Critical Thinking in Independent Reading/ Reader Response Journals

ELA 5-8:  Critical Thinking in Independent Reading/ Reader Response Journals

My goal was to have grade 5-8 students incorporate critical thinking in their reader response journals, where they respond to text read independently during Guided Reading stations. I feel reader response journals encourage students to apply strategies taught in class when reading independently to improve their understanding of a variety of text.  Our SLIP goal for the past two years focused on reading strategies, so I was also trying to build on the work we were doing for the West Colony PLT.