Writing a reading response essay can be a really daunting task for middle schoolers. At this age, most kids are just beginning to grasp the hidden meanings behind stories and books, the implied things in a story that are so much more obvious to us as adults who have experienced so much more.
So when I discovered that my daughter would need to write a reading response essay in an exam this year, I got to work doing my best research on how best to approach such a big topic with such young students.
And what did the research point to?
Be short and to the point!
I came up with the idea of making a workbook of sorts for kids - but there are no busywork pages in here - the only thing they'll be writing are notes and their essays. They can just go at their own pace.
This could also be done as a class, a homework assignment over a few days, or a homeschool resource (as we will use it!)
The language in here is simple and easy for kids to follow - it encourages them to look at the themes, tone and mood of a story plus make connections and give their opinions on that story. If your learners don't know what any of this means - don't worry!
Every page and topic is filled with explanations and even sentence stems to use in their essays!
The workbook first uses the classic short story by Hans Christian Andersen called 'The Fir Tree'. It's a story that I find perfect for this unit as it's quite short - students can even have the webpage provided read it for them - and it has great theme, literary devices, and a definite tone to it.
Students will begin by reading a short page about what a reading response essay is and what will be expected of them in the essay. In this particular unit, I've included these topics:
- Thesis statement / topic sentence
- Theme
- Connections
- Mood, Tone, literary Devices
- Opinions and Conclusion
