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Table of Contents
Expanding Vocabulary ..................................................................................................................................................... 2 Reading Longer and Stronger ....................................................................................................................................... 3 Reading Ourselves Awake! .............................................................................................................................................. 8 Five W Star ......................................................................................................................................................................... 9 Chain of Events .................................................................................................................................................................10 Story Timeline...................................................................................................................................................................11 Visualizing ...........................................................................................................................................................................12 Summarizing .....................................................................................................................................................................13 Five Star Book Review ....................................................................................................................................................14 Connecting..........................................................................................................................................................................15 Deep Connections and Shallow Connections ............................................................................................................16 Empathizing and Predicting .........................................................................................................................................17 Questioning.........................................................................................................................................................................18 Beefy Questions and Bony Questions..........................................................................................................................19 Visualizing, Questioning, and Inferring ......................................................................................................................20 Fiction Genres....................................................................................................................................................................21 Exploring Historical Fiction, Fantasy, and Science Fiction Books ......................................................................22 When Time Jumps Back and Forth ............................................................................................................................23 Character Motivation ......................................................................................................................................................24 Literary Elements ............................................................................................................................................................25 Themes in Literature ~ TheMessage Page 1 ............................................................................................................32 Themes in Literature ~ TheMessage Page 2 ............................................................................................................33 Motif, Symbol, and Big Idea .........................................................................................................................................34 Book Projects From A to Z ...........................................................................................................................................35 Word Catcher ~ Fiction Reading Glossary ................................................................................................................40

Expanding Vocabulary
Readers pay attention when they come across new words they dont know, because every new word is a chance to become a better reader. Researchers say that you should learn 1,000 new words every year! You should be collecting new words in your Word Catcher (in your glossary of this notebook). It takes time to get to know a new word, and its best to work on it a little bit every day. Try these strategies: 1. Choose a new word every day and make a conscious effort to use the word when you talk and write for that whole entire day. Highlight the word in your writing, and define the word after you use it when you talk! 2. When you find a new word, take the time to link the new word with something you care about, like a person or hobby that is very special to you. Keep a record of this word association to help you remember the new word. 3. When you come across a new word, try to replace that word with a synonym that makes sense. Create an ongoing word web of words and synonyms. This will grow as you learn new words all year.

New Words

Reading Longer and Stronger

Date Book Title Minutes Pages

Reading Longer and Stronger

Date Book Title Minutes Pages

Reading Longer and Stronger

Date Book Title Minutes Pages

Reading Longer and Stronger

Date Book Title Minutes Pages

Reading Longer and Stronger

Date Book Title Minutes Pages

Reading Ourselves Awake!

Use this form to help you monitor your reading. Are you reading on autopilot and reading yourself to sleep? Or are you going places with your book and reading yourself awake? Good readers notice when they start to go on autopilot and they decide to wake up by diving into their books, or they pick a new book because the one theyre reading isnt a good fit. Book Title: ____________________________________________ Date: ________________________

Five W Star
Book Title: ____________________________________________ Date: ________________________

Use your notes to retell what happened, starting at the beginning of the reading and working your way up to where you stopped reading. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________
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Chain of Events
Book Title: ____________________________________________ Date: ________________________

Use your notes to retell what happened, starting at the beginning of the book and working your way up to where you stopped reading for the day. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________
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Story Timeline
Book Title: ____________________________________________ Date: ________________________

Use your notes to retell what happened, starting with where you read today and adding in important events from earlier in the book to add a layer of meaning to the story. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________
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Visualizing
Book Title: ____________________________________________ Date: ________________________

Write about your favorite parts of the story, the parts you just cant wait to tell about, because they were so exciting. Describe what happened so that others can visualize it the way you did. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________
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Summarizing
When you finish reading a book, you should celebrate! Publish your summary and five star book review in an artistic book project. Be creative! Book Title: ____________________________________________ Date: ________________________ I read The major characters are The story takes place in by

The problem in the story is

To solve the problem Then Next And

In the end

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Five Star Book Review

Book Title: _______________________________________________________ Date: ________________ Author: ___________________________________________________________________________________ This book is stars because

_____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ My favorite part of the book is (dont give away the ending!) _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ I liked this part because _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ I recommend this book to_________________________________________________because _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________

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Connecting
Use this form to write about a connection that you have to something that happened in the book you are reading. Describe your connection in the left box and how it relates to the book in the right box. Book Title: ____________________________________________ Date: ________________________

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Deep Connections and Shallow Connections

Book Title: ____________________________________________ Date: ________________________
Deep connections have a lot of depth to readers. I know how little Willy feels because Ive been in a race before too. Shallow connections do not have much

them. These are the connections for older

depth to them. These are the connections for little kids. I have a dog just like little Willy!

Deep Connections

Shallow Connections

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Empathizing and Predicting

Use this form to write about a deep connection that you have to something that happened in the book you are reading. Explain how the connection helps you empathize with the character, so you can make predictions. Book Title: ____________________________________________ Date: ________________________

Use your deep connection to help you predict what the character will do.

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Questioning
While you read, pay attention to places that make you wonder. This is not wondering about the meaning of specific words, but rather, wondering about whole passages of the book and what they mean. Book Title: ____________________________________________ Date: ________________________

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Beefy Questions and Bony Questions

Book Title: ____________________________________________ Date: ________________________
Beefy questions have a lot of meat to them. Theyre open-ended questions that can be answered in many different ways. Bony Questions do not have much meat to a few words from the text.

them. You can answer a bony question with

Beefy Questions

Bony Questions

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Visualizing, Questioning, and Inferring

Book Title: ____________________________________________ Date: ________________________ Draw or describe your mental movie on the movie reel.

Write two beefy questions that you have. Do not write bony questions.

Use your visualizations and questions to help you infer what you dont know.

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Fiction Genres
Science Fiction In these stories, the characters live in a futuristic world that is different than our world. The places and names might sound different. Usually there is strange and powerful technology in these stories. Fantasy Fantasies have characters that live in a made up world, or a different version of our world where things are magical. Oftentimes fantasies are medieval. Places and names sound strange, and there are made up animals and spells.

Historical Fiction In these stories, characters live in a specific time period in the history of our world. Books usually stay true to events that really happened and will tell about the events through real people or fictional characters. Action & Adventure These are fast paced stories with twists and turns, and lots of possible danger for the characters. The main character might have to save the world or rescue people. In this type of story, the characters have a puzzle or riddle to solve. Gather clues along with the characters and try to solve the mystery. In these stories, the characters are normal kids just like you, and the story could be happening right now in our world. Sports fiction books are usually realistic fiction. These types of stories are scary. Oftentimes there are ghosts or other supernatural things happening, and the characters have to escape or survive. In these stories, the characters are very funny and get into silly situations. These books make people laugh. Most of the time, they still have a story.

Mystery

Realistic Fiction

Horror

Comedy

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Exploring Historical Fiction, Fantasy, and Science Fiction Books

When you read historical fiction, fantasy, and science fiction, you must allow your book to pick you up and sweep you away to a different world. We must do our best to soak up all the details of the setting and the characters and build the world of the book. Reading this kind of fiction also involves collecting information from the timeframe or the world and using this information to understand the story. Use these windows and doors to help you step into the world of your book. Stop and jot as you read.

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When Time Jumps Back and Forth

As you read fiction, you might find that your book jumps back and forth in time. A flashback is when the time jumps back to a past event to show you something important called backstory. Then the book will jump back to where it left off and continue on. When this happens, your mental movie might go

blurry.

Use this form to record and make sense of the backstory.

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Character Motivation
Book Title: ____________________________________________ Date: ________________________ What does the character want?

What does the characters actions and desires reveal about the character?

What stands in the characters way?

Somebody Wanted This shows So But

What actions does the character take?

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Literary Elements
Characters are either dynamic or static.

Character: Undergoes an important change in personality in the story Comes to some sort of realization that permanently changes the character A change occurs within the character because of the events of the story The protagonist (or hero) is usually dynamic, but not always

o o o o

o Examples of dynamic characters: ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

Character:

o Remains the same throughout the story o Although something may happen to the character, it does not cause the character to change o Minor characters are usually static o Examples of static characters: ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

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Symbols
To find the symbols of a story, notice when something in the story repeats. Objects o A character has an object that means something or is special o An object, animal, or even person repeatedly shows up throughout the story o Examples of objects as symbols: ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ Words o A character gives the same advice repeatedly o The author uses a phrase or set of words throughout the story o Examples of words as symbols: ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ Events o The same sort of events repeat throughout the story o Parts of the story are predictable because of a pattern o Examples of events as symbols: ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

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 Time o The book takes place in a specific time in history (historical fiction) o The book takes place in a future time (often science fiction or futuristic fiction) o The book takes place today or in a realistic version of the world that matches todays time (realistic fiction) Place o The book takes place in a real town or country in the world (realistic fiction) o The book takes place in a realistic but imagined place in the world (realistic fiction) o The book takes place in an imagined place that doesnt exist in our known world (fantasy or science fiction) Environment o The book takes place during a specific season o The book takes place with specific weather patterns o The book takes place in a specific place such as a city, countryside, or wilderness. Mood o The dominant feeling or emotion of the story o The overall mood is effected by the time, place and environment
Example of Setting: _________________________________________________________________

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o The author describes the setting, characters, and actions so you can visualize them o The author uses metaphors and similes to help you imagine the setting, characters, and action of the story o Example of sight imagery: __________________________________________ o The author describes sounds in the story so that you can imagine what is happening o The author uses onomatopoeia by spelling out the sounds so you can hear them o Example of hearing imagery: __________________________________________ o The author describes tastes in the story so that you can imagine them o The author uses similes and metaphors to help you imagine tastes o Example of taste imagery: __________________________________________ o The author describes smells in the story so that you can imagine them o The author uses metaphors and similes to help you image smells o Example of smell imagery: __________________________________________ o The author describes what the characters feel so that you can imagine it o The author uses metaphors and similes to help you image what the characters are feeling o Example of touch imagery: __________________________________________

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First Person Point of View The narrator is one of the characters in the story. First person pronouns, such as I, me, my, and mine are used in telling the story. Since the narrator is a character in the story, he/she may not be completely reliable. We find out only what this character knows, thinks, and witnesses. Example: ___________________________________________________________________________ Third Person Objective The narrator is not a character in the story. Third person pronouns such as he, his, she, hers, it, its, they, and them are used in telling the story. The narrator is an observer who can only tell what is said and done. The narrator cannot see into the minds of any of the characters. We find out only what the characters say and do. Example: ___________________________________________________________________________ Third Person Limited The narrator is not a character in the story. Third person pronouns such as he, his, she, hers, it, its, they, and them are used in telling the story. The narrator tells the story from the vantage point of one character. The narrator can see into this characters mind, but not any of the other characters. We find out only what this character does, knows, thinks, and witnesses. Example: ___________________________________________________________________________ Third Person Omniscient The narrator is not a character in the story. Third person pronouns such as he, his, she, hers, it, its, they, and them are used in telling the story. The narrator is all-knowing, and can see into the minds of all of the characters. The narrator can also report what is said and done. We find out what all or most of the characters do, feel, think, and witness. Example: ___________________________________________________________________________ Second Person Point of View Second person pronouns such as you, your, and yours are used. Most stories are not told in second person. Choose Your Own Ending stories are popular second person point of view stories. Example: ___________________________________________________________________________
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Themes in Literature ~ TheMessage Page 1

Use this form to find the theme or the message of the book you are reading. The theme of your book may or may not be in this list. Always look for themes for the books you read, and try to explain how the theme fits. Sometimes more than one theme fits a book.

Acceptance Adversity Birth Compassion Cooperation Courage Crime and Punishment Death Family Friendship Full Circle Great Battle Honesty Identity

These books have characters who learn to respect & accept others' differences and beliefs. These books have characters that learn to overcome a hardship or struggle to prevail in the face of misfortune. Characters in these books learn that death and birth are all parts of the life cycle, and that life sustains tragedy. These books have characters who learn how to make those who are suffering feel better. These books have characters who learn to work together to solve a problem or achieve a goal. These books have brave characters who learn to have the strength to overcome a fear or do something courageous. These books have characters who learn that crime does not pay and that they should live their life with integrity. These books have characters who learn that death is part of the life cycle, and that everybody dies sometime. These books have characters who learn that family is precious and family members need to stick together. These books have characters who learn the value of friendship and that being a good friend requires sacrifices. These books have characters who learn that most journeys end by returning home or going back to where you started. These books have characters who fight a battle of good versus evil. These characters learn that good always triumphs over evil. These books have characters who find that it is best to always tell the truth. These books have characters who learn what it means to be themselves or discover who they truly are.

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Themes in Literature ~ TheMessage Page 2

Use this form to find the theme or the message of the book you are reading. The theme of your book may or may not be in this list. Always look for themes for the books you read, and try to explain how the theme fits. Sometimes more than one theme fits a book.

Jealousy and Acceptance Kindness

Long Hard Journey

Love Loyalty Noble Sacrifice Perseverance Racism and Tolerance Reprisal Survival

Technology

War

These books have characters who are jealous of someone else or long for a life that someone else has, but in the end they learn to be happy with their lot in life. These books have characters who learn to be generous and considerate of others. These books have characters who embark on a heros journey and strive to save the world or rescue someone important. The character learns that one person (or one small group of people) can do great things. These books have characters who learn that love is the most valuable of all possessions. These books have characters who learn to trust each other and never turn their backs on their friends. These books have characters who give up something important to help someone else. These books have characters who learn to never give up, even when facing difficult times. These books have characters who learn how to overcome racism, or to learn tolerance of those who are different. These books have characters who seek vengeance, and when there is a happy ending, the character learns that revenge isnt necessarily what he wants or really needs. These books have characters who struggle to survive. Man versus nature conflicts often have this theme. These books are usually science fiction; the characters encounter technology such as robots or time travel, and often the characters learn about other themes because of their experiences with the technology. These books have characters whose lives are effected by war. Oftentimes these characters learn that war is unfair and does more harm than good.
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Motif, Symbol, and Big Idea

Book Title: ____________________________________________ Date: ________________________ Use this form to keep track of repeating information. Objects, ideas, words, or events that repeat are important! It helps you understand what the author is trying to say. This will help you figure out the theme, moral, or big idea of the book.

Big Idea

I think

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Book Projects From A to Z

Every time you finish a book, you should celebrate it! Search this list, and find a project that is perfect for the book. You can only do each project once, so choose wisely! Projects should take two to three days to complete. (Art-based projects may take up to a week.) A Autobiography: Pretend to be the author or a character from the book and

write about your life in an autobiography. You might have to do some research on the author, or you can use what happened in the book to write about the B Bookmark: Design an artistic bookmark for the book you read. Your character. Write about the characters or authors thoughts like journal entries.

bookmark needs a visual representation of the theme (think of the symbol for the book!). Decorate it nicely with the most important characters and setting. On the back, write a SHORT blurb for the book to get others to read it! C Comic Strip: Use events from the book to create a comic strip for your

favorite part of the book. Plan your comic strip carefully and make sure you carefully sketch the setting of the book in the background. Draw your D Diorama: Create a 3-D model of the setting for the book. Your model should include a written description of the setting that can be taken directly from the book, as well as written in your own words from what you visualized while reading. Pick this project for a book with an important setting or a really important scene that you want to recreate. Bring a shoebox from home to help you build your diorama. E Essay: Write a literary essay about the book. Summarize the book and characters so they match the book description!

write about the lesson, theme, or moral of the story. Explain what you think about the theme of the story, and write about how the characters changed or stayed the same. F FanFiction: Sometimes you read a book and you just dont want it to be

over! This book project is a writing project that you will complete during writing time. Flip through each chapter of the book and look for moments where you wish the author had written more, or followed a different character, or had things happen slightly differently. Write inside the story, adding your own details to make the story yours. Add your own scene for 3 chapters. 35

G Graphic Novel: Search your book for six important scenes to recreate. Using the book to help you, rewrite the scenes into shorter versions in your own words, zooming in on the most important parts of the scenes. Using two pieces of extra long paper, you will illustrate these six scenes in a graphic novel. Ask your teacher for help putting the book together once you have a rough draft of the scenes in your notebook. H Horoscope: Write a horoscope for the main character of the book,

incorporating all the major events from the story. A horoscope is a forecast of a persons future. You will write it as if the main character could pick it up on the day before the book starts and read about all the interesting, strange, and important things that are about to happen. Publish your horoscope in a newspaper article format. I Interview: Write five to ten interview questions to ask the author or the

main character of the book. These could be questions like, How did you think of the story? or Why did you decide to? When you finish writing the questions, pretend to be the author or the character and write answers to each question. Publish your interview in a newspaper article format. J Jacket for the Book: Create an original book jacket for the book you read. A

book jacket includes a front cover illustration (be original). The inside of the book jacket includes a blurb about the book on the front flap and a blurb about the author on the back flap. The back of the book should include a very short review of the book written by you. Dont forget to quote yourself in the review! K Kite: In your journal, record the following items for the book you read: A list of the most important characters with a blurb explaining each one, the settings from the book with descriptions written in your own words, and any they mean. Cut out a kite and divide it into four sections. In each section of objects, events, or symbols that repeat in the book and a description of what

your kite, you will write about each of the three items from your book. Save one section of your kite to put the books title and author in big colorful letters. Illustrate the back side of your kite nicely. On the kite string, attach a colored picture for each of the four sections of your kite.

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L Lights, Camera, Action! Choose an important scene from the book. Write out a script for the scene, including dialogue in quotation marks and actions in (parentheses) to show what happened in the scene. Ask friends to fill the roles of each character. You will be the main character or hero. Practice acting out the skit a few times before presenting it to the class. M Map: Use this project for books where the characters travel a lot! Draw a

map of the setting for the book. Draw an icon at each place in the book to

show what happened there. Use a map key or map legend to describe in short blurbs what happened at each place on the map. On the back of your map, N Now Introducing Write a commercial or an add for the book you read. Be sure to tell why this book is a good choice, but dont give away the ending! You should tell about why the characters are amazing, why the books setting descriptions are breathtaking, why the problem or conflict is exciting, and why the message is important. You can choose one friend to help you present your commercial to the class. Practice a few times with your script before presenting. Publish your add in a newspaper article format. P Poetry: Check your poetry book for a poem to write for the book you read. write a summary of the book step by step.

You can write as many poems as you want for any number of books, but you must choose a different kind of poem for each book you do. For example, after you read Stone Fox you can write a Things To Do Poem about what Willy does Found Poem about all the things Stanley finds in the holes he digs, but you cant write another Things To Do Poem, because you already wrote one.

when grandfather gets sick. Then after reading Holes, you can write a Lost and

Q Question and Answer Cube: Write six DEEP questions about the literary elements of the book you read. (Try the Five W Star or the literary elements answers to each question. Each question goes on a side of the cube. Ask your teacher for directions to make the cube, decorate it, and write the questions neatly on each box of the cube. Then write the answers on the inside of the cube. Ask your teacher to help you cut out and fold your cube. R Review: Write a five star book review for the book you read. Check page 14 pages in this booklet.) Search the book, think deeply, infer, and write six DEEP

of this booklet for directions on how to write a five star book review. 37

S Sequel: Sometimes you read a story and you just dont want it to be over! This book project will become a writing project for writing time. Brainstorm, plan out, and summarize a sequel for the book you just read. What comes next? What happens to the characters? If you want, you can turn each paragraph of T Timeline: Create a timeline for the book. This is a good project for historical the summary into a chapter to show instead of tell, and write a chapter book.

fiction books. On the left side of the timeline, list events that happened in the real world, and on the right side of the timeline, list events that happened in

the book. Publish your timeline in a large illustrated poster that has graphics for each event. Draw something meaningful for the timeline, like train tracks for U Umbrella: In your journal, create a plot structure graphic organizer for

The Hunger Games, a magic wand for Harry Potter, or a long shovel for Holes.

your book (story mountain). Draw a large umbrella on construction paper with five sections and a handle wide and long enough to write a sentence. Each section of the umbrella should have a paragraph for the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. On the handle of the umbrella, write a sentence to sum up the whole book. What is the umbrella message (theme) of the book? Draw and cut out five large rain drops. On each rain drop, explain how each part of the umbrella adds to the umbrella message. Hang each rain drop from the section of the umbrella with yarn. V Villains Anonymous: Most books highlight the hero, but the villain is important to a book too! Without the villain, the story wouldnt happen! In your notebook, take notes on why the villain in the book matters. How does the villain cause the story to develop? Make your notes as short and sweet as possible. Example: Wanted for hiding the truth, forcing young boys to dig holes

in a wanted poster with very detailed art. Take time to draw your villain villain on the back of the poster, written in your own words.

in the desert, attempted theft, and lying to the authorities. Publish your project

according to the authors description, and include a visual description of the W Word Search or Crossword Puzzle: Did you learn a lot of words from your book? Create a word search or crossword puzzle of the words you learned, making sure you spell each word correctly and include an accurate definition. Use any words you learned this year, but star the words from the book. 38

X X-Ray Characters: Draw a large outline of the character from your book. Fill it in to show what the character is like on the inside. Use objects, words, symbols, and events from the book to show what the character thinks, feels, and does throughout the book. Be thoughtful about where you put each drawing. If a character likes to run, you can draw a tennis shoe where his heart should be. If he is forgetful, you can draw thought bubbles with question marks the rest of the character and add color. This will look like a cut-away where parts of the characters insides are shown, but mostly, you see the outside of Y Youre In The Spotlight! Think about the main character from the book you read. Brainstorm a list of 6 to 10 things that the character might put in a Me Bag like what we did at the beginning of the year to introduce ourselves to our new classmates. Write out an explanation for each item to show how it fits with the book. Find an object that matches or represents each item for your characters Me Bag. You can draw and color the item if you need to. Practice giving your Me Bag presentation a few times, and then present it to the in the bag, and how the items fit in with the story. class. Be prepared to answer questions about how you picked each of the items Z Zipper: For this project, you will design a coat or jacket with a large zipper. You will show how each little tiny event in the book fits together to create a chain of events that zip up. Use this project for a complicating book with lots of little events that all build toward the end, like a huge chain of events. (Mystery books are great for this!) In your journal, create a timeline to plan out your zipper events from beginning to end. Count how many events you have, and design your jacket and zipper on a large poster to include each event. On each zip in the zipper, write one word for each event. Decorate the jacket write a description of each event in the zipper. so it looks like something a character from the book would wear. On the back, the character. On the back, write a description of each object in the X-Ray. where his brain should be. Once you have all the objects in place, finish drawing

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Word Catcher ~ Fiction Reading Glossary

Date Word Page Word Meaning Synonym

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Word Catcher ~ Fiction Reading Glossary

Date Word Page Word Meaning Synonym

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Word Catcher ~ Fiction Reading Glossary

Date Word Page Word Meaning Synonym

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Word Catcher ~ Fiction Reading Glossary

Date Word Page Word Meaning Synonym

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Word Catcher ~ Fiction Reading Glossary

Date Word Page Word Meaning Synonym

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Word Catcher ~ Fiction Reading Glossary

Date Word Page Word Meaning Synonym

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Word Catcher ~ Fiction Reading Glossary

Date Word Page Word Meaning Synonym

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