In addition to reading, you know you need to produce three one-page reaction papers over the next ten days. I posted a few quick tips on Thursday's blog, but I'll offer a bit more info now. A reaction is not a book report. It is not a summary. It is an attempt on your part to connect with and make meaning out of your reading. You see, the goal is not for you to write about the story. The goal is for you to write about what you think about the story . What it means to you. What you get out of the story. What the story makes you think of. What the story makes you feel. You will interact with the text in a meaningful way. Get it?
Now, nobody is saying that this is going to be easy. Making meaning is hard work. Yet one of the goals of this course is to make you a more conscious reader--one who actively reads, thinks and reflects on the words on the pages. That’s where reaction writing comes in. You will read The Giver, and you will write three reactions to it.
These reactions will be formal papers where you find connections with or have reactions to the story and write about them. You’ll offer an introduction which always includes the title of your book and the author’s full name. A claim, which is usually the final sentence of the first paragraph, is also a must. That claim will identify the single idea the reaction paper will be focusing on. You’ll follow that with a body paragraph or paragraphs of well-developed thoughts with supportive quotes. Those quotes, which will be cited correctly, must be present. You’ll then complete the paper with a conclusion that sums up and effectively closes the paper.
“But Mr. O’Malley, where do I find these connections of which you speak? Where do I begin?”
Fortunately, I anticipated those queries. Below you will find some prompts to consider as you attempt to make meaning. Obviously, these can be used anytime you write a reaction this year, so you’ll want to hold on to this paper tightly.
Think of...
what the author did well
what the author did not do well
what you noticed
what stands out
what surprised/startled/shocked you
what it reminded you of
what you understood
what you didn't understand
what themes might be taking shape
what you loved/relished/enjoyed
what you hated/loathed/reviled
what made you happy/sad/angry
what you could relate to
what you wondered
what you would have done inside the text
In addition you could consider the following ideas:
*what do you like about the protagonist/antagonist?
*what feelings, ideas, traits, experiences or goals do you share with the protagonist or
the antagonist?
*what message is the author trying to get across?
*what do you think about the author’s writing style?
This should give you something to think about for a little while.
Here's a reminder on how to cite those quotes which each one of your reactions should have.
It was obvious Jonas started to become aware that his community was not what he had always thought it was when he looked at the piece of fruit and thought, "the apple had changed" (Lowry 24).
Hopefully this will help you write some good reactions.
One final thing today. Our semi-colon paragraph quizzes were not nearly as strong as I thought they would be. Several people still used capital letters after the semi-colon. Several people did not combine two independent clauses with the semi-colon. While there were plenty of perfect scores, there were also plenty that demonstrated to me that they need more work with the semi-colons. Keep using them in your writing and you will become more aware of the correct ways and the best times to use them. In addition, check out these links to a couple semi-colon practice websites. Practice makes perfect.
See you soon.
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