/12563578 (3 minutes)

3. A video put out by Invisible Children that includes people of faith and in education and peace promotion asking for the world, and specifically the United States, to aid in the fight against Joseph Kony: http://vimeo.com/38406755 (3 minutes)

4. Invisible Children put out a video in 2006 when the topic of child soldiers was relatively new to much of the United States.  How is this video similar to and different from the other videos we have watched? http://vimeo.com/3765452 (5 minutes)

Going Beyond the Our Classroom...for extra credit and for building those critical thinking muscles in your brain.  

Follow the directions below that include watching a video and reading an article that responds to the video.  Write a response that addresses the questions that follow.  Minimally, write a paragraph on the video, a paragraph on the article and a concluding paragraph of your own thoughts.  Each paragraph must be at least 5-7 sentences.  Feel free to search for other video or textual resources and include links to them as well.   This is worth 5-10 points onto a "major grade" assignment, depending on the quality of the post.  Below explain in further detail the three parts of the extra credit assignment:


1. This is the full length "#Kony2012" video by Invisible Children, which went viral and started many conversations and controversies: http://vimeo.com/37119711 (29 minutes).  Watch this video in light of what you have learned throughout this unit and be a critical thinker. Use these questions to guide your response.

• Is arresting Joseph Kony going to solve the problem of child soliders? How might this help? 
• What other things, based on your research, might help solve the problem of child soliders? 
• What techniques did the film makers use to appeal to your emotions (just like we studied in non fiction reading)? Are they effective? Does analyzing them critically impact what you think about the video?
• Is there anything you would add or take away from this video, based on our research? 

2. Now, critically read this article called "Beyond Kony 2012" article by Bryan Early and Robert Tynes.  How does this add to, change or support your ideas and opinions?

3. After reading and watching so much about the issue of child soldiers, what are your thoughts, opinions and responses?  Do you think there is value in considering lots of different sources?

Studying Visual Media For Research Purposes: "Eye to Eye: Ishmael Beah"

Here is a link to the video we watched in class that will serve as our third research source for our argument essays.  For Monday, you are to use your notes to write a full summary using the techniques we have covered in class.  

Eye to Eye: Ishmael Beah (CBS with Katie Couric, June 5, 2007)

As a reminder: 

First, ask yourself "what does the author (or director) want me to KNOW?" The facts (main ideas) presented will make up the first part of your summary.  This is essentially a retell.  

Then, you will begin to analyze what the author wants you to walk away feeling and thinking. 

Ask yourself "what does the author (or director) want me to FEEL?" Add a sentence on to your summary that starts with "The director wants the viewer to feel_________ because___________."

Ask yourself "what does the author (or director) want me to walk away THINKING?" Here you are essentially naming the author's opinion. Add on a sentence to y our summary that starts with "The director wants the viewer to think ___________.  

Finding A Focus...and using it to anchor your thoughts.

A.  focus of your piece is also called a "thesis" or "claim." It is where you name what you are going to be writing about throughout the entire post.

An easy way to write out your focus if you struggle with this is to:

1. Choose a prompt question from the list hanging in the room or posted HERE.

2. Answer that question in a sentence or two (you will explain it in further detail later).

3. Then, turn the question part into a statement that leads into your answer.  BOOM. You have a focus.

Watch the progression in this example: 

1. "Who influences your protagonist? Is the impact positive or negative? Do you see similar things at work in the lives of your friends and peers? Explain.

2. Melvin has an incredibly positive influence on Vincent.  I have noticed that when people my age have an adult to talk to honestly about life, they seem to feel more comfortable, peaceful and less stressed out.

3. When teenagers have someone to talk to honestly about their lives, it enables them to feel more confident as they face daily struggles like confusion and self doubt.  Melvin is like a mentor to Vincent and his influence helps Vincent feel more confident in his identity.

Try this on your own right now for the post that is due tomorrow.

B. Use your focus to help anchor your thoughts for the rest of the post!

Now that you have this focus, use it to build the paragraphs that you will write.  When I look at the above example, I know that I have to:

1. Introduce the story by naming the title and author AND who Melvin and Vincent are so the reader understands (adding context).  I will do this before I name my focus, so that my reader will understand who Melvin and Vincent are when they read my focus.  See how I changed it below:

The story "Am I Blue?" by Bruce Coville is about a teenage boy who is confused about his sexual identity---struggling internally through the issue as well as being bullied externally.  Early on, a "fairy godfather" named Melvin appears and helps guide him through this stressful time of life.  When teenagers have someone to talk to honestly about their lives, it enables them to feel more confident as they face daily struggles like confusion and self doubt.  Melvin is like a mentor to Vincent and his influence helps Vincent feel more confident in his identity.  

This focus/thesis/claim (those are all synonyms) can now go at the end of your introduction paragraph! The reader will know what to anticipate throughout your post.

2.  Decide how you will "unpack" or elaborate your focus. What more do you need to say so that you fully communicate this idea?

When I look at my statement above, I see that I need to unpack two major things, which can become two paragraphs (you may decide you need more paragraphs or want to be more creative in your organizational style, which is fine):

First, I want to talk about how Melvin helps Vincent feel more confident.  I can use text evidence and unpack it to support this.

Second, I want to talk about the idea of mentors for teenagers.  I used to be a mentor and have had a mentor, so I have a lot to say.

Do you see how three paragraphs have just taken shape using my new, clear focus?  Do this pre-writing work in your notebook before you start writing your post until it becomes second nature to you.   If you practice this weekly, it will become second nature! Hang in there! 

Take it one step further...look at YOUR "Am I Blue?" post.  How might have this lesson have helped you with that post? Or, look at your other posts.  How would this lesson strengthen them?

How to Set Up A Blog!

URL/permission slip due by: Monday, September 10th. SEE ME IF YOU HAVE TROUBLE during Zero period on Monday!!

Your first post, which will be a reading response based on a summer reading book, due on Wednesday, September 11th.

How do I start a web log?

1. Go to www.blogger.com and click on the “Create a Blog” button.
2. Blogger is a part of Gmail and you will need a gmail account if you don’t already have one.  If you already have a gmail email address, simply type it in.  If you don’t, you can create one, using some combination of your first and last name if possible.  Don’t forget your password! Write your address and password in a safe place.  You can now also use this account for email, or use it just for your blogger account.
3. Follow the directions to name your blog and create its URL.  The name and URL do not necessarily have to match.  (For example, my blog is called “Books Upon Books,” but that URL was already taken, so my URL is www.Room116ELA.blogspot.com .)
4. Follow the directions to pick a template, and your blog is ready to go!  Feel free to adjust the design if you want.

Privacy Settings and Options

1. It is important to first adjust the privacy settings.  Click on the blogger icon and then your blog’s name or just go to the “Design” link at the top right hand corner of your blog’s page. You will see a list come up on the side.  Click on “basic” to get to the privacy settings and click on “edit.” Answer “no” to both questions so that it won’t come up in a search.  Click on the “save changes” button.
2. Go down to blog readers and click on “edit.” If you want to limit who is able to read your blog, add those email addresses here. If you are uncomfortable for any with having your blog open to everyone, you can choose who your readers will be and enter them in this section.  Those users will have to go to your blog, request permission to see it and then be verified by you.
3. Click on “posts and comments.” Change it to “user with google account.”

Adding Gadgets

Click on “design” at the top right hand corner again.  Click on “layout” on the left hand side.  Click on “add gadget”.  When you find one you want, click on the “+” sign.  Be sure to save changes! As you customize your blogs, feel free to utilize all the tools available to you on blogger. The following are required:

Labels: Label each post according to your focus (for example, “character change” or “theme”).  You can also label posts according to topic (“friendship” or “sports”) or title (“Hunger Games”).  

Blogroll: you can create a list of blogs you are reading on the sidebar. Everyone will be responsible for commenting on a handful of other blogs, so this is a great place to put the blogs you plan on keeping up with.  Each time an author posts something new, it automatically moves that blog to the top of your list. You can add in the blogs once I add them to our home base blog, www.akindoflibrary.blogspot.com.

List: this is an online “Finished Book List.” As you finish a book, add it here. 

Additional Guidelines

1. This blog is a part of a school project.  Therefore, all content on your blog must be related to your reading and writing life in some way.  Please do not use this blog as an online journal.
2. My expectation is that we are a community of readers and writers.  I will be monitoring all blogs and trusting that your words that appear online will come from a place of respect for your fellow classmates as well with a tone that is appropriate for school. 

For my own sanity, do not add any kind of sound gadgets to your blog.  Also, please type in readable colors (no pink or yellow) and fonts (avoid ones that are cursive or all caps, especially).

Creating Better Community Through the Comment

Part of the reason why I love posting reading responses online rather than just having them live in your notebooks is because it enables us to easily share about our reading lives.  I believe that by reading one another's work, great things will happen.  For instance: 

• You can get book recommendations
• You can get into conversations about books you have read, too, or topics that are interesting to you
• You will become a better writer because not only are you reading work, but you will begin to care more when you know that people are reading your work

So, in order to create a tighter knit reading and writing community, you are now required to create a "blog roll" (or "link list")  if you haven't already of the blogs that you want to keep up with regularly.  You are required to comment on at least 2 blog posts from your class weekly.  My hope is that you will get to know each other better as readers (and nonfiction writers) and that you will learn from one another. I will be checking these responses.

A good, thoughtful blog comment might:

• praise interesting ideas in the original post, specifically (don't just say "nice job")
• ask for clarification of any unclear parts of the original post
• add the responder's own thoughts to original ideas to build strength
• contradict or challenge (respectfully!) by explaining another aspect or asking a question to further dialogue
• contain connections (to the self, the world, another text, or another part of the same text) to deepen thinking about the post

Sample starters: 

• When you said __________ I thought________
• I love the line ____________ because___________
• When you said ____________ it got me thinking about________

***  AND good, thoughtful blog responses  always

• are respectful
• use standard vocab, spelling, and grammar (so that everyone can understand)
• show consideration of the original blogger's work and thought

Here are some examples of some interesting conversations that got started last year: 


On girls reading boy characters
A poem based on Banksy's street art
A poem about death based on a painting by Gustav Klimt



(Sidenote: As I already see the eyes rolling, please remember that we are about to hit the half way point of 8th grade.  It makes sense that work would get more involved.  Also, please remember my advice to carry a positive attitude!)

A Letter to 811

Dear 811,

Overall, I am impressed with the close-reading work you are doing--that means that you are looking at micro details and responding to them!

As you move forward, I want you to focus on trying to string some of those micro details together to come up with an overall theory.  Your theory can be your focus for the post and the micro details become the support for your theory.  This will also cause your writing to be a bit more formally organized.

Also remember to consider the "extension" aspect of reading: what is the author trying to say to you as a person? What is the story truly about (beyond the plot)?

Here are some All Star Mentors to visit this week for inspiration:

Eleni writes about big, interesting ideas in a super organized, focused way.  You should definitely read her posts if you need an example on how to have a theory and how to elaborate on it using both mico and macro details!

Delia's most recent post on Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld is a great example of writing around a theory or big idea.  Her title helps introduce what she is focused on.  (That is one way you can tell if you have ONE theory...does a clear title come to mind to introduce your work?)

I'm looking forward to reading your work in the coming weeks! Remember that as you challenge yourself with more sophisticated books, chances are you will have more interesting things to discuss.  This is a point in the year when some of you will want to consider weaning yourself off of Young Adult Literature and moving into some "bridge" or adult fiction!  We'll talk more about that in January.

Sincerely,
Ms. Robbins

A Letter to 806

Dear 806,

I feel like I need to write this letter to different halves of the class: the half who is actively writing thought provoking posts on their blogs and the half who has missed either one or both of the last two posts (or more).  You are such a smart class and it is disappointing to see students blowing off not only homework credit, but an opportunity to really think through your independent reading book.

Overall, for the people who *are* updating their blogs regularly, I am noticing readers picking out micro details and making inferences about them, which is great.  The next step is either writing LONG about those micro details or stringing a few together to come up with a theory.

Beyond writing long, I want you to focus on EXTENSION.  Remember our the "Process of Critical Thinking in Literature" display in our room.  This is the last part of the critical reading process. Ask questions like: Does this relate to me? people my age? What is the author trying to tell me about this? I will be looking for smart extension work for your next post.

Here are some All Star Mentors to inspire you to write.  I encourage you to read these posts and see what they are doing not only as writers, but what does it seem they are doing as active readers while in their books?

Nathan is reading Linchpin by Seth Godin,  a nonfiction book about creativity and wrote some seriously thought-provoking posts about it.  It inspired me to want to pick up the book!

Talyah wrote about the book Something Like Fate and had some really interesting thoughts about friendship.

Adam came up with some great theories about the character Jack in The Lord of the Flies. I would love to now hear a bit of extension...what do his thoughts and these characters teach us about people? Life? Leave him a comment with your opinion when you visit.

I'm looking forward to being inspired by your next round of posts!
Ms. Robbins

A Letter to 804

Dear 804,

As I've been reviewing your blogs, I've noticed some improvements.  Most of you are trying to write in paragraph form, many are including interesting titles and I noticed some interesting comments.  I want you to continue to grow as writers, though, so here are some updates for you  and some examples of All-Star-Mentors...people in your class who are doing their reading response/blog work really well.  

• Most importantly, your blog needs to be about a theory you have about your book.  This is designed to build on what we covered in our very first unit.  I would now like for you to check back at this post every week and choose one of the 9 options to try out for you post.  Include the option you are trying out as a label to your post.  
• Remember, retell should only be used to give context for your ideas.  I do actually read your posts:) I can tell if you just wrote three paragraphs of retell!  
• Please, please write with an academic tone.  It can still be personal, but the work you post should represent your best self: capitalization, underlining or italicizing titles, etc.  

All Star Mentors from 804: 

Anouk did a great job about writing a post about Tina Fey's Bossypants that encourages conversation! She pulled out something that made her think deeply and wrote about it in an engaging way. 

I challenged Mark to write a blog post explaining why so many 8th graders still love the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, even though it's below your reading level.  He did a great job explaining and if you read all of his posts you can tell that he takes time to think of a thought-provoking topic.  

I am looking forward to reading posts that challenge me to look at the world in a different way or open my eyes to new insight! 

Sincerely, 

Ms. Robbins

What do I write about?

Here are some of the notes you took in our first unit that will help you find a topic to write about: 

1.   In life, conflict (and how it is dealt with) causes change in a person (for better or worse). Reading and studying characters helps us tap into the pulse of humanity.  

2. Protagonist-the main character in a literary work (not necessarily good or bad, which means you have to be a careful reader!)

3. Antagonist-the person or forces who oppose or contend with the protagonist (sometimes the antagonist can be like an inner voice or an unseen force…be a careful reader!)

.     4. Unpacking a “loaded sentence”

5. Noticing your protagonist’s journey: task, quest, loss of innocenceinterpret your protagonist’s emotional journey: 

• what positive people/events impacted him/her most?

• what negative people/events impacted him/her most?

• how is your character different now? What did he/she learn? What did the journey accomplish?

• extend your ideas to LIFE and humanity: what does this journey teach you about living

6. Noticing character patterns-archetypes

• The hero-displays courage, self sacrifice and is not perfect
•  The mentor-assists/guides the protagonist, symbolizing wisdom, knowledge, experience  
• The shadow-creates tension in story and represents the darker side of human nature  
• The shapeshifter-a character who keeps changing sides; can’t make up mind; represents uncertainty.

7. Theme: the statement about life that an author wants to share with the reader

8.  Cross-book inquiry: Make connections between your book and another you’ve read

    9. Setting-what aspects of the setting are significant and symbolic?

     10. Approach the book like an appreciation: what did you appreciate (or not appreciate) in your book? 

An introduction.

Welcome to the world of blogging!  There are a few basic guidelines to make sure that this experience is one that helps you grow as a reader, writer and thinker:

1. A blog post is due every Wednesday.  That means I'll be checking Wednesday morning to see who posted in time.  This counts as a homework grade. 

2. Each month (except October), you are required to write three posts about your independent reading book and one post in response to a non-fiction article that you have read.  


3. Generally, your posts on your independent reading book should be focused on micro details (observation+inference) if you are in the middle of it, and macro details (whole book interpretation+extension) if you have finished. You should be using vocabulary that we have covered in class, helping those concepts sink more deeply into your brain (see next post for ideas).


4. Your post should be FOCUSED and ORGANIZED.  Have one main idea that you are exploring.  Use purposeful paragraphs to elaborate on that idea.  


5. Your post should be TEXT BASED and specific. 


6. Even though you should be using CORRECT GRAMMAR (capitalize! no texting abbreviations!) your post can/should SOUND LIKE YOU. This is not a formal essay, but an informal way of conveying to your peers what you've been thinking about in your reading life. 

7. Use the labels on the side of this blog to find MENTORS if you need them. Refer back to this blog if you need help or direction.

Mid Year Reflection

As I have been reading through your blog posts, there are a few trends I'm noticing:

Trends I LOVE:
1.  When students really use their blog as a means to explore their reading and the world in front of them.
2. When students have added their own creative writing element into their writing/blog life.
3. When students have pushed themselves beyond the "three paragraphs/meets standards" blog posts.
4. When students grow as writers because they are actively reading other people's posts.  There is an amazing commenting community happening in 804 and it is impacting their writing in an incredible way.

Trends I DON'T LOVE:
1. When students hang out perpetually in the "three paragraphs/meets standards" land.  If you push yourself as a writer and a thinker, your writing about reading will become a place to explore new ideas as you are growing as a person.  If you don't push yourself, you do not grow.
2. When students forget that, though informal, this is academic writing.  You must use grammar conventions, especially CAPITALIZATION.
3. When students retell too much of their book. Come on, guys. We've discussed this.

Next Steps:

We are taking this week off as WRITERS of blogs to spend some serious time READING blogs.  Your job is to find 3 mentor posts.  You can use any M.S. 51 ELA blog...so look at my classes on the sidebar or visit Ms. Rear and Ms. Galang's classes as well.  All of us have posted "All Star Mentors" or "Noteworthy Blogs" if you need a starting point.  Also, leave a comment for the writer that you are using his/her post as a mentor.  The posts you choose should:

a. inspire you to think more, write more or read more.
b. demonstrate more than the "three paragraphs/meets standards."
c. 2 of the 3 must be about reading.  1 can be about creative writing, if you find one you love.

Please post a link to each mentor and write a paragraph per post about why it deserves to be an all star mentor.

We will be using these posts to study from as we choose a first semester post to revise and publish.  Then, the standards will be raised for the second half of the year.  Let's get excited to grow as writers, ya'll:)

Observe+Infer=Interpretation

Here are the pictures that accompanied our first poetry lesson, in which we decided that poetry is an art form and used the metaphor of painting to hone our skills.  Feel free to continue to observe/infer/interpret and even turn your response into a blog post (isn't writing FUN when you have something interesting to say!! share your thoughts! I promise it will make you feel really smart!).

Remember that this "equation" can be used in all kinds of genres and in all kinds of art.  You can, of course, still consider what the author/painter, etc. wants you to know, feel and think!

Self Portrait 1932, Frida Kahlo

The Persistence of Memory, Salvador Dali

Reminder: What should a basic "meets standards" blog post look like?

This post is for students who are struggling with how to structure a basic blog post or relying too much on retell.  Please remember that your blog is a place for you to RESPOND to your reading, not to retell the plot or to merely "review" it.  I want to know where your mind wanders while you are reading or after you put the book down.  If you don't naturally do this, the discipline of having to write a response weekly will help you practice.

Keiame and Mustafa both have great mentor posts that demonstrate this.


Paragraph One: Draw your reader in with an interesting lead.  Give the reader a few sentences of context (character, setting, conflict) so he or she has the basic idea of what is going on.

Paragraph Two: Introduce your THEORY, or your idea about what the book is actually about. Your theory can be about any macro idea or micro detail that is interesting to you. Then, UNPACK your theory...which means you can elaborate on why you believe it or how you came to it to begin with. You can use textual evidence to unpack your theory. 

Paragraph Three: CONNECT your theory to the world outside of the story.  What does the author want you to know, feel or think?  Can you relate to it at all? What does this story have to say about the world or people?

Once you have mastered this basic structure, please feel free to experiment and be creative in your responses. There are plenty of great examples/all star mentors of this, especially HERE.  

Is there a social justice issue in your book?

Here are some questions that might help you locate where social justice issues might be lurking in your independent reading books...

1. Is this story fair? Why or why not?

2. How does this text deal with individuals and groups? Are the people acting alone and in competition with each other, or does the text help us imagine people working together?

3. What really hard things are happening in this book? Are these things happening in the world now? Where?

4. How different are people allowed to be in this text? Does it assume everyone is happy and good in the same ways?

5. Who has "power" in your book? How does it get shown? Is if fair?

6. At what points do you notice yourself resisting the book, characters or author? What does your resistance say about the book, and what does it say about you?

The beginnings of community: the art (and fun) of the comment.

(Much of this is adapted from Ms. Rear's post. Thanks, Ms. Rear!) 


So now that we've all started posting about our reading, it's time to begin interacting with each other by responding to each other's blog posts.

In order to create a tighter knit reading community, you are now required to create a "blog roll" (or "link list") of the blogs that you want to keep up with regularly.  You are required to comment on at least 3 blog posts from your class weekly.  My hope is that you will get to know each other better as readers (and nonfiction writers) and that you will learn from one another. I  will be checking these responses.

A good, thoughtful blog comment might:
* praise interesting ideas in the original post
* ask for clarification of any unclear parts of the original post
* add the responder's own thoughts to original ideas to build strength
* contradict or challenge (respectfully!) by explaining another aspect or asking a question to further dialogue
* contain connections (to the self, the world, another text, or another part of the same text) to deepen thinking about the post

***  AND good, thoughtful blog responses  always
* are respectful and coherent
* use standard vocab, spelling, and grammar (so that everyone can understand)
* show consideration of the original blogger's work and thought

Putting your best foot forward: Lesson #1

Part One: Grammar
One of the biggest differences between writing that stays in your notebook and writing that gets published online is that you have to be on your A-game when it comes to formatting your reading responses.  When you are emailing or texting your friends, that is a different kind of writing and a lack of conventions (following grammar rules) may be appropriate. Our blogs, though, are a way of practicing writing in an academic setting.  Please practice using academic writing on your blogs. I'll be looking for the following conventions that you should already be familiar with on your blog:

• Underline (or italicize) and capitalize the title of your book
• Use purposeful paragraphs when you switch to a new topic or idea
• Capitalization in general: you know what gets capitalized! Don't scare me! 

Part Two: Write for an Audience

Your thoughts are no longer living in your notebook and your peers will be reading your thoughts.  That means that you need to write with your audience in mind.  It is important to think about the following: 

• Give your reader a bit of context so that he or she can understand what you are writing about. Context can be attained in 1-2 sentences and includes the title of the book plus a brief introduction to the character, setting and conflict. For example, "I have been reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, set in a dystopian, futuristic society that forces 12 children to participate in an Olympic-style game, only it is to the death.  The reader is allowed inside the mind of Katniss, the main character, as she fights her way through the games."
• Try to "bookend" your post thoughtfully: use a lead to begin and try to leave your reader thinking at the end. 
• As a courtesy, if you are writing about the end of a book, put a "spoiler alert" in the post so that anyone who hasn't read the book doesn't see what happened in the end, just in case they want to read the book.  It is very possible to write a reading response thoughtfully without giving away the entire plot.