indianepicsdiary

Reading Diary Posts

 

Each week you will be reading Indian stories, and you will keep notes in a Reading Diary. To make the reading easier to manage, each weekly reading is broken up into two parts each week: Reading A and Reading B, and you will do a separate Reading Diary post for each part.

 

Ideally, you will read both parts and write two posts each week, but if you are pressed for time, it's okay if you do just one portion of reading and therefore just one Reading Diary post. Then, based on the reading, you will create your own story each week based on your favorite episode from the week's reading. You can see some sample posts here so far: Reading Diary Posts.

 

Special Note for Weeks 2-3 and Weeks 5-6: During these weeks, when you are reading each epic for the first time, it is important to get all the reading done without missing anything. That way, you will have a solid foundation in both epics for the rest of the semester. So, if you do just a half-reading in any of these weeks, you can catch up in the following week (more information).

 

The idea is to complete Reading A on Monday (at the latest), and then Reading B on Tuesday (at the latest), and then the Storytelling post on Wednesday. But remember: those are deadlines just to make sure people don't fall behind; the best thing to do is to set your own schedule and work ahead of those deadlines. The reading assignments for this class will probably take you about 3 hours per week, so you need to plan accordingly! For more information, review this page: Choosing Your Schedule. 

 

Reading Choices. I've written up some tips on how to make your reading choice here: Indian Epics Reading. It is REALLY IMPORTANT to spend time on those choices, and please ask me if you have any questions at all as you ponder the options each week: Weeks 2-3 Ramayana and Week 4 Another Ramayana, and then Weeks 5-6 Mahabharata and Week 7 Another Mahabharata. Then the reading options go wild in the second half of the semester with all free choice during Weeks 9-14. 

 

Diary Strategies. The main purpose of the diary is to help you take notes that will be useful for you when you write your own story. So, as you read, the most important thing to do is to jot down those characters and events that really grab your attention, giving you the raw materials for a story of your own. If you keep track of what grabs your attention as you read, you will then be able to look back at the reading and find the very best material for your own story. You need to keep in mind that this type of note-taking is VERY different from taking notes to prepare for a comprehensive test or exam. Don't try to do a plot summary of the whole reading; instead, FOCUS ON FAVORITES, jotting down notes about your favorite characters, favorite plot elements, favorite quotes, favorite details of any kind. 

 

Also: ask questions! Another great thing to do in a Reading Diary post is to ask yourself questions as you read. If you have questions in your mind as you read, that will help focus your attention as you continue, looking for answers in the reading itself. You might also want to do some background research to find answers to your questions, and the answers you find would be great material to share in a Curation Spaces post at the end of the week. 

 

Image. Please include at least one image in your Reading Diary post. That might be one of the images that is included as an illustration in the reading unit itself, or it might be an image that you find on your own. For example, you might do some searching now to find the image you want to use with your Storytelling post. For each image you include in the Reading Diary post, you need image information as always.

 

Here are the Diary Guidelines that apply to each of these Reading Diary posts:

• TITLE: The blog post title needs to say Reading Diary A, Reading Diary B, or Extra Reading Diary, along with the name of the unit (for example: Reading Diary B: Public Domain Ramayana).
• LABELS: The blog needs to have two labels: one label should be Reading Diary (not A, not B, not extra — just the label "Reading Diary"), along with the week label (Week 2, Week 7, etc.) 
• LINKS: Make sure you include a link to a reference page or to the reading itself. So, if the book is online, you would like to that (Divine Archer by Gould), or you can link to a reference page at the Reading Guide site (Narayan's Ramayana) or at the Amar Chitra Katha site for a comic book (Ancestors of Rama).
• LENGTH: There are no specific guidelines about length, although I would suggest something around 250-500 words for each post: not too short, but also not too long! Instead of summarizing, focus on being selective and analytical, noting the best stories and what you thought about them, why you liked them, what really grabbed your attention.
• IMAGE: Please include at least one image, along with image information.

 

Here is the text of the Declaration for Reading Diary A:

 

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY: I have read half of my chosen unit and taken notes on that half in a blog post. TITLE: I have included the words "Reading Diary A" in the title, along with the specific title. LABELS: My post has "Week ___" and "Reading Diary" labels. IMAGE: I have included at least one image with Image Information.

 

Here is the text of the Declaration for Reading Diary B. Or, if you did not do the first reading assignment this week, it will be Reading Diary A.

 

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY: I have read half of my chosen unit and taken notes on that half in a blog post. TITLE: I have included the words "Reading Diary B" in the title (or "Reading Diary A"), along with the specific title. LABELS: My post has "Week ___" and "Reading Diary" labels. IMAGE: I have included at least one image with Image Information.