Reading Response Tasks {I'm Talking to You, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade Teachers!}

We've done RRJs {Reading Response Journals} for a few years as homework.  Students read at home and respond to their reading in a composition book.

I LOVE RRJs.  They help students develop their writing skills.  They help me get a glimpse into students' comprehension.  We've used a simple set-up for a few years... in the beginning of the year, students do practice RRJs in class on half sheets of paper.  They glue them in their RRJ so they have an example to refer to as needed.

Then, students begin responding on their own.  They read and then summarize, predict, visualize, or respond to a question of their choosing.  The questions are Common Core based... "What is the lesson?  How do you know?" type of question.

Students have a reading log in the front that they fill in each night.  You can click the big pic to check out the pack I have been using for the last three years.

  

But, this year, my whole school {grades 3-5} is switching to a more focused Common Core connected RRJ.  Students will complete a task for whatever the standard is that we are working on in class.

We're still using composition books and students will still do RRJs as part of nightly homework {though these would be GREAT for in class work too... accountability during reading workshop!} and students will still respond to the book they have chosen to read... but, now, our RRJs look like this:

Students have three tasks to complete during the week.  My scheduling for RRJs has been very rigid in the past but, this year, I'm going to allow students to complete these as their leisure as long as it is turned in by Friday morning.  I'm hoping this will help families complete homework around their schedule.

So... each standard has one of these pages.  Kid-friendly "I can" statement at the top, a graphic organizer, and (usually) 2 more tasks with the 3rd one being the one that is graded.  A kid/parent-friendly rubric is included so that everyone knows exactly what is expected for the 3rd task.

The first task is always completed on this page- which will be glued in on the lefthand side of a composition notebook.

Tasks 2 and 3 are to be completed on the opposite page on the right...

I'm really excited to see students extend their in-class practice and get better at the standards!

These packs are available in my TpT store for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades!  Each one also includes an editable PowerPoint with NO rubrics so you can add your own if you would like!

 

So, if you're looking for your students to respond to reading in a way that directly connects with what you are working on in class, these might be for you!  Thanks to my colleagues for their input and Beth Wright, my school interventionist, for her collaboration on these too!  We're all excited to implement these!

Aaaaaand... you can get them for over 20% off during the TpT BTS sale, August 3rd and 4th!  My store is 20% off AND you can use the promo code BTS15 for 10% off of that at checkout!