Metacognitive Logs: Reading Response

This 31-page mini-unit, Metacognitive Logs: Reading Response, is part 5 in my unit Creating Independent Readers in Your Middle School Classroom. In this mini-unit, students learn the following:

• --how to identify the reading strategies they are using

• --how to “Talk to the Text” or annotate the text with their thoughts, feelings, ideas, etc.

• --how to write a thoughtful and cohesive response to what they are reading

Response writing allows students to access their subconscious or deeper thinking.  Although you will have some students who take to this immediately and come up with amazing observations and thoughtful analyses, most students start out being very self-conscious about their thinking, even students who are reading at or beyond grade level.  They are not used to bringing their thoughts to the surface. It is a skill that we have to teach them.  Once they learn it, though, you will be surprised at and delighted by their insightful comments.

Talking to the Text or annotating a text is an important skill that students need to be taught.  Often they are insecure about or inhibited by the idea of marking up the text with their thoughts, feelings, ideas, reactions, etc.  Some students come to it naturally, whereas others really struggle with this.  I have found over the years that the insecurity or inhibition, as well as the confidence to access their subconscious thoughts, can be in both advanced and struggling readers.  Their reading skill or level ultimately isn’t a guarantee that they will do this confidently. This is why it is good to break down the skill by using reading strategies and giving them time to practice. 

The mini-unit includes detailed lesson plans with clearly stated objectives and learning targets that are aligned with the Common Core Standards for Reading along with the necessary resources you need to engage your students in reading response.

Typically, I teach this after I've taught my students how to write a summary of a short story, which I offer in Lesson 4 of my unit. My 95-page complete unit, Creating Independent Readers in Your Middle School Classroom, includes the following:

• Part 1: What We Do When We Read

• Part 2: Reading Requirements

• Part 3: Reading Logs, Setting Goals, and Reflection

• Part 4: Summary Writing for Short Stories

• Part 5: Metacognitive Logs: Reading Response

• Part 6: How to Set Up An Amazing Classroom Library

1 Word doc with 31 ready-to-print pages

Resources:

--Lesson Plan: Teach students Reading Strategies and to Talk to the Text

--Sample Metacognitive Log

--Student Metacognitive Log for “Raymond’s Run,” by Toni Cade Bambara

--Student Metacognitive Logs for “Charles,” by Shirley Jackson

--Sample Student Reflections on Active Reading Strategies

--Seven Active Reading Strategies handout (Can be turned into a poster)

--Ideas for Writing Responses

--Bookmark for Reading Responses

--More Sample Student Responses

--Reading and Response Practice Metacognitive Logs #1, 2, and 3

--Reading Response Rubric