As a warm-up after doing a reading at home, have students start by writing a double-entry journal: first a summary of the reading and then their response to and/or critique of the reading. Students can fold a piece of paper in half and devote the first half to the summary and the second to the critique.
They can then share their journal with a peer before turning it in. With this activity students, as well as the teacher, get an idea of their own understanding of the reading, through their summaries and how well they coincide with their peers’. Students are also developing valuable skills in responding to reading.