"When readers respond to a text they weave their personal ideas, feelings, thoughts, and experiences together with the words, images and ideas in the text. There is no one correct response or one ’right’ answer but as readers have opportunities to talk with other readers and to reflect on what they are thinking, initial responses deepen and new understandings are uncovered.

Many teachers have students keep response journals. As students write a variety of reflective responses to some of the texts they are reading, they become better readers. Even students who struggle with reading and writing are able to make meaning of texts by recording their thinking in journals.

Response journals help readers :

• explore their feelings

• articulate and extend their own ideas and knowledge

• clarify their understanding of the text

• become actively engaged with their reading

Journals can include a variety of entry possibilities such as :

• Personal Response

• Double-Entry Response

• Sketch to Stretch

• Sticky Notes

• Graffiti Boards

Students can also respond to texts through :

• Drama, role playing

• Art

• Music

• Photography

• Technology e.g., digital storytelling, book trailers, etc." 

• -https://www.literacytoday.ca/primary/reading/reader-response/ 

Leigh,  an elementary teacher and creator of a blog I follow called, Appalicious Teacher has some great ideas for using reading journals in her classroom.  "When I first started teaching, I knew I wanted my kiddos to engage with text in a meaningful and purposeful way. Not just a worksheet that went with what we were reading… But a real way for my students to share their thoughts, ideas, and opinions as it related to what we were reading. My solution? Reading Response Journals or RRJ as I like to call them.  So many of you have asked about this simple journal! I thought it’s about time I share the ins and outs with you on why, year-after-year, I still have my students work in their Reading Response Journals or RRJ’s. Simply put, a Reading Response Journal is a place for students to write, draw, and share their opinions, ideas, or respond to text we have read in class. There’s nothing fancy about these. They are just cheapy spiral notebooks I buy at BTS time for like 15 cents each..."   Check out her blog below for several great ideas for using reading journals in your class.  Reading Response Journals 

In her book, Reading with Presence:  Creating Mindful, Evidence-Based Reading Responses Marilyn Pryle writes, "When students write Reading Responses about a text, they have something to say in class. It may be a minor point, or it may be a major point, but it is a concrete thought and it is tied to a specific part of the text.  When students have specific, cited, categorized thoughts written out and ready to be shared, class time becomes a time of meaningful discovery. Students do not passively ingest information but actively create it through their own interaction. The role of the teacher becomes one of backstage facilitation, expert clarification, and joyful encouragement. Reading Responses are like cinder blocks—small and concrete, manageable for one person to carry. But when they are used together, all manner of building becomes possible." -https://blog.heinemann.com/the-power-of-reading-responses 

For excellent ideas for utilizing reading response effectively from Marilyn's book for both middle and high school teachers, please click the link below from MiddleWeb.com

Promoting Real Reading Discussions 

Pernille Rip's blog is a go to resource for me when it comes to setting up Reading Notebooks.  In her 2018 blog post, What's In Our Reading Notebooks she explains the different ways she helps her students use their Reading Notebooks.  For example:

Our To Be Read List

Who You Are As A Reader Survey

Reading Challenge For The Year

Reading Rate Tracker

Books I Have Finished

Reading Response Pages

One of my favorite new resources from Pernille Rip is her blog post that highlights her use of digital notebooks for reading identity development.   In this post she explains her idea for using a digital reading notebook.

Digital Notebooks for Reading Identity Development 

Check out excellent resources for customizing your own Reader's Notebook for your students from this article called The Readers Notebook by Beth Newingham.