Summer Skills Initiative

Reading Journal Guidance

Engaging Literacy Skill Development for All Learners

Reading Journals promote development of literacy skills and metacognitive engagement with texts. Although
reading journals are primarily focused on development of reading skills, they also provide an opportunity for
students to write about text.

Instructional Sequence
1. Introduce reading journals to your students by explaining that they will use the
journals to read and respond to a text.
Introduction
2. Conduct a shared reading of the ‘Reading Goals’ and, if time allows, direct students
to discuss their ideas about the Reading Goals with peers.
3. Direct students to read the text. You may choose to have students read
Experiencing independently, in small groups or as a full class, or use the provided video.
Text 4. Use one or more literacy-focused teaching strategies to facilitate reading and
comprehension.
5. Ask a question about the text that is not included in the reading journal and solicit
student responses.
6. Model how to write a clear response and identify appropriate textual evidence.
Responding
to Text
7. Read through the text-based questions in the reading journal and ensure that
students understand the questions.
8. Direct students to work independently to answer the questions and locate textual
evidence to complete their journals.
9. Read through the reflection questions with students.
10. Choose one reflection question or write your own reflection question and model how
Reflection students might think about their process in responding to questions and areas of
strength and weakness.
11. Direct students to work independently to answer the reflection questions.

Flexible Delivery Options

Digital Delivery Using LMS
Use LMS to provide learners with journal lesson materials and instructions. The discussion and
assessment tools can be used to facilitate some stages of the journal.
Digital Delivery Using Teams
Use a platform that will allow learners to communicate and share work in groups, such a Microsoft
Teams or Zoom, to facilitate activities.
Reading Journal
Student Name: Class: Date:
Title Farm Animals
Source LS4UAE
Reading Goals
Read and understand a text about farm animals.
Text

TEXT 1 Cows

On many farms, there are cows. Cows only eat plants like grass and wheat. They can sometimes live to be 25 years old. Cows are smart
animals that like to talk to each other by saying ‘moo’.

Cows give us good things like milk. Cow’s milk can be used to make things we eat, like butter, ice cream and cheese.

VOCABULARY
Wheat: a grain that is used to make flour or feed animals
Moo: the sound a cow makes

A cow in a field
TEXT 2 The Chicken and the Duck

The chicken and the duck were friends. They lived on Ali’s Farm. In the mornings, they walked around the farm together and, in the evenings, they
swam in the pond together.

They looked at the other animals on the farm. They both thought the goat was friendly. The goat wanted to play. It had lots of energy and ran
around a lot. They both liked the goat.

They both looked at the cat. They did not like the cat because they thought he was mean. The cat would chase them all around the farm. They
always tried to hide from the cat.

The farmer brought them food. The farmer took care of them. He fed all the cows, all the
sheep and all the rabbits.
They liked the farmer because he took good care of everyone, even the cat.

VOCABULARY
Pond: a small area of water in a park or garden.
Energy: the power to be very active without getting tired.
The chicken and the duck enjoying
life on the farm.

Questions Textual Evidence

Write down the words or sentences from the text
Answer each question with at least one complete sentence.
that helped you answer each question.
Understanding Why are cows smart animals?
Overall Meaning
and Main Ideas
Identifying Why do you think the cat always chased the duck and
Specific
chicken?
Information and
Inferencing
Making How are cows important in both stories?
Connections
Reflection
Describe the people in your family who take of everyone else.
Rubric

Identifying Specific Information and

Understanding Overall Meaning and Main Ideas Making Connections
Inferencing
Response to text-based
Response to text-based question:
Response to text-based question: question:
• Demonstrates one or more of the following:
• Demonstrates one or more of the following: • Demonstrates a strong
- a strong understanding of the text’s overall
- a strong ability to identify specific information ability to make
3 meaning
- a strong ability to infer meaning connections.
- a strong understanding of the text’s main ideas
• Synthesizes relevant textual evidence. • Synthesizes relevant
• Synthesizes relevant textual evidence.
textual evidence.
• Ideas are expressed clearly in written response, using a range of appropriate vocabulary and language structures.
Response to text-based
Response to text-based question: question:
Response to text-based question:
• Demonstrates one or more of the following: • Demonstrates some
• Demonstrates one or more of the following:
- some understanding of the text’s overall ability to make
- some ability to identify specific information
2 meaning connections.
- some ability to infer meaning
- some understanding of the text’s main ideas • Is supported by some
• Is supported by some relevant textual evidence.
• Is supported by some relevant textual evidence. relevant textual
evidence.
• Ideas are expressed somewhat clearly in written response, using some appropriate vocabulary and language structures.
Response to text-based
question:
Response to text-based question: Response to text-based question:
• Demonstrates little or
• Demonstrates one or more of the following: • Demonstrates one or more of the following:
no ability to make
- little understanding of the text’s overall meaning - little or no ability to identify specific information
connections.
1 - little understanding of the text’s main ideas - little or no ability to infer meaning
• Does not include
• Does not include sufficient textual evidence. • Does not include sufficient textual evidence.
sufficient textual
evidence.
• Ideas in written response may be difficult to understand. Little appropriate vocabulary and few appropriate language structures are
used.
0 • Reading journal is incomplete, there is evidence of academic dishonesty, or nothing of meaning is communicated.