How to keep a Reading Journal - useful ideas

How to keep a Reading Journal - useful ideas

As you read the novel, stop from time to time and think back over what you have read. Here are some ways to make use of your journal:

                                 

¯ Jot down your thoughts and feelings as you read. Try to capture all your reactions.

¯ Copy out words, phrases or lines that you like and try to explain why you like them.

¯ Is there anything that puzzles you? Make a list of questions that you have about the text and that you might want to research, discuss with your friends or ask me.

¯ Sometime we are very moved by a literary text because it reminds us of a personal experience. If you like, describe that personal association.

¯ Do you find yourself really liking or really loathing any of the characters? What is it about them that makes you react so strongly? Make notes that you can add to as you read the text.

¯ Does our reading remind you of anything else you have read, heard or seen on TV or at the cinema? Jot down what it is and where the similarities lie.

¯ Now and again try to predict what will happen next in the novel. Use what you already know of the author and the characters to help you do this. Later record how close you were and whether you are surprised at the outcome.

¯ Sometimes words make pictures in your heads. Make a sketch of such a picture, and add words which create the picture.

¯ Can you picture the locations and settings? Draw maps, plans or diagrams.

¯ Is there is a chapter or scene that really strikes you, try to answer these questions:

o   What interests you about this chapter/scene?

o   Why does it strike you?

o   Say what you like (and perhaps dislike) about it.

¯ Perhaps a title or a line or a feeling gives you an idea for a short story or a scene in a play or a poem of your own. Write your own text.

[Ansgar Nünning: Englische Literatur unterrichten: Grundlagen und Methoden. Band 1. Stuttgart: Klett Kallmeyer, 2006]