Post 5

Now that you have completed your posters and are working on your speeches, you probably feel like you know this book inside out! Do you think other students would enjoy it? Should it be a "class book" that is read (so assignments and essays would be given on the book) or a book that is read by some students? Explain your answer.

Furthermore, do you think it would work as a teacher/student book club book? In the past, the school has hosted book clubs where teachers & students have read the same book and discussed the themes that are common to both age groups. What discussion questions could be brought up in the club?

Due by Friday, 2 PM

When Ordinary People Achieve Extraordinary Things!

Here are the links for the homework:
The Hardest Work You Will Ever Do

Good Can Be As Communicable As Evil


The Ideal of Service to our Fellow Man

Post #4...Due by Wednesday 8 am!

Although it is often said that a movie is never as good as a book, it seems that we are constantly seeing books on the big screen...

 

If you were to produce the movie version of your book, who would play the major parts? Why did you pick these actors/actresses? Do you think your book would make a good movie? What changes would you make to the plot of the book to make the movie appeal to the general public?

IMPORTANT DATES and REMINDERS for Period 9!
Tuesday: Homework: Writing piece on postitive change
Wednesday (12/19): Posters due!!
Wednesay, Thursday and Friday- Presentations!!
January 4- Mindless Acts of Kindess Writing Assigment

Independent Reading Post # 3- Due by Friday 12/14 9th period

For this post, you will be able to write anything you want about your book!
Is something the author is doing making you CRAZY?
(For instance, in the book Eat, Pray, Love I couldn't stand the whiny protagonist!)

Do you wish you could learn more about a character that seems insignificant, but intrigues you?
(In my daughter's favorite book- The Scarecrow Dance, there is a little boy who lives in the home that the scarecrow "guards" and she is always asking me questions about the boy that the author doesn't answer.)

Is there a cliffhanger you REALLY want the answer to?

Your post must be at least 5 sentences, thorough and thoughtful in order to get full credit!

Project Outline

Although all the literature we read in school is interesting, educational, and well-known, it can also be a tad bit dated. Do not get me wrong, some of my FAVORITE books are great works like Of Mice and Men, The Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird, however I have also found amazing books on the “new release” shelves of my bookstore and library! Lucky for us, the Young Adult Library Services Association publishes lists of the “Best Fiction for Young Adults” every year.  According to YALSA, “Each year, YALSA presents the Best Fiction for Young Adults list after ALA's Midwinter Meeting. This year’s list of 112 books was drawn from 211 official nominations. The books, recommended for ages 12-18, meet the criteria of both good quality literature and appealing reading for teens. The list comprises a wide range of genres and styles, including contemporary realistic fiction, fantasy, horror, historical fiction and novels in verse. In addition to the full list, the Best Fiction for Young Adults committee also created a Top Ten list of titles from the final list, denoted here by an asterisk. “The members of the Best Fiction for Young Adults committee worked countless hours, reading, discussing and finally selecting the 2012 list.  Many members of the committee read more than 400 books over the past year, searching for the best titles for teens, “said Chair Patti Tjomsland.  “The resulting list represents exceptional teen literature from a variety of genres that will appeal to teen readers”. The link to this list is available on our class blog (www.reganenglish.blogspot.com). You will be reading, analyzing and evaluating current literature and then deciding on if it should be added to our ninth grade reading lists for upcoming school years.

Your Assignment:

·         Pick ONE book off the list from 2010, 2011, or 2012. Submit the “Book Choice” sheet to Mrs. Regan by ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­_____________.  This sheet is worth 10 points towards your total project score.

·         Read your book! I will be posting questions for you to respond to on the class blog two times per week for the 3 week duration of this project. Each response will be worth 6 points for a total of 36 points. 4 additional points can be earned by responding to classmates post twice. (2 points per response). Spelling, usage and punctuation count for your blog posts!

·         Create a campaign to have your book added to the list!

o   This campaign must include a poster (on a large piece of poster board!) giving at least 4 clear and concise reasons why this book should be added. 

o   Your poster should offer a place for a teacher, student or administrator to go to get more information. You may want to direct people to an online resource to buy the book (amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com), your local library’s website (public or school), the author’s website, etc.

o   You must create an original book cover to display on the poster. On the back of your poster, you must write a 5-7 sentence paragraph explaining why you chose to represent your book this way. 

o   The poster also must include one quote from the book.

o   You must write and deliver a 3-5 minute speech for your classmates to convince your classmates that this book should be read during the 9^th grade year in English classes. Your speech should include a brief summary of the book, the reasons why it is important to the lives of teenagers and your personal reasons for recommending the book. In addition, you should tell the class how the book would fit into the Humanities Program at MHS.  We will discuss public speaking skills in class!

This portion of the project is worth 50 points. (20 points= speech, 30 points = posters)

Extra Credit (20 points)- Create a book review  blog post for the class blog about your book. Your post should include a summary, your review and thoughts on the book. This post needs to be emailed to me so I can copy and paste it into the blog. If you have any clip art that you would like included in your blog post, please see me because my email will not accepted attached photos. If you “happen” to have a real life photograph of you reading the book, that may be fun to include in the blog, too! Mrs. Regan will photograph your poster to be posted with your blog post.

 

Campaign Poster due date: 12/19

 

Date of speech:12/19, 20, 21

*If you happen to be absent the day of your speech, you should be prepared the day you return to give your speech.

 

Independent Reading Project Post #2

In the book informational sheets that were filled out at the beginning of your project, several of you mentioned that you do not like to read! I am a firm believer that everyone loves to read, as long as you are reading something that is of interest to you. You may not have loved Lord of the Flies or other older novels read as a class throughout your educational career, but I'm hoping you truly have a  book you have loved (even if it is a children's book!). For this post, please identify ONE thing you love (or really like...or like... or even semi-like) about this book. Your "like" doesn't  have to do with the plot- it can be the style of writing, the sectioning of the book (one of my favorite author's doesn't use chapter numbers, but each "section" is from someone else's point of view), or how a character is coming to life before your eyes. Then- compare this to your favorite read so far! It can be a children's book, a comic you read regularly or a poem. Think about compaging writing styles, character traits, etc.

Supplementary Readings for the week fo 12/10

Next week, you will be arguing whether or not you think the boys on the island should be help responsible for their actions. The articles below all deal with youth offenders and punishment. By reading them, you will gain some background knowledge on the topic, which will make writing your argument a little easier!


Time Magazine Article


Adult time for adult crimes?

CNN - Kids Should Never..

NJ Changing Laws

Independent Reading Assignment Post #1

As per the assignment outline, this is the first of 6 posts for your independent reading assignment. Remember, you must also respond to a classmate two times total for the assignment. If your username doesn't indicate who you are, please be sure to have your name in your post so I can give you credit :) Posts must be made by Saturday December 8 or you will not be given credit!

What is the first sentence of your book? Do you think this sentence effectively "hooked" you into reading the book? What changes would you make to make the opening line more interesting?