A booklet designed for secondary school students (broadly speaking Year 10) that provides a range of questions to help track reading and comprehension of any book or text. Includes a wide-range of questions and activities as well as a section to list unknown words, a reminder of word class and a section to print out and turn into bookmarks.

1. This belongs to:
If lost, please return to:
Reading
Journal
Year 10
(Fiction)

2.
Book
Date
Minutes read
What was your favourite part of the reading today?
What reaction do you think the author wanted you to
have with what you read today?
List at least 5 nouns from what you read today.
Write them down in alphabetical order.
List 5 nouns from the reading today but in reverse
alphabetical order.
What do you think will happen next to the main
character? Why?
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Reading Journal

3.
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
List at least 3 adjectives and 2 adverbs that you read
today. List them in alphabetical order.
Find 3 adverbs anywhere in the book. Write them
below. For each add an antonym (a word with the
opposite meaning).
Choose an adjective from anywhere in the book. List at
least 3 other ways of describing the same the thing
(synonyms).
Write down one thing the main character did in your
reading today. Why do you think that they acted in
that way?
If you could change one thing about the story so far,
what would it be and why?
Reading Journal

4.
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
How do you think the main character felt during what
you read today? Why? Would you have reacted
differently? How?
Choose 3 words from your reading today. For each, try
to list 3 synonyms (words that have nearly the same
meaning).
Re-write your favourite sentence from the book so far
by adding different adjectives and/or adverbs.
Using exactly 17 words, describe what happened in
what you read today.
What do you think will happen next in your book? What
clues give you that idea?
Book
Date
Minutes read
Reading Journal

5.
Book
Date
Minutes read
List 5 adjectives to describe the main character.
In no less than 25 words, describe your main character
so that someone who has never read the book would
get a clear picture of what the main character is like.
Describe your emotions when reading today. Include
reasons why.
What is your prediction for what will happen in the
next chapter?
Using exactly 12 words, and including at least 2
adjectives, describe what happened with what you read
today.
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Reading Journal

6.
Book
Date
Minutes read
Write down and list in alphabetical order your 7
favourite words from the book so far.
What reaction do you think the author wanted you to
have with what you read today? What words did they
use to help create that reaction?
Write down at least one 3 syllable word, one 4
syllable word and any 5 syllable words from the book
so far.
If you had to recommend the book you are reading
for someone, who do you think would it enjoy it the
most. Why?
List as many other books, TV programs or films that
are similar to what you’ve read in this book so far.
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Reading Journal

7.
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Reading Journal
List your 6 favourite words from anywhere in the book.
For each, try to write down a word that rhymes with it.
What do you expect to happen in the next chapter of
the book? Why?
Write down 5 verbs from anywhere in the book. List
them in reverse alphabetical order.
In exactly 15 words, describe what happened in the
reading today.
Without looking, write down what you think the last
sentence of the book will be.

8.
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Reading Journal
Copy down a sentence from the book that gives you a
clue about what might be happening later on in the
book.
Imagine that you had to explain to someone who hasn’t read this
book what has happened so far. Explain what happened:
To begin with…
Then…
And now…
What was your favourite sentence from what you read
today? Copy it down exactly as it appears in the book.
Why was it your favourite?
Find 3 adverbs anywhere in the book. Write them
below. For each add an antonym (a word with the
opposite meaning).
In no more than 20 words, sum up what happened in
the book you read today:

9.
Book
Date
Minutes read
Of all the characters you’re read about so far, rank
them in order, starting with your favourite to least
favourite:
Which character do you dislike? Try to describe them
and your reaction using at least 4 adjectives and 3
verbs.
What do you think might happen to the character
you’ve written about above?
Using exactly 17 words, describe what happened in what
you read today.
Write down the names of all of the characters that
featured in what you read today. Alphabetise them
backwards, from Z-A.
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Reading Journal

10.
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Reading Journal
If you could change one thing that happened in what
you read today, what would you change and why?
Write down 5 words that started sentences, but list
them in alphabetical order.
Write down and list in alphabetical order 7
connectives from anywhere in the book. Try to spell
them without looking back in the book!
What did you learn about the main character today?
Have they changed or developed in any way? If so,
how?
Describe your emotions reading today. Include
reasons why.

11.
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Reading Journal
Describe what happened in what you read today using
the bullet points below:
•
•
•
•
Write down 5 prepositions from any part of the book so
far. List them in alphabetical order.
List at least 5 nouns from what you read today.
Write them down in alphabetical order.
List 5 nouns from the reading today but in reverse
alphabetical order.
What do you think will happen next to the main
character? What clues in the text suggest this?

12.
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Reading Journal
List at least 3 adjectives and 2 adverbs that you read
today. List them in alphabetical order.
Find 3 pronouns from the reading today. Aim to copy
them down without looking at how they’re spelt.
Write down one thing the main character did in your
reading today. Why do you think that they acted in
that way?
Choose an adjective from anywhere in the book. List
at least 3 other ways of describing the same the
thing (synonyms).
If you could change one thing about the story so far,
what would it be and why?

13.
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Book
Date
Minutes read
Reading Journal
Imagine that you had to explain to someone who hasn’t read
this book what has happened so far. Explain what happened:
To begin with…
Then…
And now…
How do you think the main character felt during what
you read today? Why? Would you have reacted
differently? How?
In no less than 25 words, describe what you think the
main character would look like after what you read
today.
What was the purpose of the story in what you read
today? Did it change or develop the story or add
anything new?
Looking back through what you read, write down at
least one 3 syllable word, one 4 syllable word and
any 5 syllable words.

14. Part of speech Function Example words Example sentence
noun A thing or person.
dog, pen, England,
man, carrot, Tom
Affan lives with his
dog and cat in
London.
verb
An action, a state or
an occurrence.
have, happen, be,
bring, read, walk,
dance
Jane must study hard
and learn well.
adjective
This describes a
noun.
beautiful, big, red,
fruity, interesting
The little girl loves her
old, ragged doll.
pronoun
This replaces a
noun.
I, you, he, she, we,
they, it, some
She went to the shops
with him. They had
fun.
adverb
Describes a verb, an
adjective or another
adverb.
slowly, happily,
incredibly, truly,
kindly
Alice and Jim
sometimes run
quickly together.
preposition
These usually come before
nouns to explain the
relationship between two
nouns. They typically
express a relationship
relating to time and space.
down, from, into,
like, near, on, under,
up
My dog is lying down
next to me on the
floor.
conjunction
This joins words,
phrases or clauses.
for, and, but, or, yet,
so, nor
I like bears and lions,
but I don’t like cats or
dogs.
interjection
A word or short
phrase that conveys
emotion.
oh, ouch, hey, well
um, huh, ugh, help!
Ouch! That hurt. Oh
no, I tore my jeans too.
Oops!
determiner Introduces a noun.
that, my, these, his,
a couple, the
The boy supported his
local team.
Parts of speechAlso known as:
word class

15. Word: Word class: Definition:
Use the next few pages to record any words you weren’t sure of the
meaning of. Use a dictionary and look up the word class (for example noun,
adjective etc) and then copy the definition into the box on the right.
Reading Journal

16.
Word: Word class: Definition:
Reading Journal

17. Name
STUCK?
LOOK
Lookatany
picturesfor
clues
LIPS
Saythefirst
andlast
sound
STRETCH
Stretchthe
wordout
slowlyandput
thesounds
together.
CHUNK
Lookfor
‘chunks’or
partsofwords
youknow.
SKIP
Skiptheword,
readthe
sentence,then
hopback&try
again.
TRY
Trytoreread
thesentence,
tryawordthat
makessense.
ASK
Askforhelp
afteryou’ve
triedallof
these.