The reading journal is a place to practice writing

connected to a text you have chosen to read. What

does that mean exactly? It means that you will put a
passage from your book on the left side of a two-
page spread in your journal and write about that
passage on the right side of the two-page spread in
your journal.
Note book information at the top of the page in
MLA format like so:
Green, John. The Fault in Our Stars. NY: NY:
Penguin, 2014.
Get the passage you will use a jumping off point
into your journal by photocopying it, photographing
it, typing it, writing (part or most) of it or printing it
(from online).

Left Side Right Side
-Note the book
information.
-Glue in a passage or
scene.
-Annotate the passage
show evidence of your
active reading.
-Make a claim about the
passage/book at the top.
-Write body paragraphs
citing textual evidence to
support your claim.
-Cite page numbers in
parenthesis for evidence
you pull from the book.

Weekly Requirements:
Read up to or beyond your weekly page amount
goal.
Record your pages read on our Reading Record
(shared Google Document).
Write one piece per week (2 pages in length).
Paste/copy the text on the left.
Annotate the passage.
Write a claim about the text/passage on the right.
Write body paragraphs to support your claim.
Cite textual evidence in each paragraph.
Include citation information at the top of the page.
Quarter 1: ALL ABOUT ARGUMENT
1. Note claims made by characters in the book
you are reading and analyze the value of the
characters position. Was he or she right in
her thinking or actions? Why or why not?
2. Judge the evidence a character uses to
justify his or her position on an issue. Is the
character thinking or acting logically? Why
or why not?
3. Examine how characters use logical appeals
(ethos, logos and pathos) to persuade others.
What argument is the character making? Are
the appeals successful? Why or why not?
4. Location might be everything in real estate
but context is everything when it comes to
argument. Context includes beliefs about
gender, history, politics, religion,
economics, entertainment (pop culture) and
more. Dig into the context in which your
book is set. Research it and write to explain
what you learned.
5. Choose a topic from the passage and take a
position on the topic. Write a claim and
support your claim using evidence from the
text and from your own background
knowledge, research or experience.
6. Pretend to be a character from a book
youve read and write an argument between
two characters on a topic from the text.
7. Take a position on the value of the book you
have read. Was it a good read? Why or why
not? Write a review of the book you could
post on GoodReads or Amazon.
8. Analyze the position the book takes on an
issue. Does, for instance, John Green take a
realistic approach to falling in love in The
Fault in Our Stars? Justify the claims you
make by citing evidence from the book, your
experience and or research on the topic.