Note: Any of these journal prompts can be adapted based on specific curricular needs. This is remixed from the original author (Josh Thompson) to include what I call note pages, which include a Title/Quote Page and a Character Page. These pages are an important part of independent reading because it helps students self-monitor their reading.

Title/Quote Page:

• Have students use one page (front and back) at the beginning of their reading to create a  title page. On this page, they will neatly and creatively write the title and author of the book they are getting ready to read. 
• On this page (writing around the title and the author), students will write down quotes they think are important or meaningful as they come across them. They will refer back to this page every time they come across a quote they want to remember.
• Students can do this in bullet form, or freehand quotes anywhere on the page.
• Extension Activity: Have students compare quotes and their meaning, or identify quotes that relate to a specific theme within the story.

Character Page:

• This page should be after the title page, and should have the title "Characters" at the top. 
• On this page, students will record every character they come across in the story. They should leave a few spaces on each line to record information they learn about each character.
• Extension Activity: After reading, have students classify characters as flat or round characters, identify character traits for each character, or identify the protagonist and antagonist. This creates an interactive notebook they refer back to throughout reading.

Prompts for After Reading:

• In at least one well-developed paragraph, please summarize your reading for today as well as provide your thoughts about the book. In other words, you are at the very least responding to the following questions:  What happened in your book today? How do you feel about that?
  
• Think about what you read today. Below, relate your book to what we have been doing in class recently. Your response should be at least one well-developed paragraph and use specific textual evidence to support your connections.
  
• Choose one quotation from your book and respond to it. What makes it so important to you or the book?
• Write a poem about, related to, or inspired by your reading.
• Choose a notable quotation from your book and discuss its significance to the text in one well-developed paragraph. Please be sure to copy the quotation as well as provide the page number.
  
• In one paragraph, describe how one character is feeling in your book and why. Be sure to use specific textual evidence to support your response.