In 5th grade we have a standing homework assignment in reading - everyone should be reading for 30 minutes each night at home. Occasionally other homework will be assigned as well, but everyone is expected to read for 30 minutes nightly!
When a student finishes reading a book, they will complete a BOOK REACTION for that book. Instructions on how to do this as well as some ideas for types of Book Reactions to choose from will be given to students in class. Books Reactions should take no more than 20-30 minutes to complete and may be done either at home or at school. In each quarter the expectation is for each student to complete 4 Book Reactions.
Here are the general guidelines for reactions:
The purpose of a Book Reaction is to give you a chance to THINK about a book that you have just finished reading.
When a student finishes reading a book, they will complete a BOOK REACTION for that book. Instructions on how to do this as well as some ideas for types of Book Reactions to choose from will be given to students in class. Books Reactions should take no more than 20-30 minutes to complete and may be done either at home or at school. In each quarter the expectation is for each student to complete 4 Book Reactions.
Here are the general guidelines for reactions:
The purpose of a Book Reaction is to give you a chance to THINK about a book that you have just finished reading.
- You MUST complete a Book Reaction after each book you read this year in order to receive credit for reading the book.
- You should complete the Book Reaction within a day or two of finishing the book. They are much harder to do if you procrastinate!
- A good Book Reaction should include about 12 sentences, or about two paragraphs, that express your thoughts or ideas about the book you have read. You should include examples from the book to support your thinking.
- An acceptable Book Reaction can be completed in 20-30 minutes.
- An acceptable Book Reaction will be done neatly. Illustrations will be in color. Spelling, grammar, and punctuation will be checked and correct.
- Always include the following information on EVERY Book Reaction: Your name, The Title of the Book (underline it!), The author’s name
- I'm posting the whole book reaction list this year. You need to keep track of which reactions you have done in the front of your reading journal. The order isn't important, some reactions make more sense for fiction or non-fiction. Also see me if you have any book reaction ideas I haven't thought of, I'll probably say okay.
5th grade book reactions:
#1. Give your OPINION about something in the book you just read. You MUST support your opinion with examples from the book. Opinions could be about:
#3. Design a NEWSPAPER PAGE about an event in the book. The page should be written as a news story and include data, important events, quotes from the main character(s), and a picture with a caption.
#4. Make a COMPARISON of something in the book to something else. Some options:
Characters’ relationships
Changes in characters
#6. Tell how the book, a character in the book, or event in the book, or the setting of the story made you FEEL. Be sure to explain not only how you felt, but why. Connect the feeling to something else in your life. Include examples from the book.
#7. Draw a COLOR PICTURE of how you visualized an event setting, or characters in the book. Describe your drawing and tell why you chose to draw.
#8. Draw a MAP connected to the book. Include a map key and important locations included in the book. Tell why the map is important and how it connects to the book.
#9 Draw a DIAGRAM of something from the book. Label important parts. Tell why the diagram is important and how it connects to the book.
#10. Write a DIARY ENTRY from the point of view of one of the characters in the book. The entry should talk about how the character feels about an event or other character in the book, and why.
#11. Choose a character you would like to be FRIENDS with and explain why. What personality traits (IB Attitudes) does this character possess that would make them a good friend.
#12. Write an ADVICE COLUMN for a character in which you describe the problem the character is having and your advice on how to solve it.
#13. Design a POSTCARD for your book. The picture should be an important setting, and the message should relate to the story in a meaningful way.
#14. Write a LETTER TO THE AUTHOR of the book. In your letter tell the author about how you felt about the book and why. Cite examples to support your opinions. Use correct friendly letter format
#15. Make a short video recommending the book you just read. Use text evidence to tell why the ideas in the book are important.
#1. Give your OPINION about something in the book you just read. You MUST support your opinion with examples from the book. Opinions could be about:
- The author’s style
- A character
- The end of the story
- A character’s actions or reaction to an event
- How or why a character changes
- The relationships between characters
- An event in the story
#3. Design a NEWSPAPER PAGE about an event in the book. The page should be written as a news story and include data, important events, quotes from the main character(s), and a picture with a caption.
#4. Make a COMPARISON of something in the book to something else. Some options:
- Settings: within the book/between books
- Characters: character to character/ character to you
Characters’ relationships
Changes in characters
- Events: within the book/between books/ to real life
- Authors: two books by the same author
- Topic : How topics between books are alike/different
#6. Tell how the book, a character in the book, or event in the book, or the setting of the story made you FEEL. Be sure to explain not only how you felt, but why. Connect the feeling to something else in your life. Include examples from the book.
#7. Draw a COLOR PICTURE of how you visualized an event setting, or characters in the book. Describe your drawing and tell why you chose to draw.
#8. Draw a MAP connected to the book. Include a map key and important locations included in the book. Tell why the map is important and how it connects to the book.
#9 Draw a DIAGRAM of something from the book. Label important parts. Tell why the diagram is important and how it connects to the book.
#10. Write a DIARY ENTRY from the point of view of one of the characters in the book. The entry should talk about how the character feels about an event or other character in the book, and why.
#11. Choose a character you would like to be FRIENDS with and explain why. What personality traits (IB Attitudes) does this character possess that would make them a good friend.
#12. Write an ADVICE COLUMN for a character in which you describe the problem the character is having and your advice on how to solve it.
#13. Design a POSTCARD for your book. The picture should be an important setting, and the message should relate to the story in a meaningful way.
#14. Write a LETTER TO THE AUTHOR of the book. In your letter tell the author about how you felt about the book and why. Cite examples to support your opinions. Use correct friendly letter format
#15. Make a short video recommending the book you just read. Use text evidence to tell why the ideas in the book are important.