Reading Journal Reflection

It's the end of the semester...and we have a reading journal grade to take care of.  The goal is that you are making progress, seeing improvement, feeling more confident in your critical reading skills.  We've had lots of practice:  homework readings and class discussion, new terminology and perspectives that give you additional details to look for, one-pagers that put you on the spot for the day and make you show off your skills for the class, reading journal questions that help guide and deepen your thinking, and--oh yeah--tests where you have to actually critically read and answer crazy-detailed, written-to-screw-you-up AP questions. =)

So here's your latest way to show me where you are in these all-important skills:  your reading journal and reflection.

Last quarter I looked at your reading journal for a few things:

1. Were you using it to keep all of your Lit stuff in one spot?
2. Were you using it to record the in-brain processes of a critical reader of the varied assignments in AP Lit (details you noticed, interpretations of readings, etc.)
3. Were you adding to those notes with class discussion notes that help you see what you understand on your own and how that understanding changes with others' thoughts and interpretations?

This quarter, I'm looking for the same PLUS something else...and THAT is your journal reflection assignment.

In your journal, date an entry and title it "1st Semester Journal Reflection."  Complete a thorough, thoughtful, and detailed reflection of your reading skills thus far.  You should consider and include the following in your entry:

• What are your strengths as a critical reader?
• What are your weaknesses?
• What growth have you seen in your critical reading since the beginning of AP Lang last year?
• Since the beginning of AP Lit this year?
• How do you know this growth is occurring?  What evidence do you have?
• How effectively do you feel you are using your journal?
• Could you use it differently to make a bigger difference in your critical reading skill growth?
• How well do you feel you've been able to express your critical reading in the writing assignments this semester (in-class essays, poetry write-up, and lit analysis)?  What strengths and weaknesses in your writing impact that ability?
• What goals (related to reading AND the class at large) do you have for the rest of the year?

Spend some time and thought on this.  It's not HARD, but it will require some honest reflection to do it well. And guess what?  Even though it's an assignment I'm giving you and will grade you on, YOU will actually get the most benefit out of the activity--so do a good job for YOURSELF rather than your grade. =)