Onward!

This week we will be working on more basics in writing and reading: sentence variety, vocabulary review, and reading response. The children are reading like crazy! Our book discussions are rich, informative, and varied. Last week, we concentrated on writing reading responses that used critical thinking prompts. We are realizing that personal responses, those that make us think, are very different than writing summaries. Some of the prompts are:
1. When I started reading this book, I thought...
2. I changed my mind about ...because...
3. My favorite part of the book was...
4. I was confused by...
5. My favorite character is...because...
6. I was surprised when...
7. I predict that...
8. I like the way the author...
9. I didn't like...because...
10. This book reminded me of...

As you can see, these prompts require a personal response from the students. In so doing, they are using multiple strategies to make meaning of what they read.