Catching Fire Suzanne Collins – Weekly Reading Response Blog

*SPOILER ALERT*

Tell what you like or dislike about the book so far and why.

So far, I’m really enjoying Catching Fire. Right now, i’m at the part of the book where Katniss has been put back in the Hunger Games for the Quarter Quell. Peeta volunteered as tribute for Haymitch and Katniss is speaking to one of the other victors entering the Hunger Games again. I would have liked to see Haymitch go back in The Hunger Games against his friends, but of course, Peeta is going to go back in to help protect Katniss. I’m curious to see how both of them survive, if both of them do.

Tell what you noticed about the characters, such as what made them act as they did or how they changed.

Well, I know Peeta has volunteered as tribute for Haymitch to protect Katniss in the Hunger Games because he loves her, and wants her to be safe. I was suprised when Peeta didn’t comfort Katniss when she knew she was going back in the arena, instead he barely spoke to her. I also noticed Haymitch was sober for a while, while they were training. But he has been drinking again. I noticed Prim, Katniss’s sister, has matured a lot. Katniss said in the book that Prim was about as tall as her now, while in the Hunger Games she seemed so much younger by the way she was described and the way she acted.

Write about the author’s craft – What was effective about the way the author wrote?

I think Suzanne Collins wrote effectively in Katniss’s point of view. She was able to portray Katniss well and she showed Katniss’s fear well. Another person she described well was Peeta. She shows how Peeta is extremely thoughtful and nice, and will do anything to protect Katniss. Haymitch’s personality is also shown well, the way she writes as Katniss about how Haymitch acts.

Reading Response Prompts

1. Tell what like or dislike about the book and why.

2. Tell about parts of your book that puzzled you or made you ask a question.

3. Tell what you noticed about the characters, such as what made them act as they did or how they changed.

4. Write about something in the book that surprised you or that you found interesting.

5. Write your predictions and about whether your predictions were right.

6. Ask for help in figuring out meaning of your book.

7. Tell about the connections that you made while reading the book. Tell how it reminds you of yourself, of people you know, or of something that happened in your life. It might remind you of other books, especially the characters, the events, or the setting.

8. Write about the author’s style and how it makes you feel.

9. Write about the language the author used and why you think the author wrote this way.

10. Write about the author’s craft – what was effective about the way the author wrote.

11. Write about anything else that you may think of that deals with the book.

12. Do you relate to any of the characters in the book? Explain how and why.

13. If you abanded the book, why did you?

14. Name 3 examples of signals that went off in your head while you were reading and explain them.

15. Explain what happened at the climax and explain why you think that is the climax.

16. Tell what you think could be changed in the book to make it better for readers.

Reading Response Rubric

Level 3 (B Range)
In your response you:
- have written at least one post a week
- demonstrate that you have read a variety of fiction and non-fiction materials
- reflect on the books you read effectively- relate to the books you read
- retell only the most important information in your responses
- explain your interpretation of a written work clearly, supporting it with evidence from the work and from your own knowledge and experiences clearly.
- demonstrate that you are a critical thinker that examines characters, plot, setting and literary - devices effectively

Level 4 (A Range)
In your response you:
- have written more than one post a week
- demonstrate that you have read a good variety of fiction and non-fiction materials
- reflect on the books you read very effectively
- relate to the books you read very effectively
- retell only the most important information in your responses
- explain your interpretation of a written work clearly, supporting it with evidence from the work and from your own knowledge and experiences clearly and concisely.
- demonstrate that you are a highly critical thinker that examines characters, plot, setting and literary devices effectively