Reading Responses

Directions: As you read, annotate or put a post-it next to any line, sentence or section that jumps out at you. Write a brief note to yourself so you can remember what you were thinking. (If nothing “jumps out” at you by the time you have finished reading, go back and FIND something to respond to.)

When you are finished reading, write or type the RR entry fully. YOU MUST:

  1. Have an original thought.
  2. Make your entry at least five complete sentences.
  3. Give a quote and the page number or line number of the part you are responding to.
  4. Label which category of RR entry you are using (see below).

The quote MAY NOT be your first sentence. Introduce the quote, fit it in the structure of your sentence, and cite it appropriately.

Rubric:

      • Original Thought - 1 point
      • At least 5 sentences - 1 point
      • Cited Quote - 1 point
      • Category Name - 1 point
      • Best work - 1 point

Each RR 5 points

Categories of RR Entries:

1. Opinion: Tell what you think / feel about a certain part, and why. You could react to an aspect of character, plot, theme, language, tone, style—anything in the text. But you must be specific.

2. Question: Write a specific question. This can be a basic question about something you don’t understand in the text, or a larger question (about life, literature or anything) that the text made you consider. Remember, you must still write five sentences and include a quote—you can do this by explaining what you understand so far before asking the question, or by trying to answer your question after you ask it.

3. Cool Connection: A certain point in the text reminds you of another story, poem, movie, song, or something in “real life.” How are the two alike?

4. Significant Moment: You realize a certain part in the text is important. Why do you think it’s important? What does it mean? What does it tell you about the entire book, story or poem?

5. Intense Language: You notice some engaging sensory details, a simile or metaphor, some onomatopoeia or alliteration, some parallelism, an interesting epithet, or something else. Maybe you notice a single word and wonder about why the author chose it. Whatever you notice, quote it, and explain how it adds to the text. Does it contribute to the mood or characterization? Does it relate to a theme? Could it have a deeper meaning and what might that be?

6. Foreshadowing: You read something that seems like a hint to what will come later. Explain why you think this and why it is important, and make a prediction.

7. Theme: You find a sentence or two that, you suspect, might lead to a theme, a generalized understanding of life and human experience, of the piece; or the passage makes us ask the kind of deep question that you suspect the author herself is struggling with in the piece. Explain it in your own words.

8. Setting: You notice a part that refers in cool ways to the place or time of the story or poem. Why is it important? What does it set up? How does it relate to the plot, mood, characters, or theme?

9. Character: You notice a detail about a character (what he/she looks like, thinks, says or does). Why is it important? What does it reveal about that character?

10. Motivation: You realize a character’s motive(s) (what a character wants). Explain what this/these are and how it affects the story or other characters.

11. Mood: You feel the mood of the piece. What is it, and what is creating it (something in the setting? dialogue? plot? sensory details?) Remember that mood is the feeling in the text, not the author’s attitude. Your quote should show evidence of the mood. Then: Why is the author doing this?

12. Central Claim: You find the sentence that is the author’s main argument (the thesis or claim). Explain why you think it is the focus of the piece.

13. Interesting Intro: You think the author’s introduction is interesting, clever, or engaging. Tell what technique the author used and why you think it is effective.

14. Clever Conclusion: You think the author’s conclusion or clincher is really effective. Tell what technique the author used and why it works.

15. Clarify a Cultural Value: You notice that a certain event, detail, message, or character trait reveals a specific value of that culture. What is it? How do you know it’s a value? Explain, and make sure your quote supports your idea.

New Categories--Level Up!

16. Crossover: Tie together two aspects of a text. For example, explain how the setting affects the mood, how the conflict relates to the theme, or even how a certain simile reflects the work’s overall theme. You can explain how a certain character trait led to a conflict, how a symbol reveals a theme, how the setting is important for the plot. Basically, identify and link together any two literary elements. Label your two elements at the top of your RR. You still must tie it to a quote.

17. Archetype Alert: Identify an archetype in the text and tell what it means, why it’s an archetype, and what other stories it is in. Then: why would the author choose to use it here?

18. Connect Form and Content: What about the form or structure (paragraphs, verse, short lines, etc.) influences the content (the actual meaning of the words)?

19. Sensing a Symbol: You notice an object or detail (in nature or human-made) that seems to mean something deeper, an object that represents an idea. What is it and what is it doing in the story? Have you seen it before in the story? What could it mean? What theme or character could it point to? Why do you think this?

20. Tell the Tone: You sense the author’s attitude as you read. What is it? Why do you think this? What is causing us to notice it—the word choice, the meaning of the words, the genre itself? Explain.

21. The Joy of Genre: How is the genre of this text (epic, poem, aphorism, short story, letter, essay, play, etc.) a good fit for the content? Why would the content not work as well in another genre? (Be very specific when you describe the genre—don’t just say fiction/nonfiction.) Even though this is a larger idea, find a quote that applies to your point.

22. Seeing the Sentences: You notice a sentence or group of sentences and they strike you as a deliberate choice of the author. Maybe the sentence is longer or shorter, choppy or flowing; maybe it uses parallelism, or is purposefully a fragment. Maybe something else. What is it, and why is the author doing this? How does it contribute to the overall meaning of the piece?

23. Test the Translation: You wonder about a certain word or phrase, and how it was translated. See what you can do to find out other meanings of the original word, or other translations. Why did the author choose that word, do you think? How does it affect the meaning of the sentence, and the meaning of the work in a larger sense? (Does it change the tone or mood, or a character, or even the plot?)

24. W W ? S: (What Would ______ Say) Fill in with the name of an author, historical figure, scientist, scholar, or teacher. (No celebrities… the point is to think through a different, deeper lens). How would that person respond to a certain spot in the text? Why? Be sure to explain the person’s philosophy and how it relates to the text.

25. Crazy RR Challenge: Go to the website http://literary-devices.com/. Look at the “Quick List” of literary devices on the right. The good news: You know many of these! The better news: There are more to learn! Pick one you don’t know, read the definition and example, and see if you can find it in the reading. Speculate on the author’s purpose in using it. You might have to click on a few before you find something applicable. Some great terms to start with: anastrophe, chiasmus, and synecdoche.

Final Group of Categories—THE BIG LEAGUES!

26. Marxist Criticism: Marxists look at questions surrounding social class. Look at a spot in the text, and write about any of these questions:

  • -What social classes do the characters represent?
  • -Which class does the work claim to represent?
  • -How do characters from different classes interact or conflict?
  • -What values does it reinforce? What values does it subvert?
  • -Whom does it benefit if the work or effort is accepted/successful/believed, etc.?
  • -What is the social class of the author?

27. Feminist Criticism: Feminists focus on the portrayal of women in a text. Think about:

  • -How is the relationship between men and women portrayed?
  • -What are the power relationships between men and women?
  • -How are male and female roles defined?
  • -What does the work reveal about the operations (economically, politically, socially, or psychologically) of patriarchy
  • -What does the work imply about the possibilities of sisterhood as a mode of resisting patriarchy?
  • -What does the history of the work's reception by the public and by the critics tell us about the operation of patriarchy?

28. New Historicism Criticism: The New Historicists believe a text is inextricably intertwined with the time and culture of its author. Ask yourself:

  • -How does the text demonstrate the culture of the author?
  • -What language/characters/events reflect the current events of the author’s day?
  • -Does this text support or criticize the leading political figures or movements of the day? How?
  • -How does the work consider traditionally marginalized populations?

29. Psychoanalytic Criticism: Most psychoanalysis stems from Sigmund Freud. Think about:

  • -Is any character repressing a painful event from the past?
  • -Is any character repressing secret drives or desires?
  • -What other unconscious forces might be at play?
  • -Is the Oedipus complex at work here? (son loves mother, hates father)
  • -Or Electra complex? (daughter loves father)
  • -Any other family dynamics apparent?
  • -Any other complexes: Cinderella, Icarus, Superiority or Inferiority?
  • -Any other psychological factors at work (fear or fascination with death, for example)?

30. Gender and Queer Theory Criticism: This lens is rooted in Feminist Theory, but seeks to go even further. Questions include:

  • -What elements of the text can be perceived as being masculine (active, powerful) and feminine (passive, marginalized) and how do the characters support these traditional roles?
  • -What sort of support (if any) is given to elements or characters who question the masculine/feminine binary? What happens to those elements/characters?
  • -What elements in the text exist in the middle, between the perceived masculine/feminine binary? In other words, what elements exhibit traits of both (bisexual)?
  • -What does the work contribute to our knowledge of queer, gay, or lesbian experience and history, including literary history?
  • -How does the literary text illustrate the problematics of sexuality and sexual "identity," that is the ways in which human sexuality does not fall neatly into the separate categories defined by the words homosexual and heterosexual?

31. Critical Race Theory: This theory looks at the appearance of race and racism in texts. It seeks to understand how minority groups are represented in texts and how cultural views of race affect them. CRT scholars believe racism is a part of everyday life and want to confront it. Ask yourself:

  • -How is race portrayed in the text? Is this an accurate portrayal? What's that portrayal imply about the author's assumptions and biases?
  • -How do characters of different races interact with each other? What does this reveal about the races, and the structure of power in the time and place?
  • -Is there evidence of systemic racism, white privilege, microaggressions, etc. in the text? How so, and so what?

many thanks for inspiration and materials from Marilyn Pryle, 2019 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year and all-round brilliant educator.