What are Reading Response Journals?
Reading response journals and menus are the perfect way to have your students writing about what they read. All you need to get started is a notebook! In this notebook, students respond to books, articles, and texts through writing.
What do students write about in reading response journals?
Choice, choice, choice! I think it’s important that students get to choose what they write about when responding to reading. I have monthly reading response menus that can be glued inside of notebooks so students can choose how they respond!
Let’s be honest, sometimes we forget to change our monthly menus, so I also included some generic reading choice boards. This allows you to switch them out whenever you want or need to!
Printable Graphic Organizers
Sometimes when we want students to all respond to the same text, it’s helpful to have printable graphic organizers you can have students use. This allows you to easily collect them (no one wants to take home 25 notebooks!) and take a grade if you want!
For every monthly (or generic) response menu, there are corresponding graphic organizers! You can even print them at 80-85% so students can glue them into their notebooks!
How often should students respond to reading?
Please, please, PLEASE don’t require your students to this after everything they read. Honestly, would you want to write about what you read all the time? I don’t think so!
Remember, students need time to ENJOY what they’re reading!
Maybe you use reading response journals a couple times a week.
Maybe you just use it as a quick formative assessment. Find ideas here on how to keep students accountable (and take formative assessment data) without stacks and stacks of papers!
Find an ideal balance for your classroom and your students!
Want to try a reading response choice board & activities with your class? Just click HERE and leave your email to get them in your inbox!