Literary Response

As children begin to read more independently,it is important to begin having more in depth discussions about the books they are reading. The ability to respond to a text shows the true depth of comprehension and use of reading skills and strategies.

Student Conferences
This is a very informal and easy way for a teacher to give students the opportunity to discuss a text. In a student conference the teacher can gather valuable information such as connections the student has made during the reading, questions that the reading has raised, personal responses to the reading, and so on. A simple rubric can be created to evaluate a student's responses during the conference.

Reading Response Journal
This is another informal/classroom based approach to assess student responses to reading. There is also a lot of leeway in this type of assessment. It can be something simple like having the students keep a written journal where they write questions, responses, thoughts, connections, etc. as they are reading. It can also be a weekly letter that the students write to the teacher where they discuss the book. These responses can also be teacher-led or student-led. This is a great monitoring tool for students, teachers, and parents to look back on throughout the year.

Instructional Approaches for Teaching Literary Response
Scaffolding is important for strengthening reader response. As children progress from grade to grade we expect them to respond to literature in a more careful and concise manner. Through scaffolding we can help students to build up to to that expectation. For example, early reading responses might simply be drawing a picture of an important event from the book, the students may begin doing book talks and keeping book logs. Finally by the time they reach fifth grade they should be able to keep note in a Reader's Notebook or become part of a 'book club" with other students.