personal reading responses
In class we have looked at how to write a personal reading response. You are required to complete six personal reading responses over the course of the year. You may complete these orally if you choose. Your responses will be recorded. However, your first responses needs to be written.
We have practiced writing a response to a short story and to a film. You will need to complete responses on at least two novels. Two of your responses can be based on films. The remaining two must be completed using written texts. These can be magazine articles, short stories or poems.
We have practiced writing a response to a short story and to a film. You will need to complete responses on at least two novels. Two of your responses can be based on films. The remaining two must be completed using written texts. These can be magazine articles, short stories or poems.
'Dear mr cairney' - short story by graeme lay
planning and practice sheets
Here are your practice planning sheets and templates for the short story 'Dear Mr Cairney' and the film 'Tomorrow, When the War Began.'
personal_reading_practice_draft_template_and_planning_sheet.docx | |
File Size: | 22 kb |
File Type: | docx |
tomorrow_when_the_war_began_-_personal_response_practice.docx | |
File Size: | 28 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Colour template guide
personal_response_colour_coded_template.docx | |
File Size: | 14 kb |
File Type: | docx |
exemplars
Title: The Art of Friendship in a Facebook World
Author: Ruth Laugesen
Text Type: Article
I had never thought about how important Facebook can be for some people. In the article, a man by the name of Nick Latty stated how he thought Facebook knew too much about him and he wanted to cancel his account because he realised that he could end up in a dangerous situation. However, he couldn’t because it was where his friends and family posted dates and photos which he wasn’t able to find anywhere else. Facebook can be dangerous if it is not used properly, and this article showed me some of these. An example from the article was that sometimes people forget to make their page private and everyone can see what they post. This could be dangerous if people are going for a job, because the employer can choose not to hire them based on what they see on their facebook page. I think that facebook is good, but it needs to be used carefully.
However, I had never thought about how Facebook can be used for people in a difficult situation, like being in hospital. Social networks like Facebook allow you to communicate with loved ones whenever you want. An example of this is when a woman was in hospital recovering from cancer and she used Facebook as a way of communicating with her family and friends because she did not want to physically talk to them. I could see how Facebook could be useful in this situation, but also how it could harm.
Title: Avatar
Director: James Cameron
Text Type: Visual (Film)
Avatar is a story about the human race’s constant need for money and the lengths they will go to get it.
I think the theme of greed is very relevant to today’s world because people are always trying to find ways to make personal gain instead of helping others. Greed is shown in the film by the humans who are willing to destroy a village at all costs just to make money. The humans go to war with the Na-vi because their village is on a large deposit of a substance called Unobtainium. It is worth trillions of dollars and the humans are going to destroy the village to get to it. An example of this in our own country was the recent proposal to open cast mining in an area of New Zealand’s protected land. This, to me, shows how easily man can be swayed by the dollar signs. Even in an environmentally friendly country like New Zealand our native beauty will always be at risk when there are those in positions of power who are ruled by greed as opposed to conservation.
But there is hope in the film that greed does not always win. The character Jake starts off as nothing more than a “knuckle hread” marine oblivious to the horrific plan the humans have to destroy the Na-vi village. As the film progresses so does Jake’s caring personality. Jake discovers what he heard about the Na-vi to be a lie. In Jake’s eyes the Na-vi are the peaceful ones and the humans were the savages. Jake rejects human greed and stays with the Na-vi. He decides to learn their way of life and becomes one of them. I like to think that I would be like this too, and that I would choose something that is ethically right over the chance to make a lot of money.
Title: Mao’s Last Dancer
Author: Li Cunxin
Type: Novel (Extended text)
What I found interesting about this book was Li’s change from his homeland’s Communist views to the beliefs of an American Capitalist society. I hadn’t realised how different he would find America. He is amazed when he goes to America for the first time, saying “the contrast with the bareness of China was so amazing that I started to wonder once again about America’s prosperity and the stories we’d been told.” I realised that it was really hard for Li to accept that he had been lied to by his beloved Chairman Mao as he has been a faithful communist all his life and he had worked hard for his dancing for communism and for his country. It is not easy to know that someone you trusted has lied to you, and this can make it hard to trust people again. When he decided to defect and become a free person in America that was like giving up who he was and what he had worked hard for all his life. There are so many people living in countries like this, where they have to leave to make a better life for themselves. This book made me think about what it would be like to live somewhere where you didn’t feel free.
Author: Ruth Laugesen
Text Type: Article
I had never thought about how important Facebook can be for some people. In the article, a man by the name of Nick Latty stated how he thought Facebook knew too much about him and he wanted to cancel his account because he realised that he could end up in a dangerous situation. However, he couldn’t because it was where his friends and family posted dates and photos which he wasn’t able to find anywhere else. Facebook can be dangerous if it is not used properly, and this article showed me some of these. An example from the article was that sometimes people forget to make their page private and everyone can see what they post. This could be dangerous if people are going for a job, because the employer can choose not to hire them based on what they see on their facebook page. I think that facebook is good, but it needs to be used carefully.
However, I had never thought about how Facebook can be used for people in a difficult situation, like being in hospital. Social networks like Facebook allow you to communicate with loved ones whenever you want. An example of this is when a woman was in hospital recovering from cancer and she used Facebook as a way of communicating with her family and friends because she did not want to physically talk to them. I could see how Facebook could be useful in this situation, but also how it could harm.
Title: Avatar
Director: James Cameron
Text Type: Visual (Film)
Avatar is a story about the human race’s constant need for money and the lengths they will go to get it.
I think the theme of greed is very relevant to today’s world because people are always trying to find ways to make personal gain instead of helping others. Greed is shown in the film by the humans who are willing to destroy a village at all costs just to make money. The humans go to war with the Na-vi because their village is on a large deposit of a substance called Unobtainium. It is worth trillions of dollars and the humans are going to destroy the village to get to it. An example of this in our own country was the recent proposal to open cast mining in an area of New Zealand’s protected land. This, to me, shows how easily man can be swayed by the dollar signs. Even in an environmentally friendly country like New Zealand our native beauty will always be at risk when there are those in positions of power who are ruled by greed as opposed to conservation.
But there is hope in the film that greed does not always win. The character Jake starts off as nothing more than a “knuckle hread” marine oblivious to the horrific plan the humans have to destroy the Na-vi village. As the film progresses so does Jake’s caring personality. Jake discovers what he heard about the Na-vi to be a lie. In Jake’s eyes the Na-vi are the peaceful ones and the humans were the savages. Jake rejects human greed and stays with the Na-vi. He decides to learn their way of life and becomes one of them. I like to think that I would be like this too, and that I would choose something that is ethically right over the chance to make a lot of money.
Title: Mao’s Last Dancer
Author: Li Cunxin
Type: Novel (Extended text)
What I found interesting about this book was Li’s change from his homeland’s Communist views to the beliefs of an American Capitalist society. I hadn’t realised how different he would find America. He is amazed when he goes to America for the first time, saying “the contrast with the bareness of China was so amazing that I started to wonder once again about America’s prosperity and the stories we’d been told.” I realised that it was really hard for Li to accept that he had been lied to by his beloved Chairman Mao as he has been a faithful communist all his life and he had worked hard for his dancing for communism and for his country. It is not easy to know that someone you trusted has lied to you, and this can make it hard to trust people again. When he decided to defect and become a free person in America that was like giving up who he was and what he had worked hard for all his life. There are so many people living in countries like this, where they have to leave to make a better life for themselves. This book made me think about what it would be like to live somewhere where you didn’t feel free.
Your response must include:
- I statements/opinions
- Evidence from the text (either summaries of scenes or specific quotes to back up your opinion)
- An explanation for WHY that is your opinion
- I statements/opinions
- Evidence from the text (either summaries of scenes or specific quotes to back up your opinion)
- An explanation for WHY that is your opinion
Possible short stories
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Click HERE to read 'The Last Spin.'
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