Read and Relax Project

40-50 points depending on number of R & R sessions

Every Friday you must:

bring your chosen novel to class. You will not be able to go to your locker or the library. You will lose points if you dont bring the novel. read for the entire time designated. If I see you sleeping or doing anything other than reading, you lose five points. choose a prompt OR listen for the prompt I ask you to use and write a journal response at the end of the R & R period (even if youve already lost your points for sleeping, not bringing a book, etc.). be ready to turn in your journal for a grade at ANY time. This means you keep up! enjoy some reading and relaxation!

How to write a journal response:

Each time you have R & R in class, you are required to write a response of no less than one page in your composition book. This must not be a summary. Do NOT begin your journal with My book is about or Today I read about or anything similar. Instead, I want to know your thoughts and opinions about what you have read, and I want to know that you really did read and understand what you have read. You will earn 0 to 5 points on each journal. An entry that earns 5/5 points will: include the below heading above the first line of the page. meet or exceed the length requirement in an honest way. show that you understand what youve read and show that youve THOUGHT about it. respond to the prompt by using EXAMPLES and EVIDENCE from your book. use standard G/U/M/S (grammar, usage, mechanics, and spelling). Journal Heading Format Date R & R Journal # _____________ Title of book and author Pages read today Prompt #_______________ Journal Heading Sample

9/20/13 R & R Journal # 1 Black Boy by Richard Wright 20 pages read today Prompt # 3

**If you are absent on an R & R day you must read for 30 minutes and complete a journal entry on your own time. No excuses. No claiming that you didnt know. Check our Weebly site. Prompts 1. If I were in the story 2. I really admire the character 3. I cant understand 4. I didnt like the way 5. The character named____learned 6. The character named____ reminded me of 7. I know the feeling of 8. I began to think of 9. I love the way the author 10. The most important thing I learned was 11. Write about a memory or experience of your own and explain how it is similar to something in your book. 12. Write a reaction to what you have read today. 13. Comment on the authors technique: choice of words or the way he or she tells the story. Do you admire the way the author writes? Why or why not? 14. Make a prediction about how the book will end. What makes you think this? 15. Do you think the title of the book is a good one? Why or why not? What are some other possible titles? 16. Imagine you are one of the characters in the story. Write a diary entry that reflects your thoughts and feelings about an event in the characters life. 17. What is one problem in the story? How would you solve that problem? 18. What do you think will happen next? What evidence from the book helped you make this prediction? 19. Become one of the characters in your book and write a letter or poem from that characters point of view. 20. Analyze what motivates the main characters behavior. 21. Are the characters realistic? Why or why not. 22. Compare the plot of what you are reading to your favorite book. 23. Compare what is happening in the book to something in your own life, the life of someone you know, or something happening in the world. 24. Describe the major conflict. Which side are you on? Why? 25. Evaluate the book and explain why someone should or should not read this book. 26. How would changing the books setting change the story? 27. If the author was here, what would you say to her or him? 28. If you were the author, what would you change and why? 29. If you were a character in the book, who would you be and why? 30. Pick a phrase from what you are reading that made you think. Interpret what the author meant. 31. Question the authors motives. What was the authors purpose for writing this? (for non-fiction books) 32. What did you already know about this topic? What did you learn? (for non-fiction books) 33. What questions do you still have? How can you find the answers? (for non-fiction books) 34. How can you tell the difference between fact and this authors opinions? (for non-fiction books)