A reading response journal is a way to reflect on what you have read. Many teachers assign a question for you to reflect your thought on or answer. Sometimes, teachers give you the option to free write.
An interactive reading response journal, you will write back and forth with someone within the class. The interactive reading journal is just a means to stay engaged in what was read.
If you are the first writer, you write your thoughts and ideas about what you have read. Sometimes, you may know just what you want to write. Other times, it may be hard to figure out what to write about. Here are some questions you can respond to when you do not know what to write:
What surprised you about what you read?
What do you think was an important event in your reading today and how might it impact what might happen later in the story?
What feelings did you experience as you read? Which characters or events made you feel this way?
What words or phrases did you find that you found particularly powerful? Which might you need clarified?
What characters or events remind you of something in your own life or another book that you read? How are they similar and different?
If I were in the story…
What if…
When you are the second person to write, your job is to extend the thinking of the first responder. You may ask that person questions or include an example from the book to support or refute their point. You are responding to the comment as well as the book in general.