Second Quarter Outside Reading Overview

Outside Reading—2nd Quarter, 2007-08

Even as technology spreads, the world of books continues to flourish. In the United States last year, more than 175,000 new books were published—the highest number ever. Actually, because of advances in technology in the publishing world, the ability to release new books is easier than ever. For your outside reading second quarter, I’d like you to dabble in the contemporary world of books.

You must have your book choice approved no later than November 7. Bring your book and explanation (below, on a separate sheet of paper) to class on November 7.

To have your choice approved, you must write out and submit the following information:

The name of the book and author

The year the book was published (The book must have been first published in 2006 or 2007.

Check the copyright date on the publisher’s page to determine the publishing date.)

Whether the book is fiction or nonfiction.

The number of pages (The book must be at least 250 pages long.)

Evidence that the book is sufficiently challenging for a high school sophomore

A brief explanation of why you chose the book

As was true first quarter, each Wednesday we will dedicate some time to your independent reading. Make sure you bring your book to class. You will receive points each week for bringing your book and actively reading during class.

If, after you get a few chapters into your book, you decide you don’t like the book and would like to change (and changing because you don’t care for a book is a respectable action), you must let me know, and I must approve your new title. You will need to submit a new choice overview.

After you have read your book, complete the following:

Create a “Top 10” list for the book

This list should identify the top 10 things to know about the book, with the expectation that the list include things about plot, character, conflict, theme, and style. For each item on the list, write a paragraph of 50-75 words explaining the choice and its importance. This must be typed, double-spaced, and reflect your thinking about the book as a whole. Your job is to demonstrate that you have read the entire book and have thought about its meaning.

Your Top 10 list will be due January 11. On this day we will also have an in-class writing assignment related to your book.

The Blogging (aka the good stuff!)
You must post twice a week (for our purposes a week is from Wednesday to Wednesday or from silent reading in class to next week's silent reading in class). I've explained below what should go in each of the posts per week. You can do them in any order, but EACH WEEK YOU NEED TWO POSTS. ONE SHOULD LOOK LIKE POST A AND ONE SHOULD RESEMBLE POST B. You should have 14 posts in total, i.e., 7 weeks of posting. Posts are due Wednesdays in the am (i.e. before school) on 11/14, 11/20 (TUESDAY), 11/28, 12/5, 12/12, 12/19, and 1/9.
Post A
* 2 vocabulary words that you found in the book (with page numbers). Define them in the blog.
* 3 examples of figurative language (irony, personification, imagery, metaphor, symbol, simile, onomatopoeia, etc.) and how you know it is that literary element.
* Pick a quote from the reading and explain its significance (include page number).
* Write a sentence in which you describe one emerging theme of the book.
Post B

A thoughtful response to the book of approximately 250 words. You must cite the page you're referring to as well. Some possible ways to respond to literature include: pick a quote and comment on its significance make connections to the book (self, text, world, media), analyze the protagonist (or author if it’s nonfiction), pretend you're writing a letter to the author or main character, etc. There are many many ways you can do this.

GRADING

Here's how the grading will work out of 100 points. A - You have all of the posts.You have always posted on time.You have always done what was asked of you in Post A.Your Post B response was always highly thoughtful and reflective.B - You have all of the posts.You mostly posted on time.You have mostly done what was asked of you in Post A.Your Post B responses were mostly thoughtful and reflective.C - You have 10-13 of the posts.You sometimes posted on time.You sometimes did what was asked of you in Post A's.You responded to the book in Post B's.D - You have about 6-9 posts total.You rarely posted on time.You rarely did what was asked of you in Post A's.You responded to the book in Post B's.F - You have 0-5 posts.You did not do what was asked of you in either Post A or Post B.

Mr. Hatten's muddy car

You asked for the pictures.

Here they are (remember, I drove 20 miles on highway before this was taken, so a lot of mud fell off before the picture):

Outside Reading: Final

This assignment is for the final portion of your outside reading memoir.

DUE DATE: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26

Post 1: Summarize your final part of the book.

Post 2: Two options

Option 1) In this post, write a literary review of your memoir (essay): What was the message and point of the memoir? Why did the author write it? What imagery, tone, word choice, and figurative language did the author use to make his/her point? Include several passages from the text (quotes, paraphrases and examples) to make your point.

Option 2) This option will be discussed in class Wednesday, October 24. It involves using mind maps to create a literary analysis of your memoir. A link to the handout is on the class webpage.

Outside Reading: Week 5

This assignment is for part 5 of your outside reading memoir.

DUE DATE: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2007

Post #1: Read two other students' blogs and comment on their blog about their level of insight in regards to their memoir, their blog in general and also something they could improve upon. If two comments have been submitted for a blog, go on to a different blog to comment.

Post #2: Summarize part 5 of your outside reading memoir book. Also, write a personal reaction to the reading of part 5 that is 200 words or more.

Outside Reading: Week 4

This assignment is for part 4 of your outside reading memoir.

DUE DATE: SUNDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2007

Post #1: As we did in class with The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, find one or two quotes from your memoir that you find compelling or telling of the tone of the story. Write the quote in your post, attribute it to the author, cite the page and the title of the book. Next, explain why that quote is so important to the book and struck you as so important.

Post #2: Summarize part 4 of your outside reading memoir book.

Outside Reading: Week 3

This assignment is for part 3 of your outside reading project.


DUE DATE: Sunday, October 7, 2007

You will make two postings this week. You should label them: Week 3, part 1 and Week 3, part 2

Part 1
1) Summarize what you've read as if you were creating a Spark Notes version of the memoir.
2) Research the author of your book and write a short biography in your own words. Cite your sources. Leave internet links to your sources. DO NOT COPY AND PASTE. Include a photo of the author and cite the source for the photo.

Part 2
1) Write a journal entry post of the entire book up to this point. Discuss the book's strengths and weaknesses in your mind; talk about your feelings about the issues brought up; relate the book to real life and perhaps your own life; make predictions; discuss your feelings related to the book.

NOTE: In a 300-page book, you should be nearly 150 pages through by the end of this week.

Outside Reading: Week 2

For week 2:

1) Post a short summary of the second section of your book. This should be one or more paragraphs and be similar to a Sparks Notes or Cliff's Notes version of the pages covered. Make sure the summary makes it so someone who has not read your book might understand the reading in a conversation.

2) Find 10 "loaded words" (words used for extreme emotional effect; strong connotation words) in your reading.
- List the word
- Identify the page the word came from
- Explain why you feel the word is loaded and its intended connotative feeling
- Predict why the author chose that specific word

3) Write a journal post of your reaction to the reading for this week.

DUE: Sunday, September 30, 2007

Outside Reading: Week 1

For your outside reading project, divide your book into six similarly lengthed segments. If your book is 300 pages, you would have roughly six 50-page sections. If you have 24 chapters, you would divide it into four chapters each.

These pieces are the prescribed reading for individual weeks. We have six weeks to do the project. It is due October 24, 2007.

You may work ahead if you choose. Your posts, however, must be dated on or before the date due.

Have fun!

For week one:

1) keep an in-depth summary of your reading of the first section of your book. These summaries should be equal to a sentence or two per page and typed into your blog posting.

2) post your feelings, reactions, predictions and discussions of the first section in your blog written as a journal entry.

This I Believe Assignment 9-18-07

1. A link to the essay
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4670423

2. Author
Albert Einstein

3. Title
An Ideal of Service to Our Fellow Man

–4. One sentence of what the belief is
I believe in the marvelous.

–5. 2 examples from the story that showed their belief

–6. 1 favorite passage

Memoir vs. Autobiography

Here's our double-bubble from class today.

English 10 First Hour Assignment

This part of the blog is for First Semester 1st Period.

Here is your English assignment for Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007:

1) Create your own blog at http://www.blogger.com
2) If you need help, go to the help page.
3) On your blog, post a thoughtful, written response to these two questions (be sure an address why you answered the way you did):
----The thing I am most anxious about at Edina High School is ...
----One goal for myself in my sophomore year is ...
4) Publish the post so the blog is viewable on the internet.
5) After you write your blog posting, please post a link to your blog URL in my comment section. This way I'll know where to find your blog.

This part of the blog is only for 1st hour. Please click on the "comments" part and leave me the URL with your first name and last initial.

English 10 Second Hour Assignment

This part of the blog is for First Semester 2nd Period.

Here is your English assignment for Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007:

1) Create your own blog at http://www.blogger.com/
2) If you need help, go to the help page.
3) On your blog, post a thoughtful, written response to these two questions (be sure an address why you answered the way you did):
----The thing I am most anxious about at Edina High School is ...
----One goal for myself in my sophomore year is ...
4) Publish the post so the blog is viewable on the internet.
5) After you write your blog posting, please post a link to your blog URL in my comment section. This way I'll know where to find your blog.

This part of the blog is only for 2nd hour. Please click on the "comments" part and leave me the URL with your first name and last initial.

English 10 Fourth Hour Assignment

This part of the blog is for First Semester 4th Period.

Here is your English assignment for Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007:

1) Create your own blog at http://www.blogger.com/
2) If you need help, go to the help page.
3) On your blog, post a thoughtful, written response to these two questions (be sure an address why you answered the way you did):
-----The thing I am most anxious about at Edina High School is ...
-----One goal for myself in my sophomore year is ...
4) Publish the post so the blog is viewable on the internet.
5) After you write your blog posting, please post a link to your blog URL in my comment section. This way I'll know where to find your blog.

This part of the blog is only for 4th hour. Please click on the "comments" part and leave me the URL with your first name and last initial.

English 10 Fifth Hour Assignment

This part of the blog is for First Semester 5th Period.

Here is your English assignment for Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007:

1) Create your own blog at http://www.blogger.com/
2) If you need help, go to the help page.
3) On your blog, post a thoughtful, written response to these two questions (be sure an address why you answered the way you did):

---The thing I am most anxious about at Edina High School is ...
---One goal for myself in my sophomore year is ...

4) Publish the post so the blog is viewable on the internet.
5) After you write your blog posting, please post a link to your blog URL in my comment section. This way I'll know where to find your blog.

This part of the blog is only for 5th hour. Please click on the "comments" part and leave me the URL with your first name and last initial.

Welcome

Welcome to Mr. Hatten's Edina High School English 10 blog.