Reading Journal Assignment

Purpose: Reading is easier when the reader approaches the reading thoughtfully, carefully and completely. Many readers will simply start reading and rush through hoping to finish as quickly as possible. This is like running a marathon at full speed with no warm up. The reader—like the runner that rushes—will cramp up, dislike the activity, and risk getting hurt. A good reader, like a good runner, actually will spend some time warming up before the run and then spend time cooling down—thereby maximizing the activity.

Approach: Follow the guidelines below and to answer all the requests in your reading journal. Make sure you leave the first few pages of your log blank so you can make a table of contents.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn to read actively
• Learn to enjoy reading
• Develop strategies to improve reading comprehension

Preview (the warm-up)

1. Look at the entire reading, looking at headings, chapters, etc.
2. Write down what you anticipate will be stated in the reading.
3. Write down questions you have about the subject.
4. Write down your own knowledge on the subject.

Read (the run)

1. Look for questions raised in the reading and write them down.
2. Look for and write down answers to questions raised.
3. Look for and write down the main idea.
4. Write down words that you do not understand.
5. Write down things that do not make sense.
6. Underline main idea of paragraphs.

Follow-up (the cool-down)

1. Write down definition of words you did not understand.
2. Get and write down information on things that did not make sense.
3. Write down a summary outline.