Reading log instructions
1. You must read a fiction text.
2. Pick a book that you are going to read independently for Spring two half term (February and
March). You can use the recommendations, but you don’t have to. Also, ask your teacher or
the Librarians if you are not sure.
3. Read for a minimum of 25 minutes each week – you should write down the pages you have
read and get someone at home to sign this to show that they have seen you reading.
4. Spend a minimum of 15 minutes completing a summary of what you have read alongside the
weekly activity (bullet points are fine).
5. Hand in the ‘Reading log’ booklet to your teacher each week, who will check it and return it
to you with a brief comment.
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Reading List Suggestions.
Wonder - R.J. Palacio
Born with a terrible facial abnormality, Auggie has been home-schooled by his
parents his whole life. Now, for the first time, he's being sent to a real school - and
he's dreading it. All he wants is to be accepted - but can he convince his new
classmates that he's just like them, underneath it all?
Skellig – David Almond
When a move to a new house coincides with his baby sister's illness, Michael's world
seems suddenly lonely and uncertain.
Then, one Sunday afternoon, he stumbles into the old, ramshackle garage of his
new home, and finds something magical. A strange creature - part owl, part angel, a
being who needs Michael's help if he is to survive. With his new friend Mina, Michael
nourishes Skellig back to health, while his baby sister languishes in the hospital.
But Skellig is far more than he at first appears, and as he helps Michael breathe life
into his tiny sister, Michael's world changes forever . .
Boy - Roald Dahl
Boy is the remarkable story of Roald Dahl's childhood; tales of exciting and strange
things - some funny, some frightening, all true.
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Challenge Yourself!
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
Darkly imagined and brilliantly created, the painful dystopian setting of a world full of
noise in which all thoughts can be heard as if spoken is the background to this tense
coming-of-age story. Todd is the last boy left in Prentisstown, where only men live.
Approaching his 13th birthday, when he will become a man, Todd discovers a secret
that puts him in great danger. Accompanied by his dog and guided by nothing much
more than his own good sense, Todd makes his own way in a bleak and desolate
world where the choices are hard.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
When Christopher Boone discovers the dog dead on the lawn, he follows in the
footsteps of his hero Sherlock Holmes and sets out to find out who did it. But
Christopher's Asperger's syndrome means he finds emotions near-impossible to
unravel, and Mark Haddon's telling of Christopher's unpredictable response to them
is original, compassionate, disturbing and profoundly moving.
War Horse – Michael Murpurgo
In the deadly chaos of the First World War, one horse witnesses the reality of battle
from both sides of the trenches. Bombarded by artillery, with bullets knocking riders
from his back, Joey tells a powerful story of the truest friendships surviving in terrible
times. The bedlam of battle had begun. All around me men cried and fell to the
ground, and horses reared and screamed in an agony of fear and pain. The shells
whined and roared overhead, and every explosion seemed like an earthquake to us.
One horse has the seen the best and the worst of humanity. The power of war and
the beauty of peace. This is his story.
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Week 1 – Starting your Novel.
Summarise what you have read so far in no less than 5 bullet points.
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Week 1 activity.
Describe one of the characters you have been introduced to. Use three interesting
examples of vocabulary.
How do you feel about the character? What are your expectations of them later on in
the novel?
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Week 2 – Continuing your Novel.
Summarise what you have read so far in no less than 5 bullet points.
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Week 2 activity.
Where is your novel set? Provide a brief description of a setting from your novel,
using specific words and phrases from the text.
Find at least three synonyms for four descriptive words used by the writer to describe
the setting.
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Week 3 – Continuing your Novel.
Summarise what you have read so far in no less than 5 bullet points.
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Week 3 activity.
Look back to your description of your character from Week 1. How have they
developed? Has your opinion of them changed?
Imagine you are a character in the novel. Write a monologue detailing your thoughts
on your experiences so far. You must write at least 5 lines and make sure that you:
Use the same style as the writer.
Use appropriate verbs and adverbs.
Use at least two types of figurative language (similes, metaphors etc).
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Week 4 – Continuing your Novel.
Summarise what you have read so far in no less than 5 bullet points.
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Week 4 activity.
Does your book have chapters? Why do you think the writer has chosen this
structure?
If you had to add a chapter to the novel, what would you include in it? What would
you call it and why?
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Week 5 – Finishing your Novel.
In no more than five lines, summarise what the book is about.
Week 5 activity.
Did you enjoy the novel? What have you learnt from it? Would you recommend it to
others? Why/why not?
If you could change the ending, what would happen?
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Each week, you need to add at least three new or interesting words from the novel to
your vocabulary list. Then you must find one synonym and one antonym for the word.
Week
Word
Synonym
Antonym
WEEK 1
WEEK 2
WEEK 3
WEEK 4
Week
Word
Synonym
Antonym
WEEK 5
WEEK 6
EXTRA
WORDS
EXTRA
WORDS
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