Reacting to Text

Want a quick way to see if your students are “getting it” with your read aloud or other texts?  We have been talking a ton about “reacting” to texts…we are working on close reading, annotating our thinking, and really trying to dig into the author’s message.
We brainstormed a list of things that we feel authors might do to make the readers “react”.
We have been practicing “reacting” in a number of ways…in our discussions, in our writing, by annotating text, and more.  We finished our read aloud the other day, so I thought I’d see what “reactions” my students had after that final chapter.
 I asked each student to take just one sticky note and think about what their brain was MOST telling them at the end of the book.
I had the students post them up on a reusable anchor chart…I asked students to read other people’s ideas and we had a discussion about their “reactions”.  It was a lot of fun to see what ideas they all had. 
The entire activity took about 10 minutes and was a great discussion starter.  I will definitely do it again…with read alouds, after picture books, or even with book clubs.  Give it a try–and let me know how it goes!

Meg