Reading Response #5

11/1/2015

Great descriptions really make a story come to life! Great descriptions use precise details, figurative language, and/or interesting vocabulary to really enhance a reader's experience with the text.

For example, in the book There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom, Louis Sachar describes Bradley Chalkers, the misunderstood main character, in a way that tells you how odd Bradley is. Here is a description of Bradley from the beginning of the story, when he first meets Jeff: "[Bradley] smiled a strange smile. He stretched his mouth so wide, it was hard to tell whether it was a smile or a frown. He stared at Jeff with bulging eyes as Jeff awkwardly sat down next to him. Jeff smiled back at him so he looked away."

My Explanation: From this description, you can see that people don't really understand Bradley, nor does Bradley understand them. His smile is so strange that people can't tell if he is happy or sad. Bradley also stares at people with bulging eyes. This may make his classmates feel awkward around him. He also doesn't know how to respond appropriately to his classmate's smile -instead of smiling back, he turns away. I like how the author used words like "strange," "bulging," and "awkwardly" to describe Bradley and how he makes people feel.

See how I explained what the description said? Now it's your turn to find and analyze a description.

This Week's Prompt:

Look through your independent reading for a great description of a setting, a character, or an action.

Tell us where the description occurred in your story.
Quote the text accurately, as I did above for "There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom."
Then explain what the description means clearly and precisely, like I did above.
Then say what you like about the description.

I look forward to reading your favorite descriptions and hearing your explanations of them!

28 Comments

Julia

11/1/2015 07:13:23 pm

Dear Class,
Currently, I am reading the book, All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor. The description I am going to use is an action. The action is when Charlie, a friend of the family (Sorry, it doesn't say what there last name is), bought a big box of fire crackers to entertain Mama's five daughters, (This is in order of age) Ella, Henny, Sarah, Charlotte and Gertie. This description occurred during the Fourth of July, since the book is written over the course of one year. In the story, it says, " 'Fire crackers!" her sisters yelled." when they open the box that Charlie brought. This description of when he gives the children the fire crackers tells me that Charlie loves the children, and is very generous because they live in a time where money is tight, and Charlie just bought a whole box of fire crackers for the children when he could have spent the money on food or new clothing! In the text, Papa even says, "Today a millionaire, tomorrow he won't have a nickel in his pocket." to Charlie when Charlie shows the kids what he bought for them. I like the description of when Charlie gives them the box because it really helped me imagine the children opening the box and being really happy when they saw what it was.
Sincerely,
Julia

Ms. Kimball

11/3/2015 08:23:59 pm

Dear Julia,

You chose a very short description, but you really thought deeply about its meaning. Sometimes short lines can pack a ton of meaning. I like the quote that Papa said about Charlie: "Today a millionaire, tomorrow he won't have a nickel in his pocket." I imagine that Papa doesn't mean that literally, does he? I'm inferring from Papa's comment that Charlie is a generous guy who likes to spend his money on bringing smiles to people's faces. Is my inference supported by anything else in the text?

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Julia

11/4/2015 07:21:11 am

Dear Ms Kimball,
I think that you are correct. Charlie has shown throughout the story that he is a generous man, and he cares very deeply about the family. Charlie shows this by letting the children have some of the books from the store he works at, because the children do not have enough money to buy their own book. He also shows this when he gives them lots of gifts. Papas comment was not meant to be rude, but to say that Charlie is a giver. All he wants is to see smiles on peoples faces.
Sincerely,
Julia

Whitney

11/2/2015 07:56:02 am

Dear Ms.Kimball,
The book I am reading is called Rules For Stealing Stars by Cory Ann Haydu. The description that I am going to use is "Good morning family, she says, and because she decreed it, we are a normal family for a delicate instant.". From this description, this shows that Priscilla, the main character, doesn't think that her family is normal and desperately wants that to be the case. Her thinking that they are not a normal family tells us that she says her family is different and disconnected from each other. Her mom drinks and her dad likes to pretend that that is not happening. Priscilla really wants a normal mom and dad, but she realizes you don't always get what you want. This is what I collected from this description.
Thanks!
Sincerely,
Whitney

Ms. Kimball

11/3/2015 08:29:30 pm

Dear Whitney,

I like your description, especially because it has some interesting vocabulary words like "decreed" and "delicate." I was a little confused by it because it is not obvious who the narrator is and who said the greeting, "Good morning family." Did another character, other than Priscilla, say, "Good morning family"? I'm curious how saying "Good morning" to your family can be a "decree". Do you know what a decree is?

Otherwise, I like how you explained that the family is actually far from normal.

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Trisha

11/3/2015 04:23:01 pm

Dear class,
This week I red the book Percy Jackson and the Olympians: the Titans curse, by Rick Riordian. I am going to use an action. "Just something the manticore said, about the Great Stirring. I can't help but wonder...if all those ancient powers are waking up, maybe...maybe not all of them are evil." This description shows that Grover is hopeful because he always looks to the good side of everything. He thinks that not all monsters are bad. Grover thinks that they are just misunderstood.
Sincerely,
Trisha

Ms. Kimball

11/3/2015 08:32:23 pm

Dear Trisha,

This quote doesn't really sound like a description of anything. I think it is just dialogue. A description should paint a picture with words. I don't "see" anything based on what Grover said. Can you try choosing a part of the text that paints a picture with words and helps readers see something more clearly?

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Trisha

11/4/2015 03:11:55 pm

Dear Ms.Kimball,
This week I read the book Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the Titans curse, by Rick Riordan. In the book Grover says " I feel restless, like I'm missing something really important. He's out there somewhere. I can just feel it." Described Grover as hopeful because he really wants to find the nature God, Pan. Grover is also eager to find Pan because in the test he says he is restless. He still thinks that he can be the first one even though no one has made it back alive finding Pan. Grover already tried once. He thinks that he will succeed, so this also shows was that Grover is hopeful.
Sincerely,
Trisha

Trisha

11/5/2015 04:11:50 pm

Dear Ms.Kimball,
This week I read the book Percy Jackson and the Titans curse by real close Riordan. Here is me description of Bianca De Angelo. " I was amazed by how different she looked after just a few days with the hunters. Her dark hair was braided like Zoe's now, so you could actually see her face.she had a splash of freckles across her nose, and her dark eyes reminded me of someone famous, but I couldn't think when. She looked like she had been waiting working out, and her skin glowed faintly, like the other hunters, as if she'd been taking showers in liquid moonlight."
Form this description you can see that Bianca is a very active, from the authors description of " she looked like she had been working out." The author also described her with " a splash of freckles across her nose. Both these descriptions tell that she blends in this all the other hunters.
Sincerely,
Trisha

Kate

11/3/2015 06:19:40 pm

Dear Mrs.Kimball,

I am reading the book out of my mind by: Caron M Draper.
The description I am going to use is Caron Draper describes Melody, the girl who has a disability and also is the main character, is very intelligent but know one see's how intelligent she is. Melody also can't walk. Can't talk. She can't take her self to the bathroom. Also no one gets Melody because she can't talk so she can't tell people what she thinks . From my description you can see that Melody can't talk. Cant walk. She can't take herself to the bathroom. Then when she finally went to school in the text it writes " If my teacher plays the old McDonnell song one more time I would explode" " Then my tornado explosion took over. I failed and jerked out." As you can see Melody teacher played the song so many times and Melody couldn't do any thing because she couldn't talk.

Sincerely, Kate

Ms. Kimball

11/3/2015 08:41:52 pm

Dear Kate,

Great book. The first description you gave didn't seem to be a quote from the text. Watch out for repeating yourself. You said, "Melody also can't walk. Can't talk." You then repeated that same thing almost exactly 2 sentences later. When you choose a description, make sure it is one that leaves room for you to analyze the meaning.

I like the second description you chose where Melody is describing her reaction to hating the Old McDonald song. She says, "...my tornado explosion took over. I failed and jerked out." What is a "tornado explosion"? Why did she feel that she failed?

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Kate

11/4/2015 09:09:55 pm

Dear Mrs Kimball

A tornado explosion for Melody is when Melody gets mad she kicks and screams and spazes out. The meaning of fail is when she tries to hold the explosion in and she can't that means she failed of holding the explosion in.

Sincerely, Kate

Ryan

11/3/2015 06:34:59 pm

Dear Ms. Kimball,
I am reading " This Book Is Not Good For You.'' The following description takes place when the members of the Terces society try to save Cass. The description I am going to use is " Cass! warned the homunculus. The boulder had bounded off another rock, sailed through the air, and was rolling directly at them. With super human effort, the little homunculus rammed into Cass, pushing her out the way just in time. But as he did so, he lost his footing and fell backward into the hole." This shows that the homunculus cares about Cass so immensely to risk his own life to save hers. Cleary the homunculus cares about Cass just as much as a loving mother would. In conclusion this description supports the fact that the homunculus cares about Cass.
Sincerely,
Ryan

Ms. Kimball

11/3/2015 08:47:59 pm

Dear Ryan,

Great choice for a description. You might want to explain what a "homunculus" is using a modifying clause. I am not sure if it is human, though the author wrote that it had "super-human effort." I can see that based on the homunculus' heroic rescue, you inferred that it cares deeply about Cass. I am curious, How did Cass develop such a strong relationship with this "homunculus" character that it would risk its life to save her?

Also, I like the description of the bounding boulder and how it "sailed through the air." Did that description help you "see" the danger?

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Ryan

11/4/2015 07:34:24 pm

Dear Ms. Kimball,
The homunculus is a human but he is very small and has unusual body parts. Cass developed a relationship with the homunculus by spending lots of time with him and being very kind to him by offering lots of food. Yes, the "bounding boulder" and "sailed through the air" made me aware of the danger. Thank you for your comment.

Sincerely,
Ryan

August

11/3/2015 07:48:51 pm

Dear Class,
I am reading the book Wonder. The author describes August, the shy main character. You can tell August is shy because in the text it saids "Okay you're next,"said Ms. Petosa to Jack.
"Wait, I have a question for August," said Julian, raising his hand. "Why do you have that tiny braid in the back of your hair?" Is it like a Padawan thing?"
"Yeah." I shrug-noodded.
August is not getting into the conversation much. that is then evidence in the text told me August is shy.
Sincerely,
August

Ms. Kimball

11/4/2015 08:47:22 pm

Dear Auggie,

The quote you chose doesn't really sound like a powerful description of anything. I think it is just dialogue, which is characters speaking. The one thing that is a description is August's response, when he "shrug-nodded." I agree that August is shy, but can you find a part of the text that describes him more clearly and vividly? A description should "paint a picture with words."

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Anthony

11/3/2015 07:56:09 pm

Dear Ms Kimball,
I am reading a book called ATHLETE VS. MATHLETE. In this book the author describes the character Russell, the very smart mathematics student, like a genius. His twin, Owen, a very athletic basketball player is very competitive. The coach says to Russell that he should join the team, and Owen thinks that it is a joke. Russell also thinks that the coach is joking." 'You play?,'Coach asks. Russell looked as confused as I was.
' Play what?'
' Basketball,' Coach said.
Chris and I both crack up.
'What's so funny?,' Coach snapped.
Russell? Basketball? That had to be a joke."
The coach wants Russell to play because of Russell's height, and Russell is a math pro, not a basketball player.
Sincerely,
Anthony

Ms. Kimball

11/4/2015 08:31:15 am

Dear Anthony,

I love the title of your book! Even though the text you quoted has mostly dialogue, I can see a little bit of a description, mostly with the author's word choice. For example, when the author wrote, "Chris and I both crack up. 'What's so funny?,' Coach snapped," I felt that the words "crack up" and "snapped" were special. Why do you think the author chose those words to describe this interaction? How did it help you "see" what was happening?

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Caitlin

11/3/2015 08:28:09 pm

Dear Class,
I am reading the book Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. In this book I found a really good description of Hades in this book. The author described Hades with this description " He raised an eyebrow. When he sat forward in his throne, shadowy appeared in the folds of his black robes, faces of torment, as if the garment were stitched of trapped souls from the Fields of Punishment, trying to get out." This explains to me that Hades is a person who doesn't get impressed because before this description Percy said to Hades that he only had two requests, that was probably impressing to him because people usually ask him for lots of things. Also I think that Hades is very important because he sits in a throne and people that I know that sit in a throne are queens and those high level of royalty. That is what the author told me about Hades.
Sincerely,
Caitlin

Ms. Kimball

11/4/2015 08:53:43 pm

Dear Caitlin,

Wow! You chose a very powerful, vivid description! I loved how the author described Hades shadowy robes as if they "were stitched from trapped souls...trying to get out." You didn't mention much about that part in your explanation, though. Why do you think the author described his robes this way? Sure, Hades is a very important, hard to impress Greek God, but unimpressed important people don't have tormented figures appearing in their clothing! Tell us more about what that means.

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Tommy

11/4/2015 07:30:09 pm

Dear class,

I am reading Harry Potter and the Order Of the Phoenix. In this book, I think Mundungus Fletcher, ex-crook, is drunk. I think that because he said" Eh' 'olly, 'ou otta ge'ta 'old 'of urself'." People that are drunk speak in weird tones. Sentences and quotes like that, can automatically send the reader a message. In this case, the author is telling us he is drunk. Just by putting it in words!

From, Tommy

Ms. Kimball

11/4/2015 09:00:48 pm

Dear Tommy,

Your quote doesn't sound like a description of anything. It is just dialogue. I agree that the character sounds drunk because the author made it sound like he is slurring his words, but that isn't a description. A description should have precise details, figurative language, and/or interesting vocabulary.

Can you find a description of this character, another character, or a setting? A description should "paint a picture with words."

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Emily

11/4/2015 07:33:05 pm

Dear class,
I am reading the book Royal Icing by Sheryl Berk.In this book I found a great description that the author described for a charictor named Juliette, she said "I think you will find London is a lot like a major city."This means that the girls have never been to London and that they will love it.Also the girls thought London was just a place like the setting of Mary Poppens but Juliette teaches them and shows them around London. The girls did dent know that London was a major city infaxt they didn't even know what a major city was. All in all the phrase " I think you will find London as a major city" means that Juliette will show the girls around London.

Sincerely
Emily

Ms. Kimball

11/4/2015 08:57:19 pm

Dear Emily,

The quote you chose doesn't really sound like a powerful description of anything. A description should have precise details, figurative language, and/or interesting vocabulary. It should "paint a picture with words." Can you find a description of London that helps readers actually imagine what the city looks like?

Sincerely,
Ms. Kimball

Liana

11/5/2015 04:51:57 pm

Dear Ms. Kimball,
I am reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. At the beginning of the book they described Harry as annoyed, frustrated, and angry. In the book it said; "The warm glow that had flared inside him at the sight of his two best friends was extinguished as something icy flooded the pit of his stomach. All of a sudden- after yearning to see them for a solid month- he felt he would rather Ron and Hermione left him alone." This shows that he feels angry, annoyed, and frustrated. In the chapters before, it talked about how he has to stay at his uncle Vernon and aunt Petunia's house. Harry hates them and he also hates his cousin Dudley, who he also has to live with. Harry was just so annoyed by them, and Dumbledore, the Hogwarts headmaster,
Ron and Hermione his two best friends, and everyone. He is mad at Dumbledore because he sent people to follow Harry so he is safe, he won't give Harry answers, and he is just not being himself. Harry is mad at Ron and Hermione because they are giving him very short letters and he think they are having fun together without him while he is stuck at the mean Dursleys. When Harry sees Ron and Hermione he also yells at them a lot to get all his frustration out. My evidence is, in the book it has a conversation between Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and Harry starts yelling at them A LOT! Then after he yells at them it says; "Every bitter and resentful thought that Harry had had in the past month was pouring out of him; his frustration at the lack of news, the hurt that they had all been together without him, his fury at being followed and not told about it." This shows that he was really angry inside and was not happy with how his friends were behaving. I think that Harry was glad to let it out, but felt bad that he yelled at his friends and was kind of mean.
Sincerely,
Liana

Olivia Y.

11/6/2015 08:04:49 am

Dear Ms.Kimball,
Hi! I just wanted to say that I am having a good time in middle school and that I miss you.

From,
Olivia Y.

Maggie

11/8/2015 07:11:06 pm

Dear Class,
I am reading Rules by Ynthia Lord. I think that Catherine, sister of autistic brother, likes to let her feelings out on paper. For instance in the book it says "Grabbing my sketchbook, I flip to a blank page and write words, barring down so hard that the letters cut into the page. Unfair, Cruel, Hate, Ruined, Murky, Tease, Embarrassed. My hands tremble as I write." Before that David, her Autistic brother, had a trick played on him. In front of her new friend she called the person who played the trick on him a jerk. This shows that she is upset and is letting her anger out on paper. As it says "Bearring down so hard that the letters cut into the page." You can tell that she is VERY angry. That is why I think that Catherine lets her emotions out on paper.
From,
Maggie

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