Response to Literature What was the selection really about? Copying permitted

“We write to taste life twice. ” So it is. with response to literature “We write to taste life twice.” So it is with response to literature. We partake of the pleasures of a good book once again when we revisit the text in conversation with friends or as we find new mediums-music, art, drama, and the like-to represent our experience with the book. Indeed, not only do we “taste” the book twice, but our initial experience is deepened, expanded, and refined as we return to the text-perhaps again and again-and push our understanding in new ways each time.                                    Irene C. Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell, ,                                                                      Copying permitted

Good readers think about what they read before, during, and after they read Copying permitted

Responding to Literature Continually respond and predict as you read Take notes Think about patterns—especially literary elements Copying permitted

Literary Elements Setting Characters Conflict Resolution Tone Copying permitted

A response to literature is one way to keep thinking about what writing means. Copying permitted

Ask yourself What was the text really about? How did the author ensure the reader got that message? Copying permitted

A Response to Literature Beginning Middle End Copying permitted

Include the title, author, and event or aspect focused on. Beginning Include the title, author, and event or aspect focused on. Copying permitted

Middle Describe the event or aspect of the selection. Try to describe how the author told this part of the story. Copying permitted

End Explain why the event or aspect is important to the selection as a whole. Copying permitted

A Good Response to Literature Mentions the title and author of the piece Tells the main events that happen Makes a judgment of the piece Supports the judgment with details from the text or personal knowledge Gets the reader’s attention Copying permitted

A Good Response to Literature Tells the plot of what happens Includes details about character and setting Has a sense of closure Tells the theme (message) Makes connections (text to text, text to self or text to world) Copying permitted

Real world reasons for writing a response to literature: • To review/recommend books in magazines for kids (Stone Soup, etc.) • In magazines for adults, librarians, kids (Horn Book) • On book jackets to entice a reader to buy the book • In classrooms (to show that the reader understands the book) (The El Paso Collaborative for Academic Excellence Copyright © 2003 Literacy in Action) Copying permitted