5 Reader Activities That Invite

Higher Thinking
BY MIDDLEWEB · PUBLISHED 07/12/2015

By Marilyn Pryle
You’ve taught students to read closely, to annotate, to discuss—now
what? How can we get kids to interact with texts in creative ways that
require an even higher level of understanding? Here, I’ll share five of my
favorite post-reading reader-response activities.

1. Written Reading Responses (RRs)

Doing Reading Responses (RRs) is one of the most effective
techniques I know to get kids to formulate new ideas about a fiction or
non-fiction text while referring to the text as they do so. It is a logical
next step to annotating. This technique can be adapted for middle or
high school students.
In the beginning of the year, I give students a list of 10-15 RR “types”
with descriptions for each. Some of the types include Give an Opinion,
Ask a Question, Prove a Character Trait, Make a Connection, Spot the
Setting, Find the Figurative Language, Evaluate the Intro, and Mark the
Motivation. The rules for writing an RR are as follows:

How To Write an RR
1. Label the type of RR you are writing.
2. Write at least four sentences.
3. Have an original idea; don’t just summarize.
4. Quote and cite something in the text to support your idea.
These rules force students to think of an original idea about the text or
to elaborate on something they may have briefly annotated. My handout
gives them ideas about how to do this. [Editor’s note: Marilyn’s handout
is reproduced in her Scholastic book 50 Common Core Reading Response
Activities. Used with permission.]
For example, for the Spot the Setting RR, students shouldn’t merely
give details about the setting; they should speculate about why the
author chose that particular setting, and how it contributes to plot or
mood.
The four-sentence rule is required even for questions: I tell students to
write a question and then three sentences about what they understand
about the question so far. The labeling makes students deliberately
acknowledge how they are framing their thoughts about the text.

I usually have students do RRs for homework, and then use their RRs
as a springboard and compass for discussion. I often begin class by
asking students to share their RRs. As individual students speak up, the
rest of us jump to their cited text and follow along. I merely facilitate the
conversation, highlighting important points and asking deeper questions
when needed. The students themselves will eventually hit upon all the
important points of the text; often they will make observations or ask
questions I had not thought of myself.

I rarely collect RRs. Instead, after our discussions, I give students

another activity to work on, and I circulate to check that the RRs have
been done. On days when we haven’t had a whole-group discussion, I
might ask each student to summarize his or her RR for me as I walk
around. I love this method because it enables me to have a 60-second
reading conference with each of them.

Occasionally, though, I will have students complete a “Polished RR,” for

which they must choose one of their particularly insightful or interesting
RRs, type it up, expand upon it if necessary, and hand it in for a larger
grade.

At the end of the first semester, I have students write an RR Analysis

Paper in which they examine their reading response habits: Do they
always gravitate to one type of RR? Do they have to fight the urge to only
summarize? Is there an RR that they have deliberately avoided? What does this
say about them as readers and thinkers? This metacognitive exercise helps
students see themselves as active participants in their own learning. It
also helps refocus and challenge them for the next semester.
2. Concrete Found Poems
I’m combining two poetic forms here: the “concrete” or shaped poem
that middle school students are probably very familiar with, and the
“found” poem, which they may not know. Each is a legitimate form in its
own right; each can be done with sophistication and deeper meaning.
Combining them can push students’ thinking and analysis to a higher
level.

To create a concrete found poem, students must only use words,

phrases or even whole sentences “found” in their text. Then, they must
shape these words into a visual representation on paper. They are not
drawing; they must arrange the words, phrases, or sentences into an
image on the page.

Students can create concrete found poems about a character, setting,

or theme (using a symbol for the concrete structure). They should turn
in not only the finished image but also a sheet with the cited words,
phrases, or sentences they used to create the image. I require a
minimum of ten of these. Below are some examples using the stories of
Prometheus and King Arthur:
3. Postcard Home
Most main characters embark on a journey of some kind; this archetypal
plot pattern lends itself to a postcard home activity. Have students write
in the voice of a journeying character. You could designate a specific
recipient or have students choose their own. Here are some questions
to get students thinking:

Postcard Brainstorming Questions

Where are you?
Do you like it? Why or why not?
What has happened to you so far? (one or two sentences)
What are you struggling with?
What have you learned so far, about yourself or others?
What will you do?
How do you feel about the recipient?

With these questions, students must summarize, infer, evaluate, and

predict—all in the voice of a character, which demonstrates a high level
of comprehension with the story. On the front of their postcard, students
should, of course, draw a picture. For a variation, you could give
students pictures you select beforehand, and have them choose a
relevant sender and recipient.

4. Character To-Do List

We all have many things we want to accomplish in the near and far
future, and characters are no different! Tell students to choose a
character from the text—or you can assign characters so all the
characters are represented. Challenge them to get inside that
character’s head to create a to-do list. They can think about the
following questions:
 Character To-Do List Brainstorming Questions
What does he or she have to do on a daily basis?
What does the character want to do or achieve?
What are the character’s responsibilities?
What are the character’s goals?
Where does the character have to go?
Whom does the character need to speak to?
Students should use actual information from the text, of course, but urge
them to also infer information and supply text evidence to support their
inferences. It helps to set a minimum number of tasks, such as ten. You
can suggest that if a character has a large goal on the list, that goal can
be broken down into smaller tasks. For example, if a character’s goal is
to “win karate tournament,” smaller steps might include, “Practice 2
hours a day” and “Watch opponents compete.” This activity will measure
students’ comprehension, their understanding of a character’s
underlying motives, their ability to draw inferences from existing
information, and their ability to predict a character’s future actions.

For an extra challenge, have students cite the pages containing

information from which they drew inferences. Below is an example using
Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.
 5.
Write a Twitter Conversation
Students love this! Have them work with partners to rewrite part of the
text as a Twitter conversation among the characters. They do not have
to actually use Twitter; they can just write out the conversation on
paper, perhaps using Twitter’s 140-character maximum length. This is
not merely a summarizing activity—deeper understandings can surface
with this exercise.

For example, students’ choices of Twitter handles for each character

may reveal character traits; their use of hashtags could express
inferences about personalities and themes. I am always amazed at the
humor and wit of the students when we do this activity, and the students
themselves are often gasping with laughter by the end of it.

Below is a Twitter conversation between Daedalus, Icarus, and the

shepherd that saw them flying.
Keeping It Real
Applying real-word literacy practices, like Twitter chats and To-Do Lists,
to in-class texts engages students and deepens understanding. For
more ideas, or to view full assignment sheets and rubric possibilities for
the assignments suggested here, please see my book, 50 Common Core
Reading Response Activities(Scholastic, 2014). [Read MiddleWeb’s
review.]