Dear Students–

   I have responded to your posts from yesterday.  You will notice that your grade is not on there.  See me for that information.  I have noticed some things about your letters that might help you in the future. 

• Remember do quote (copy) an important passage from your book.  It should be a paragraph or so that shows something important about a character, event, setting, theme, author’s style, etc. 
• Don’t just summarize the story.  Tell me what the story makes you think.  I’ve tried to ask questions that get you to think about the books you read this way.
• Use the sentence starters to help you get thinking. 

Some of you posted drafts of your memoir instead of your letter about a book you read.  I responded to those as well.  Keep working on them.  You’ve got some interesting experiences to share.

Mrs. McGriff

Yes, I’m talking to you—even if you still don’t consider yourself a reader right now.  Your Reading Journal and our class reading/writing blog is a place for you, me, and your friends to talk about books, authors, reading, and writing.  We’ll write back to you with our observations and thinking.  Our letter-essays and responses will become a record of the thinking, learning, and reading we did together.

            Each letter-essay should be at least two pages long and written as a personal, reflective response to one book that you have read—not a series of paragraphs about several books.  Take a long look at one book that intrigues you.  You will write to me, but friends are also welcome to respond on the blog. 

            Before you write, look back over your Reading Record.  Which title that you’ve finished would be most enjoyable to revisit as a fan?  What book that you’ve abandoned—or finished to the bitter end—would be most enjoyable to revisit in a slam?  Once you’ve decided, return to the book.  Skim it, and select one passage you think is important, in terms of how you reacted to the books’ theme, problem, character development, plot, or author’s style.  Choose a chunk of text that you think shows something essential.  In your letter-essay quote (copy) the passage you chose and write about why you think it shows about the book, author, or your response to either. 

            What else might you do in a letter essay?  Tell about your experience as a reader of the book.  Describe what you noticed about how the author wrote.  Tell what you think the theme might be.  Tell what surprised you.  Pose your wonderings—your questions about the author, the characters, the structure, the voice, and yourself as a reader.  Try the sentence openers I provided to help you get thinking and writing.  Be aware that a good letter-essay is one that teaches you something you didn’t realize about your book, or yourself as a  reader, before you wrote it. 

            I do want you to follow these guidelines for these letters so that I can keep at least some of my sanity: (I know, it’s probably a losing battle.)

•         Write your letters on notebook paper or post on our blog. 

•         You may write in pen or pencil, as long as it is dark enough for my poor, old eyes to read.

•         THINK about what you read and write.

•         Date your letters in the upper right-hand corner.

•         Use a greeting (Dear __________), and a closing (Sincerely, )

•         Don’t forget to mention the title and author of the book.

•         Capitalize and underline the title (The Outsiders).

            I look forward to reading your letters or comments on this blog.