Reading Log Directions

Okay, so here's the skinny on the reading logs:

Each piece we read gets its own log, and each log is divided up into two different sections (as explained below).  The logs will be graded on completeness, organization and depth of thought, and how well you follow the directions. 

Part One…Dissecting the Piece:

This part of the log is to be done AS you are reading.  In this class, the emphasis is on active reading—reading slowly and digesting the different pieces that make up the whole of the work—as opposed to skimming.  Because of this, you should either be doing stickies or writing in your books as you go: put questions or revelations in the margins, mark important passages or places in which the author uses a literary device or some fancy wording and sentence structure to make a point; exist with the text as you are reading it.

For this section, you’ll need three blank sheets of paper. Draw a line down the middle (hamburger bun-style) of both sides of those sheets.  Now you should have ten different boxes.  Each box will contain a different type of information that will lead you to a comprehensive view of the work—and three will remain blank.    The focuses of eight of the ten boxes are:

characters                                setting                         symbols                                  vocabulary

themes                                     questions                     big quotes                              lit. devices

genre

As you’re reading, you will craft a spiderweb-map for each of these focal points—make sure that each one fits on one half of the paper.  In the spiderweb-maps, you should identify:

·      For the “characters” map: Who are the significant characters in the piece?  What are their relationships to the other characters? Analytically, how would you describe these characters? (At least three analytical characteristics for each.) What are their purposes or functions in the story?  What do they do for the story as a whole?

·      For the “setting” map:  What are the major settings in the piece?  (Consider place and time.)  How are they described?  What are their significance?  (Not as far as the plot is concerned…think metaphorically.)

·      For the “symbols” map:  What are the key symbols in the piece?  Where are they seen?  What do they mean?

·      For the “vocabulary” map:  What are at least five words that you hadn’t seen or didn’t understand until you read this piece?  What do they mean?  How were they used?

·      For the “themes” map: What are the major themes presented by this piece?  (Feel free to focus on between two and three.) Where are they seen?  Why are they important?

·      For the “questions” map:  What are three major questions that you have about this piece?  (Make sure to ask something that digs into the deeper meaning of the piece and isn't clarified simply with plot.  Putting "Why?" at the end usually helps...) What sort of answers do you have for them?

·      For the “big quotes” map:  What three quotes stick out to you the most as being the most important from this work?  (Quote and cite them.) Why?
·      For the “lit. devices” map:  Identify and explain the use and effect of three-five lit. devices. (We'll make a list of these during our discussion of the piece.)  There's no need to quote, but provide at least one specific example of each as well. 
    For the "genre" map: With what genre(s) are we dealing? How do you know?  What are the key components of the genre and how are they represented within the piece?

·      We’ll get to the blank boxes during our discussion of each piece.

I chose to use spiderweb-maps because you can make note of a lot of information very efficiently: you may use one-word entries or phrases as opposed to crafting sentences or paragraphs.  That puts the emphasis on the information itself and not on how it’s presented. 

A rough draft of this section of the journal will be due on our first day of discussion of its accompanying piece.   As we discuss, you can make notes: add or subtract ideas and fill in the blank boxes.  The final copy of this section is due on the last day of discussion for the piece for which it’s written.

Part Two…A SUPA Close Reading:

Once you’ve finished the piece, please choose one-two pages on which you’d like to focus; these pages should be a good representation of the style of the piece as a whole (see the questions below for clarification on what I mean by that).  Then, scan and print or photocopy these pages.  Read them slowly and carefully (and, ideally, multiple times) in order to provide detailed and well thought-out answers to the following questions:

A. Why did you choose this passage?  Out of the ENTIRE work, why did this jump out at you?  This should end up being a small paragraph (four-five sentences). 

B. What is the tone of the passage?  (The tone is the author’s attitude toward the subject. Instead of broad, general terms, we want to try to use words that focus on a more precise meaning than “angry” or “happy”—use specific terms that pinpoint the exact feeling you’re looking for.)  This should end up being a small paragraph (four-five sentences). 

C. Reflect on the elements that contribute to the tone of the passage: how does the writer achieve that tone?  Here are some authorial choices to consider:

o   What is the point of view used?  First person?  Third person?  Omniscient or limited?  What does the specific type of point of view do for the piece?  How is that embodied in the excerpt you picked?

o   How is the character or situation in the excerpt treated?  Is the narration objective?  Subjective?  Judgmental?  Descriptive?  In what tense? How does the narrative point of view lead or guide the reader? Does the narration show the reader more about the thing being described or the narrator him-or-herself?

o   What type of language, or diction, does the author employ?  Slang?  An elevated vocabulary? Colloquial? Are certain types of words repeated? How do these words contribute to the overall tone of the excerpt?

o   How are the sentences structured?  In other words, what is the syntax of the piece?  Long, drawn out sentences?  Short phrases? Questions?  Exclamations?  How does the placement and arrangement of the words—the syntax—of the piece help contribute to the reader’s experience and the author’s meaning? The punctuation?

o   What type of literary conflict is illustrated in the excerpt?  (Man vs. man, self, nature, society, etc.)  In what way does the conflict add to the meaning of the excerpt and the work?

o   Finally, do you see any rhetorical devices being used by the author?  (For example: similes, metaphors, personification, etc.)   Identify the devices and how they add meaning to the excerpt and work.

This section of your journal should be about one-two pages long.  When attacking part “C,” you may make notes on or color-code your scanned or copied pages and provide the explanations as to what they are in the typed section; as long as I have a key as to what is what, there’s no need to type out all of the specific words, phrases or sentences on which you’d like to focus.  Just color-code them (or do something of the like) and type up the analysis (the answers to the above questions) in your journal.  Also, when you do part “C,” please keep the different focal points separate.

Please contact me (christine.dyer@k12northstar.org or 460-1704) if you have any questions.