Reader’s Notebook - Reflection Entries

As you read, have your reader’s notebook next to you as you write your personal
response in them. State your feelings, thoughts, reactions, and questions about
situations, ideas, actions, characters, settings, symbols, plot, theme, and any
other elements of the book. You can't be wrong in your responses, so take some
risks and be honest. Write about what you like or dislike, what seems confusing
or unusual to you. Make predictions about what might happen later. Relate your
personal experiences which connect with the plot, characters, or setting. Don’t
just summarize the plot even though sometimes it may be unavoidable to include
a summary to support your thought and get your point across. Remember, the
purpose of the notebook is to explore your thinking and engage more deeply with
the readings and what is going on around you. Let me hear your voice.

Make a Prediction (Remember to include details that support your prediction)

 I predict that…
 I wonder…
 I think that…
 I wonder why…
 I wonder how…
 Since this happened __________, then I think the next thing that is going
to happen is …
 Reading this part makes me think that this __________ is about to
happen…
 I wonder if…

Ask a question
 Why did…
 What’s this part about…
 How is this ________ like this _____...
 What would happen if…
 Why…
 Who is…
 What does this section _______ mean…
 Do you think that …
 I really don’t understand this part here …
 What does this mean…
 How did this section of my book make me feel?

Clarify Something
 This makes sense now…
 Now I understand…
 No, I think it means…
 I agree with you. This means…
  At first I thought ________, but now I think…
 This part is really saying…
 I’m not sure, but…

Make a Comment
 This is good because…
 This is difficult because…
 This is confusing because…
 I like the part where…
 I dislike the part where…
 I don’t like this part because…
 My favorite part so far is…
 I think that…
 I think this setting is important because…
 This part is very realistic/unrealistic because…
 I think the relationship between ______ and ______ is interesting
because…
 I like/dislike (name the character) because…
 The character I most admire is _______ because…
 If I were (name of character) at this point, I would…
 I wish _______ would have happened because….
 I wish the author had included…
 My opinion of (name the character) is…
 I noticed while reading that I …
 I love the way…
 I can’t believe…
 If I were…
 I like the way the author…
 I felt sad…
 I was so happy…
 This story teaches…

Make a Connection
 This reminds me of…
 This part is like…
 This character _______ is like _______ because…
 This is similar to…
 The differences are…
 I also…
 I never…
 This event made me think…
 This character makes me think of…
 This setting reminds me of…
 This character reminds me of somebody I know because…
 This character reminds me of myself because…
 This character is like (name of character) in (title of book) because…
 This scene reminds me of a similar scene in (title of book) because…
 This part of the story makes me think about _______ because…
 This situation reminds me of a similar scene in (title of book) because…
 Did it remind me of anything that has happened in my life?
 Did I learn anything from it?
 Can I take anything from this story to improve myself?

Assume each of the following roles and write a response at least once
in your reader’s notebook:

Straight Talker
Speak directly to a character and give your two cents worth. If you could
stop the action at a particular point what would you say?

Judge
Evaluate an action or a decision by a character or characters. Do you feel
a wise or a poor decision has been made? Why? What decision would you
prefer to have been made? Why?

Memory Keeper
Perhaps you remember a similar experience from your own life, about a
time when you kept a secret, and because of that secret, events began to
snowball. Describe that experience: explain how it relates to the story.

Artist
What visual images come to mind as you read the story? Draw and color
these images. Write also what your visual image means or represents in
the story. Include a dialogue between characters or create captions.

Palm Reader
What has occurred that you consider an example(s) of foreshadowing?
What do you believe will occur in the future? Why?

After reading the story, respond to these questions in your notebook.

• What did you think about the story?

• What did you like best about this book?
• What was your favorite part of the book?
• What was the most important thing you learned about ______?
• What was the most interesting thing you learned about ______ (about
the topic)?
• What else would you like to know about _______ (give the topic)?
• How did you enjoy the author’s writing style? What did you enjoy most
about the writing?