Lesson Plan
Reading Response Letters
How can you *see* what your students are thinking while they read? Try reading response letters in your class. Students will practice formatting letters and learn to discuss their thinking about literature in writing.
Grades:
Subjects:
View aligned standards
Learning Objectives
Students will be able to correctly format and punctuate a letter to someone about a book they have read.
Introduction
(10 minutes)- Ask students: Think about the independent book you are reading right now. Raise your hand if you are reading a fantasy book. Historical fiction? Continue to list genres.
- Tell students that you want to learn more about the books they are reading and how they are responding to those books.
- Tell students that reader response letters are a way that teachers and students can communicate about the books they are reading. Tell them they are going to learn how to write this kind of a letter.
Beginning
- Provide student-friendly definitions in English or in L1 of the various literary genres.
- Provide examples (images or real books) of the various types of genres.
Intermediate
- Define "reading response" and "communicate" for students in English or the L1, if appropriate.
- Have students share their response regarding what type of book they are currently reading with a partner. They may use the following sentence frame:
- Currently, I am reading a ____________ (genre) book called ____________ (book title).
- The book is about ____________ (theme).