GUIDELINES FOR KEEPING A RESPONSE JOURNAL
Very simply, a response journal is much like a diary. Only in this diary you will not be writing
about that special someone you like the kind of day you had, that nasty teacher that will not stop
assigning tons of homework, and all the other popular topics that are discussed in diaries. Instead, you
will be exploring your feelings about and reactions to the novel that you have chose to read. Keeping a
response journal will give you an opportunity to express you own opinions about what is happening in the
novel you are reading. Passages that upset you, or make you happy, or that you simply do not
understand, can be discussed in your journal entries. You will have a chance to ask and answer
questions that you think are important.
1. You will be expected to make 5 journal entries for the novel. Prior to reading, choose the spots
you will stop to make a journal entry.
2. In your journal entries, you can discuss anything that interests you about the material you are
reading (a character you despise, a scene that you found particularly moving, a setting that was
described in extraordinary detail, etc.)
3. There is no set limit on how long you entries have to be. Yet keep in mind, these journals will
constitute a major portion of your mark for this unit. All I ask is that you think carefully about what
you are writing, and be sure to give me complete answers. This means that you will have to
explain in detail you thought, feelings, ideas and opinions.
4. The following are some possible \statement starters for you to choose from when you are making
your entries:
I liked the idea that…
I think…
Now I understand…
I wonder…
What impressed me in this chapter
I predict… was…
I like… This reminded me of …
I wish… I felt…
I don't understand… In my opinion…
If I were the author… I know someone like…
This part reminds me of… When this happens to me, I feel…
It seems to me… One time I …
I question… It was, or was not fair when…
If I were ___________, I would have… The author could have…
I noticed…
You must use at least three of these statements when you are writing in your journal. You can also
make up some of you own.
Besides writing entries telling what you are thinking about the book, you may write response journal
entries – which are letters – to the author, to classmates, to the teacher, or to characters in the book.
Remember, your journal is an opportunity for you to explore what you think is important.
It is not necessary for you to summarize the chapters for me; I am more interested in how you
react to what you are reading.
Adapted from Charlotte’s WebFun: An Interactive Novel Study. Online. 8 March 2004.
http://www.holyspirit.ab.ca/assumption/sreily10.htm
Reading for Pleasure and Understanding Workshop March 11, 2004
PUSD HS Library Media Specialists