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The Year at a Glance
Honors Reading
One of our goals is to give students the
tools they need to make sense of the world through
reading. Middle school students are faced with many
different types of reading, with many different
purposes. They need to know how to read nonfiction
texts and pull out the important information. They
need to use graphic organizers and note taking to
help them organize and retain the information they
read. Additionally, students need to be able to
interact more fully with their fiction reading,
making connections, visualizing, asking questions
and inferring.
Below you will find a
copy of our Independent Reading Project packet.
This explains the reading projects, and gives
specific information on how to complete them.
Projects
are due the last weekday of every month,
except
December and May!!!!
Ms. Atkinson’s Honors Reading Class
Independent Reading
and projects
(KEEP THIS PACKET!)
Project Due Dates:
Last Weekday of Each Month (excepting December and
May)
You are
responsible for creating one project based upon your
independent reading each month. Your independent
reading book must be appropriate for your reading
level. You are to complete the Independent Book
Approval Form before you start reading
each month’s book(s)*. Also, you will need to show
me the book(s) you are proposing to read when you
turn in your approval form. This form will be taped
to the front of your project.
Your project
must be either typed or completed in cursive (unless
you have made previous arrangements). If your
project is a computer project of some kind, make
sure you use a label and put the information listed
below on your work. You may email me your project if
this option is available to you. When responding,
make sure that each entry has the following
information in the upper left hand corner of the
front page of your project: your name, the date ,
book title, the project number and a brief
description of the activity you are completing.
Each activity
will be graded upon the degree to which it meets the
following criterion:
Activity demonstrated
a clear understanding of the book read.
Activity demonstrated
application of the critical thinking skills required
by the specific activity.
Activity was
thoroughly completed including all components listed
for each.
Activity was
creatively completed.
Activity was
completed neatly and carefully including appropriate
use of language, grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
Project
explanations are listed on the following pages. You
are to complete a DIFFERENT project each
month. In other words, you may not repeat a
project at any time throughout this year.
* 6th
graders are required to read one book per month, 7th
and 8th graders, two books. Each grade level is to
complete just one independent book project per
month.
7th
and 8th graders:
You are responsible for reading 2 books
per month (150 pages minimum. 300 or more
APPROVED pages = 2 books)
You are to complete a book project for
one of your two books. For the other, you will write
a letter to a friend.
In this letter,
you are to:
1. give a brief
explanation of your book
2. explain to your
friend why you liked your book. Be specific.
3. Tell your friend
specifically why you think they should read this
book. For instance, you may want to say something
like, “I know you are an adventurous person. In my
book, the Brian spends the entire book trying to
survive a plane crash on a remote island in Canada.
I think it will make you think in new ways about
adventure and what kinds of changes adventure can
bring to your life.”
Your letter is to
be a minimum of ½ page long. Your reasoning should
be specific and should require thought. Make sure
that you include the heading information listed
above on the front of your letter. This will be
stapled to your independent project.
Below are listed several sample activities. If
you choose, you may create your own activity. To do
this, you must complete and have approved a project
approval form (available from Ms. Atkinson).
1. Consider your main
character’s likes and dislikes. Think of a present
you would like to give this person. You are going to
create 2 cards. In one, you will write a letter to
this character, explaining your gift, in detail. In
addition, you will explain why (specifically) you
have chosen this as a gift choice. The second card,
or letter will be a response from the main character
to you. It will include the response your character
may have had to your gift and whether or not it was
a good gift to have chosen. You are required to
utilize the language that your character would have
used. You do not need to include the gift.
2. Follow the main
character throughout the course of your book. Write
one journal entry per chapter (minimum) from the
perspective of this character. Write this as if the
character were writing in his or her diary or
personal journal. In your entries, be sure to
address the difficulties, conflicts, or events faced
by this character. Include his or her observations
as well as reactions and feelings. These entries
must utilize the style of language that your
character would have used.
3. State the main
conflict within the story you have chosen to read.
Write a new solution to the conflict (one other than
the solution given in the book). Describe how the
conflict, relationships, and outcome of your book
would change given this new solution. Be sure to
include how each of the characters would act (what
they would do), and how they might react to the
conflict’s new solution. How would your story’s end
change?
4. Choose a theme or
character from your book that reminds you of another
book. Describe how the characters or themes are
similar and different. Create a Venn Diagram or
chart showing your comparisons. Write a paper
discussing why your current book reminds you of the
secondary book you have chosen—be specific and
detailed in this description offering support from
each of your books.
5. Write about a
section of your book that you particularly enjoyed.
Be sure to reference the page numbers and copy the
first and last sentences from the chosen sections.
Describe the section of the book in detail, and
describe why it brought you such enjoyment. What
connections in your own life or in other books read
made this more enjoyable for you? Be detailed. If
this selection included use of literary devises such
as simile, metaphor, foreshadowing, flashback, or
descriptive writing, write about how this use aided
in creating a particular sense of enjoyment for you
as the reader.
6. If you could
change a part of your book, what would it be? Write
a paper discussing why would you change this
section, how would you change this section of the
book, and how this change would affect the outcome
of your book. Be careful about the change you
make. Some changes, such as removing the major
conflict, make it so that there would be no book at
all. Be specific when writing this paper.
7. Compare life
styles of the characters from your book to your
own. Compare the way of life in the book to present
day living here in our community. This should be
presented in a Venn Diagram or in the form of a
compare and contrast chart. Think about the
following in your comparisons: transportation,
fashions, foods, customs, religious practices,
parental involvement, relationships, friendships,
peer pressure, peer and parental expectations and
types of government. Write an essay explaining each
of your comparisons, using examples from your life
and from your book.
8. Write a detailed
description of how this book changed your thinking.
In your paper, discuss how and why the book changed
your thinking. Give examples from the book and your
life, supporting your theory. This change in
thinking should be significant. It should not be
just new knowledge you gained. Write about how your
thinking changed about something important such as a
belief you may have had that is now different.
9. Create a blog
about your book. This will be a non-interactive
blog. Write this blog as you read your book.
Include summaries of major events, but more
importantly, your feelings about what is occurring
as you read it. Make predictions about what you
think will happen and why. Change your predictions
as needed. When you have completed your book, write
your reaction to it and write about why you would or
would not recommend this book to others. Your blog
should have at least as many entries as there are
chapters in your book.
10. Create a Podcast
about your book. In your Podcast, include a book
summary as well as a critical analysis of your
book. Discuss what you liked and didn’t like about
the book. Choose a section of interest to read on
your Podcast. Introduce this section to your
listeners, and tell them why you chose this
passage. Discuss who should read this book and why
they should read it. Your submission will include a
script for your Podcast and the Podcast itself.
11. What connections
can you make with your book? What in your book
connects to your own life? Why? What in your book
connects to something that is going on in our world
today? Why? What in your book reminds you of another
book you have read? Why? Be detailed and specific
citing examples from your book and life / other
books / the world. Write about how these
connections have helped you to better understand and
relate to the book you read.
12. Choose a
favorite hero from another book. Create a Venn
diagram comparing the hero from your book to this
other hero. Write a paper describing how your hero
dealt with the main conflict in your book. Then,
describe how your chosen hero would deal with the
same problem from your current book. What would he
or she have done the same, or differently. What
would the outcome of your book be? Why? Be
detailed and specific.
13. Choose an interesting section of your book that
is at least 3 paragraphs long. Rewrite this section
of your book from the perspective of each of the
different characters in the book that are in the
scene. Chose a scene that has at least 3 characters
in it (thus, at least 2 rewritten sections). Make
sure that you are accurately representing the way
each character would view and experience this
section of the story. Make sure you use the voice
and words of each of the characters.
14. Write about a topic or event within your book
with which you strongly agree or disagree. It can
be a choice that a character makes, or an event from
the book. Use detail to discuss the choice or
event, and why you agree or disagree with it. Be
specific and clear about your opinions and what in
your life has helped you to have these opinions.
15. Create 2 pages of a newspaper that includes
pictures and stories that represent important events
from your book. Make sure that your stories are
told as if they have actually just occurred,
including quotes from your characters (can be made
up as long as they are true to the story). One
story should connect the theme of your book to
something that is going on or that has occurred in
the world. The lead story (front page top) should
be about the climax of your story. Be sure to use
an actual newspaper as an example for your content
and format.
16. Compare the book to the movie or television
version of it. What aspects of the book have been
altered for the visual performance and why? Create
a Venn Diagram or chart depicting the similarities
and differences. Also, complete an essay in which
you discuss the changes made from the book to create
the movie and why these changes were made. Also, in
your paper, discuss whether these alterations make
the story better? Discuss why you feel this way.
17. Create a Powerpoint presentation about your
book. In it, provide slides on the following
topics:
1. compare and contrast 2 main characters in the
book using a Venn Diagram
2. compare and contrast yourself to the protagonist
of the story using a Venn Diagram
3. offer a thorough summary of your book
4. write a book review which includes your response
to the book and those to whom you would recommend
the book
5. show pictures of your book cover
6. write about text to text, text to world, and
text to self connections
18. Compile a scrapbook or a memory box for the
main character in your book. Imagine that you are
this character. As this person, put together a
scrapbook or a memory box of special memories and
mementoes that your character would have collected
throughout your book. Be true to your character
with the items. Attach a description of each item
and why it was significant to your character, as if
your character wrote the description.
19. Use the “Comic Life” program to create a
Graphic Novel based on a part of your book that you
found particularly interesting. Your book should be
self-explanatory. The pictures and the words should
work together to tell the story of what happened in
your book. Don’t just give a summary of what
happened, write a story about it. (meaning, someone
who has not read the whole book will be able to
understand this Graphic Novel).
20. Use the free-downloadable program, “Photostory”
to tell about your book based on a part of your book
that was particularly interesting to you. Your
Photostory should include pictures, words telling
the scene from your story, and music. Choose a
section of the book that stands alone as a story and
will therefore be self-explanatory (meaning,
someone who has not read the whole book will be able
to understand this Photostory).
Atkinson/Rakha
revised 8/09
AVID
Our days are divided
between working on the WICR strategies (W ~ Writing,
I ~ Inquiry, C ~Collaboration, and R ~ Reading), and
tutorials. During tutorials, we spend time
with U of I students and adults who help us to work
through our questions about our core classes using
higher level questioning. We learn to dig
deeper and think more critically about our core
subjects. Students are expected to write at
least 15 Cornell notes a week.
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