Double-Entry Journal

Why? The purpose of these journal entries is to help you engage more thoughtfully and deliberately with the text so that you are actively interacting with the author’s work.

What? The left-hand column of the double-entry journal is the space in which you will collect and record key passages from the novel. The right-hand column is the space in which you will connect and put your reactions to the text.

How? COLLECT (left-side) Look for passages that Remind you of your own experience (text-to-self connections) Remind you of other books you have read or movies you have seen (text-to- text connections) Remind you of issues in the world, society, etc. (text-to-world connections). Also, look for passages that puzzle you, intrigue you, and/or seem important. CONNECT (right-side) Elaborate on text-to-self connections. Elaborate on text-to-text connections. Elaborate on text-to-world connections. Discuss emerging themes. Discuss symbols found in the story and how they contribute to the story. Ask questions of the text. Try beginning, “I wonder why…” or “It perplexes me that…” Always make sure you attempt to answer your own questions – speculate. Describe the author’s point of view. How does the author’s attitude shape the way he presents the material. Discuss how our essential question for this unit is playing out in the book.

What do I have to do? You will be responsible for “collecting” and “connecting” to three passages for each assigned reading. In addition to responding to your selected passages, there will be two different focus questions for you to respond to for each assigned reading.

Grading! Each journal entry will be worth 25 points. Each journal entry will be graded on thoughtfulness, thoroughness, and ability to think critically about the text.

A-Descriptor The student has “collected” an important passage from the reading. “Important” implies that the passage furthers the novel’s plot, character development, conflict, or theme in some way. The student’s response to the passage in the “connect” section is completely filled and shows that s/he has thought deeply and critically about the significance of the text. The student makes meaningful connections, analyzes key information, asks important questions, and/or evaluates the reading with insight. So what? Always ask yourself this after “connecting”!

Student Example from Night Pg. 5 “Man comes closer to God through the questions he asks Him”, he liked to say. Therein lies true dialogue. Man asks and God replies. But we cannot understand them. Because they dwell in the depths of our souls and remain there until we die. The real answer, Eliezer, you will find only within yourself” (5). This paragraph really stood out to me because of its complexity of ideas. When the passage says, “Man comes closer to God through questions he asks him,” I think it means that you have to pray and somehow there will be a connection. Also, when Moishe says the answers are within ourselves, I think it means that we have to analyze the answers out there and get the answer that is right to us. Getting the full answer is not easy and takes a long time.