Reading Log

Our purpose for reading log is to examine ourselves as readers & to examine and acknowledge what good writers do when they write.

Why did I choose this book to read? September 26, 2016 Mrs. Murphy Every page should be headed the same with name and date. Name should be in cursive writing. Freak the Mighty The title and author needs to be added when a new book is started. Rodman Philbrick This is not necessary with every entry Why did I choose this book to read? I chose this book to read because it touches on a lot of social issues. I think it will generate a lot of conversation. I have read this book before with a class and they really enjoyed it. I am hoping that this class will like it as well. Students are to answer this question as soon as they choose each new book.

Mrs. Murphy September 27, 2016 Chapter 1 What hook or hooks did the author use in the first Chapter to keep you reading? The author did a good job leading me into the story. He used foreshadowing to let me know Max’s father had done something in the past that may affect Max’s future. Two examples of this are where he says “the year Gram and Grim took me over” and “It’s more than just the way Maxwell resembles him, Grim says that night in the kitchen, the boy is like him, we’d better watch out, you never know what he might do while we are sleeping.” Philbrick makes me ask myself a lot of questions like What did the father do?, Why did the grandparents take the boy over? and What happened to the mother? In order to answer these questions I must continue reading the book. This is always the second question students need to answer when they start a book. If the book is abandoned due to lack of interest an entry should be made indicating so.

Mrs. Murphy September 2, 2016 Chapter 2 How does the author activate and use your prior knowledge to help you understand or picture the story as it unfolds?

Did you make any inferences as you read? Mrs. Murphy September 26,2016 Chapter 4 pgs15-20 Did you make any inferences as you read? The last line in the chapter reads “It’s pretty simple, really. She’s scared of me.” It is Max who is speaking. From this I infer that he has experienced this before, people making judgements about him based on his size, that he is sometimes stereotyped as a thug. It makes me feel sad for him.

Does the author use any figurative language to help you comprehend? Mrs. Murphy October 5, 2016 Chapter 5 pgs.21-27 Does the author use any figurative language to help you comprehend? Philbrick uses several similes in the chapter to slow down the story and help me to feel what Max is experiencing. On page 24 he says “makes me feel tensed up, like there is a hand inside of my stomach and the hand is, you know, making a fist.” I can really empathize with Max because I have had that feeling before. Even people who would not explain it like that would be able to understand the intensity of his uneasiness.

Each response should be answered in three parts, each being at least a sentence in length. A comment, opinion or statement about the authors craft or the text. An example from the text. The ‘so what’, why this is important to you, the reader.

Possible Reading Log Responses (back page of scribbler) What do you like about this authors craft? What do you believe the author is doing well? What do you not like about the text? How does the author activate and use your prior knowledge to help you understand or picture the story as it unfolds? Students may use these prompts if they wish. They need to be responding in their log with things they like that the author has done or with things they’ve done to help them understand what is happening in the text.

Does the author use any figurative language to help you comprehend? Possible Reading Log Responses (Continued) Did you make any inferences as you read? How did it help you to further understand the text or story line? How were you able to connect to the text? How and/or what did that connection help you to further understand? Does the author use any figurative language to help you comprehend?

Does the author refer to any classics Does the author refer to any classics? How do the references help you to better understand the text? Did the author slow down to activate your senses and create an image for you?