Journal Prompts for Ready Player One
Journal Prompts for Ready Player One
Journal #1
Even though the setting of Ready Player One is in the year 2045, much of the story is rooted in the pop culture of the 1980s.
For this journal, write anything (& everything!) you know about the 1980s. You may include references to movies, books, music, etc., but you also can include info about your family. For example, how old was your mom?
Think of Back to the Future….what if YOU went back to the 1980s!?! What would you do ? Where would you go? What were YOUR parents like in the 1980s?
Journal #2
Write a one full page journal- BE CREATIVE!
Think of dystopian fiction! What will the future be like??? Choose ONE of the following prompts:
– 1. Funny how everyone says that was the day the world ended, when it was the beginning of mine.
– 2. Sometimes I forget the Wall did not always surround the town.
– 3. Decapitating a zombie is a lot harder than it looks on tv.
Journal #3
Write a full page.
• What did you do for spring break? What will you miss doing? Did you visit a college? What were your thoughts on the college?
• What are your plans for this summer?
• NOW, in between SPRING BREAK and SUMMER….what are you plans for THIS English class? Are you planning on attending class? How often? Are you going to keep checking your grade on Aeries? (I suggest you DO!) Are you aiming high- for an ‘A’ ? Or low- you just need a ‘D’ ?
Journal #4
Write a full page.
• OPEN your book to page 62-- These pages need to be studied carefully by ALL gunters because they list so many of Halliday’s interests!
• For your journal today, make a list of all of YOUR interests:
• What is your favorite book?
• What would you consider your “Holy Trilogies” of movies?
• What is your “desert island” videogame of choice?
• What’s your binge-favorite on Netflix?
• …basically list your favorite things! You can use bullet points. But fill the page.
JOURNAL #5
Directions: (WRITE A FULL PAGE)
- Choose which prompt you want to respond to.
- Copy the prompt on your page as the beginning of your creative story.
Be sure to fill the entire journal page.
- If you run out of ideas, finish that first story and begin the other prompt.
Prompt 1: The boy woke up before dawn. The horses were restless. Something wasn’t right. He rose and tiptoed quietly down the hall, careful not to wake his mother. She was exhausted after last night’s…
Prompt 2: They’ve done all these studies about how twins remain connected, psychically, their whole lives. I haven’t seen Sally for twenty years, but sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night with pain in my knee and I know it’s her pain, not mine. Or I’ll be taking a walk and I’ll feel…
Journal #6
Directions: (WRITE A FULL PAGE)
• In chapter 18, we read about Morrow’s Dance Party at Neonoir. Review pages 181-189.
• Now, write your own description of what YOUR DANCE PARTY would look like in OASIS.
• Consider: music, people/avatar invited, drinks, lighting, etc…and who will confess his/her TRUE LOVE the way Parzival did to Art3mis???
JOURNALS #1-6 DUE ON APRIL 28TH/ MAY 1ST
Journal #7
Choose ONE of the following topics and write ONE FULL PAGE:
1.“I Need” poem in which you talk about all the things you need in order to feel physically health, good about yourself, happy and content. See example.
2 .Metamorphosis: Make a list of objects, places, ideas that could stand for your younger self, symbols for the way you used to be. Then make a contrasting list that could stand for your current self, symbols that represent the way you are now. Sort of an “I used to be…but now I am..” kind of chart. Use these contrasting lists to a write a FREE VERSE POEM on your transformation.
3.Lessons I learned After It was too late: It seems that we always learn the most important lessons the hard way, usually when it’s too late, when we’ve already made our big mistakes. Look aback over your life and write ONE PAGE on the lessons you learned after it was too late.
4.The Ultimate All-Purpose Excuse: Even if high school is over, it doesn’t mean that you won’t need excuses anymore. Write an elaborate, exaggerated, fantastic excuse for something- being tardy, late work, missed birthday, something for yourself. Be as creative as you can. In about 150 WORDS, convince the offended person that your excuse is valid.
5.In Other Words: Try expressing yourself through someone else’s words. Select at least TEN “quotable quotes” which express your philosophy of life. Choose quotations which represent your thought on several aspects of life – not only love, but also faith, success, integrity, character, friendship, etc. Be sure to attribute your quotes.
6.As Time Goes Bye-Bye: Before time passes you by, what things do you want to do? What one thing do you most want to do by the time you are thirty-five? Why? What have you already said good-bye to – people, places, ideas, stages in your life, hopes, dreams, sorrow? Reflect on those good-byes and/or grand plans. Make a list with short explanations or concentrate on explaining one specific goal or farewell in depth.
7.How to…. Write a paper explaining how to do something somewhat strange—how to wreck a car, how to break a heart, how to survive football practice, the first day of school, how to be miserable, etc.
8.Valuable Lessons: List the TEN most valuable lessons you’ve ever learned. Write a sentence explaining why each lesson was valuable to you. Consider such things a learning to multiply, but also think of the more abstract lessons concerned with wisdom and experience rather than skills. Once again, let your list sit for a few days. Then rank the lessons from one to ten and explain.
9.Annual Report: Write a kind of annual report on the state of yourself. Compared to what you were a year ago; what are you now? What do you hope to be a year from now? What do you expect to be? Do you expect to make “progress”? If so, how has this year proven your ability to progress? Are you better off than you were a year ago? Worse off? Would you buy stock in your company? Good investment or not? Why.
JOURNAL #8
In your journal, write one full page and provide feedback for Mrs. Bly. This will be your draft for your Senior Portfolio Assignment #6: “Think about your educational experience in Mrs. Bly’s English 4 class. What helped you learn? What distracted you from learning. Please be specific.
Journal #9
O We have finished the book!
O Write ONE FULL PAGE on the following:
O What has Wade learned at the end of this novel?
O How do you personally balance the virtual world (social media) vs. real world ?
O Did you like the ending? Explain.
O What are your final thoughts on this book? Should I teach it next year? Why or why not??
O What does the last line of the novel mean?
O “It occurred to me then that for the first time in as long as I could remember, I had absolutely no desire to log back into the OASIS” (372).
Journal #10
This is a creative journal. Write ONE FULL page.This journal is in two parts:
1- Write ½ page about your college plans and what you expect to happen. Describe your future in the form of a story.
2- Then, finish you ½ page with an alternate reality of what you expect to happen. IF you had two lives to lead, the FIRST life would be the one you expect (part one); the SECOND life would be a DIFFERENT path that you chose (part two).
Journal #11
Adios amigos! Final thoughts leaving PV High.In the form of a “Dear John” letter, write a good-bye letter to PVHS. Begin you entry “Dear PVHS
-You may recognize certain teachers for the impact they have had on your life.
-You may speculate on who you think you will stay friends with in the future…and who
you are saying “Adios Amigo” to at the end of the year.
-You may discuss plans you have to celebrate graduation, including Senior Week, Disneyland, Grad Night, Graduation Ceremonies, Grad parties…etc.
JOURNALS #7-11 ARE DUE BY WEDNESDAY, MAY 24TH