Procedures for Reading Letters

Dear ______,

In this English class, reading letters are a wayfor youand your friends to talk this year about books, reading, authors, and writing. You’ll think about literature in letters to friends; they’ll write letters back to you. Your letters will become a record of the thinking, learning, and reading you did together.

Letters should be at least a page long and all about reading. In your letters tell what you felt when you read a book and why. Tell what you noticed about how the author wrote. Tell why you think he or she wrote this way. Tell what you liked and didn’t and why. Tell how you read a book and why. Tell what a book said and meant to you. Tell what it reminded you of—what other books or experiences from your own life. Tell what surprised you. Ask questions or for help. And write back about your ideas, feelings, experiences, and questions.

Each quarter you will write two letters. I recommend you write a letter to a different classmateat least once every two weeks so it’s not a mad rush at the end of the quarter. You may pass a letter to a friend as often as you wish.

When you write a letter, give it to the person to whom the letter is addressed. When a friend gives you his or her letter, you must answer within forty-eight hours. After you’ve written back, deliver your friend’s letter directly to him or her. You may not lose or damage another’s reading letter.

Date your letters in the upper right-hand corner. Use a greeting and closing, just as you would in any friendly letter. Mention the name of the author of the book you’re talking about and its title, and indicate the title by capitalizing and underlining it (e.g., The Outsiders). If you choose to write about the same book in both letters, remember to discuss different aspects of the book. Writing the same ideas will not count.

I can’t wait for you to begin reading! And I can’t wait to read your letters at the end of the quarter—for the chance to learn from you, learn with you, and help you learn more.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Eells-Tom

MORE BASIC GUIDELINES:

Paragraph 1—synopsis of book (no spoilers). Title, author, your thesis.

Paragraph 2—universal theme in the book OR how a symbol helps to develop a universal theme in the book.

Paragraph 3—connection from your independent novel to something else we’ve/you’ve read, your recommendations, etc.

Adapted from “Student Writing Record,” © 1998 by Nancie Atwell from In the Middle, 2d ed. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook Publishers, Inc.