Reader Response Prompts
How did you feel after reading the opening chapter/paragraph
of this book/selection?
How did this text make you feel?
What connections are there between your own life and what
you read/saw/listened to?
What word would you choose to characterize what you
read/listened to/saw?
Who should not read this text? Who should?
What was the best part of this text and what was the worst?
What do you think the author is trying to say?
What questions do you still have?
Which character did you connect with most?
Are there any characters who remind you of people you know
and how?
Has the text helped you in any way? Explain how.
What makes you wonder when thinking about this text? What
confuses you?
Were you surprised by anything in the book? What were you
expecting instead?
What parts of the text seem most believable and what parts
seem unbelievable?
How did you feel about the ending?
What do you think might happen next if the story were
continued?
How did the setting impact the story?
How did the author create a certain mood or moods?
How does the title fit or not fit the text?
What was the author saying about life and living?
What do you know now that you didn’t know before?
What vocabulary interested you? Confused you?
What part of the text was most interesting to you and why?
How would this story be different if it were told by a different
character?
How would this story be different if it occurred in a different
time period?
If you had to write a eulogy for one of the main characters,
what would it say? What if you had to write one for the
author?
If this text were to be made into a movie, what would the five
main events/items you would showcase?
If you could be related to a character, who would it be and
why?
Which scene in this text would be best suited to conversion to
a play and why?
Can you imagine a solution that was not given for a problem
presented in this text?
What do you think should happen in the sequel to this text?
What would be reasons for sharing this text with every
student?
If you could speak to or write to the author of this text, what
would you say? What would you ask?
If you had to buy a birthday present for the characters in this
book, what would it be?
What type of reader would enjoy this text and why?
If you could step into this scene or story, what would be the
first thing you would do and why?
If this text were set fifty years in the future or the past, how
would the conflict and events/ appearance and message
change?
What does this text remind you of and why?
How do the characters show their personalities through
dialogue?
How do the characters show their personalities by the actions
they take?
How do the characters show their personalities by what other
characters say or do toward this character?
On what points do you agree with the author? On what points
do you not agree? Try arguing with the author? What happens
when you imagine yourself in his or her shoes?
Write down striking words or images, phrases or details. Why
did the author choose them? What do they add to the story?
Why did you notice them?
How does the author’s attitude shape the way the author
presents the material?
What occurred that you consider an example or
foreshadowing? What doo you believe will occur in the future
and why?
Evaluate a decision by a character or characters. Do you feel a
wise or a poor decision had been made? Why? What decision
would you have preferred to have been made and why?
How do the textual features in this text impact the message
being sent? How does text form add to the message? Would
there have been a better way to deliver the same message?
If you could add something to the message of this text, what
would it be? What other features or elements would you use to
enhance what is being said?
Imagine you had to deliver the message of this text in a new
way. What would this look/ sound/feel like?
How do you know when a message has impacted you? What
are some examples of texts that have impacted you in the
past?
Imagine the events in this text were parts of your own life. How
would this make you feel? What would you do in response?
