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Name:
Mr. Tanabe
English 2, Period:
Date:

Reading Journal: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Reading journals are reaction records you keep while you are reading. They are pretty
simple to accomplish and help you keep track of important points in the text as you read it
(saving review time later). The goal is for you to have a record of aspects of the novel, play,
essay, story, article, etc. that you thought were important, interesting, sad, funny, etc., during
your reading. The notes then serve to prompt your responses during discussions, to provide
evidence for essay analyses, and to help you study for exams based on text youve read.

Directions: As you read, quote important points in the text in the middle column and include the
page numbers (citation). You DO NOT have to write the whole quotation just enough to jog
your memory later and to make sense to a reader. In the right-hand column, note your reaction to
the parts of the text you have quoted (i.e. does a character seem mean, nice, wicked? Has the
story taken an unexpected turn? Have you found an important part of the authors message? etc.).
At the bottom of the page, write a summary or overall impression of the notes you wrote. For
example, use a reading strategy such as predicting future developments in characters or plot.
Write a minimum of three quotations with reactions per section.

Part One: Chapter One: Set in Umuofia Read out loud in class and discuss
Cues /
Questions
Quotations from Text and page # My Reactions



















Summary







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Part One: Chapters Two to Thirteen: Set in Umuofia
Cues /
Questions
Quotations from Text and page # My Reactions










































Summary







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Part Two: Chapters Fourteen to Nineteen: Set in Mbanta
Cues /
Questions
Quotations from Text and page # My Reactions










































Summary







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Part Three: Chapters Twenty to Twenty-five: Set in Umuofia
Cues /
Questions
Quotations from Text and page # My Reactions






























Summary








Miscellaneous Notes

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SCORING GUIDE
4.0 = completed on time, before teacher's instruction or class discussion
3.5 = more than 80% completed on time, before teacher's instruction or class discussion, but
with add'l notes after class discussion
3.0 = 80% completed independently with notes from teacher's instruction or class discussion
2.5 = 70% completed independently with notes from teacher's instruction or class discussion
2.0 = 60% completed independently with notes from teacher's instruction or class discussion
1.0 = 50% completed independently with notes from teacher's instruction or class discussion
0.0 = no attempt

Completion means completing all parts of the log: cue, quotation w/ page cited, commentary,
and summary of the section.

COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
CCSS.ELA.9-10
RL.1. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RL.2. Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the
course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details;
provide an objective summary of the text.
RL.6. Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature
from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature.
RL.10. By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and
poems, at the high end of the grades 910 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
W.4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are
defined in standards 13 above.)
L.6. Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words
and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to
comprehension or expression.