Reading Enrichment through a Reader

Response Journal and an Online Book

Talk
Mini-Lesson #1 Introducing the Task
Guiding Question: How can we select contemporary literature that we will
enjoy?

Standards:
ELACC9-10W9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support
analysis, reflection, and research.
ELACC9-10W10: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for
research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a
day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.
ELACC9-10SL1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative
discussions(one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on

grades 910 topics, texts, and issues, building on others ideas and expressing
their own clearly and persuasively.

Day 1

Day 1 (Wednesday): Introduction to the Reader Response

Journals Assignment
The Big Idea
This semester we have been reading and studying literature
chosen by the teacher as characteristic of contemporary literature.

This unit will give students an opportunity to exercise some

personal choice. Students will choose a long work of
contemporary literature from a list compiled by the teacher from a
variety of lists of contemporary literature for teens, young adults,
and adults. Students will take into account their personal Lexile
scores and personal areas of interests and genre.
As students read, they will, periodically record their reactions to
the literature in reader response journals. A reader response
journal is designed to allow students to interact with the literature.

Students will be encouraged to ask questions about the literature

they read, to respond to characters and their predicaments and
challenges, and to make connections to their own lives. The
interaction will enhance the overall reading experience for the
chosen piece of literature and enhance students reading skills for
future reading.

Up Next
Each student has been provided with a list of books, with Lexile
scores and short descriptions for each. Each student has also been
provided with a reminder card featuring his or her individual
pbworks.com username and password and his or her own Lexile
score. Students should peruse the list of books and further
research those titles that interest them most, using such web sites
as amazon.com, GoodReads.com, and
http://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklistsawards/booklists. The book list

and a refresher presentation on using Lexile scores have been

posted to the class Edmodo page.

Assignment 1: You must narrow their choices to 3 and post

those 3, with Lexile scores on the PBworks page by the
beginning of class Friday. Be sure to rank them, with #1 as
your first choice, #2 as your second choice, etc

Step 1: Getting familiar with the Reader Response

Assignment.
In order to better understand the assignment, I have curated
a collection of resources that explore the general ideas
behind the reader response journal and the assignment,
itself, using the web 2.0 tool, Blendspace.com and posted it
to my Tumblr. Com blog:
https://www.tumblr.com/blog/mrkerrshslibraryand to the
class edmodo.com page.
You will need to sign up for an account at
https://www.tumblr.com/loginin order to see my
posts. Sign up is fast, easy, and free and we will be using
this account throughout the year.
Newer posts appear first, so you will scroll from bottom
to top, right column to left column, to see the posts in

order.

Assignment 2: Read the Reader Response assignment and

annotate as you desire. Be prepared to ask any needed
clarifying questions as we discuss the details of the Reader
Response Journal assignment tomorrow. If you do not finish
reading in class, finish outside of class.
Assignment 3: Discuss, with your parents and/or guardians,
and with your friends the list of books with which you have
been provided, and their opinions about any of the choices
with which they might be familiar. Share the list and the
resources with anyone interested. Then, interview a parent
or guardian about their suggestions and experiences with
any of the books on the list. In addition to the interview
questions I have provided, add two interview questions of
your own. Hard copies of the interview sheet are also
available at the front of the room. These interviews are due
tomorrow. They may be handwritten, or you can copy and
paste the document and supply the answers using Microsoft
Word and then post on Edmodo, or turn in a hard copy.

Parent /Guardian Interview #1

1. Before talking about this list with your child, had you
heard about or read any of the books that are on the list?
2. Would you suggest any particular titles for your child? If
so, which ones, and why?
3. Would you like to read a copy, as your child is reading?
4. Would you be interested in discussing your childs book
with your child?

Explain your answer.

5.
6.

I have assigned your book, based upon the choices you

listed, and your parents responses from the interviews.

Mini-Lesson #2 Specifics of the Task

Guiding Question: What do we need to know to and create reader
response journals that will help us to interact with contemporary
literature on a personal level?

Standards:
ELACC9-10RL2: Determine a theme or central idea of text and analyze
in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it
emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an
objective summary of the text.
ELACC9-10RL3: Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with
multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text,

interact with other characters, and

advance the plot or develop the

theme.

Mini-Lesson #2 Day 2 (Thursday)

Students will be provided with hard copies of the Reader

Response Journal assignment. That same assignment will be
displayed on the SmartBoard to guide the whole-class
discussion that will be facilitated by the teacher. I will
review the document, allowing for questions and comments
from the students.
Students will be divided into groups of 3 and provided with
3 reader response exemplars, of varying degrees of
competency. Each group should discuss:
1. The degree to which the exemplars authors addressed
directions of the assignment,
2. Students discussions and interviews with your parents,
and

with others, about the book choices,

3. The resources from the Blendspace curation and from

Edmodo.

Assignment/Assessment:

After viewing the curated resources and discussing the

assignment it is likely that you encountered some issues that
you had not thought about when we introduced the topic
yesterday and discussed it today.
Compose a reflective post, which you will post on the
PBworks page titled under RR assignment- Day 2. You
should discuss any changes in opinion about the assignment
since yesterday and what influenced those changes. You
should also discuss ways in which the assignment is different
than you might have first assumed. I would also be
interested in your opinion about what you think about the
assignment, as a whole.

I expect about two to four good

paragraphs, for a total of about 200 words. The assessment

is due by the beginning of class tomorrow.

Mini-Lesson #3 Sharing the Literature

Guiding Question: How can we share the enjoyment that we received
through reading our books with others and encourage them to read
those books?

Standards:
ELACC9-10RL2: Determine a theme or central idea of text and analyze
in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it
emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an
objective summary of the text.
ELACC9-10RL3: Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with
multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text,
interact with other characters, and

advance the plot or develop the

theme.
ELACC9-10W9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to
support analysis, reflection, and research.
ELACC9-10W10: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for
research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single
sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Mini Lesson #3 Day 21 (Wednesday): Sharing the

Literature

Consider
Before turning in the final installment of your Reader
Response Journal, you will need to consider how you can
share your enjoyment of the book with others.

Background
Each student has written and submitted 3 reader response
journalsone from each of the first three quarters of the
book. As you prepare to write your last installment,
consider the work of literature, as a whole as you prepare to
entice others to read the same book that you have just
finished,

Assignment 1: You will write a book talk that you will then
publish on our PBworks wiki. Unlike the book talks that you
may have attended, or conducted in elementary and middle
school, this book talk will not be live or video-based.
Instead, you will rely upon your writing skills, familiarity with
the literature, persuasion skills, and judgment to create a
written, online book talk.
Step 1: Getting familiar with the Online Book Talk.
In order for you to better understand the assignment, I have
curated a collection of resources that explore the general
idea of, tips about, and specific examples of, online book
talks. I included several video book talks to help you
capture the desired tone, too. Again, I have constructed a
curation of resources on Blendspace.com and posted it to
my Tumblr. Com blog:
https://www.tumblr.com/blog/mrkerrshslibrary and to the
class edmodo.com page.
Step 2: Read the Online Book Talk assignment and
annotate, as you desire. Be prepared to ask any needed
clarifying questions.
Step 3: View all 9 resources on the Blendspace curation.
Step 4: Complete the Book Talk Prep Chart (attached).
Step 5: Using the completed Book Talk Prep Chart and
the tips from the Blendspace resources, write your Online

Book Talk and submit it to the Book Talk page at PBworks.

The book talk is due by the beginning of class on Friday.