Hamlet - Establishing a Reading Log

Learning Goal:  I can keep a daily reading log in which I respond to and ask questions about the play.  

Activities: 

• Read 1.2
• Review Reading Log Handout and discuss expectations.
• Have students complete reading log entry #1: 1.1-2 (Act 1, scenes 1-2) in class. 

HW: 
Read 1.3 and complete reading log entry #2 


While keeping your daily log,  be absolutely honest about what you are thinking and feeling about the play. Record your reactions and questions about the characters, language, and plot. You don't have to impress anyone or be "right".   Keep in mind that confusion and questioning are signs of authentic thinking and engagement. 

Things you might write about in your log:
Basics:

• Clearly label each entry with the act and scene number
• Write after every reading assignment
• Respond in a variety of ways (e.g., comments and questions) and to a variety of components (e.g., characters' actions or motivations, Shakespeare's language and style, the action in a scene)

For each scene, do minimum of three of the following: 

1. 1. Summarize the action of the scene in your own words
2. 2. Comment in one sentence on what you think is the significance of this scene. What would the play be like without it?  How does it contribute to plot and/or character development?
3. 3. Ask questions about the scene. Has anything in the scene caused you confusion?  Ask one of the characters in the scene a question - or ask me a question.

Quote lines from the scene that you enjoyed and comment on them.  For example: 

1.1 - Horatio says "Most like. It harrows me with fear and wonder." This line really explains to us what all three of the guards are feeling when they see this ghost.  They are all frightened by it, yet they wonder why it came to them and why it isi dressed the way it is.  It really sets the mood for the whole scene because it lets us know that they are anxious.  The first few lines in this scene really shocked me because we didn't know anything about these characters yet they were all so nervous and jumpy.  Plus they were suspicious and cautions of everything.

5. Describe your reactions to a character, action, or idea you confronted in the scene:

6. Talk about the relationships characters have with one another, quoting specific words or phrases to give evidence of your opinion.

7. Pretend you are an actor playing one of the characters in the scene. Get inside the character's mind. Tell how the character feels about herself.