What is the role of a “reading response journal” in literacy development?

The role of a reading response journal is fundamentally about reflection and analysis. It encourages students to engage deeply with the texts they read, fostering critical thinking skills and allowing them to express their personal connections, interpretations, and responses to the material. This practice helps students develop their comprehension and analytical skills as they articulate their thoughts, explore different perspectives, and make connections to their own experiences or other texts.

By writing in a reading response journal, students are not just passively consuming information; they are actively interacting with the text. This engagement supports literacy development by enhancing comprehension, encouraging personal investment in reading, and promoting a deeper understanding of themes, character motivations, and narrative structures.

In contrast to the other choices, summarizing texts limits engagement to just recalling information without personal reflection, critiquing an author's writing style may not develop a broader understanding of the content, and copying passages serves rote learning instead of fostering thoughtful interaction with the material.