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Home Summer Reading Assignment Students

Given the nature of the 2011 summer reading program, you had significant autonomy in selecting the books you would read. While you were responsible for completing a proposal, you were not given other assignments to complete over the summer. As indicated on your proposal form, you are required to write a letter to your 2011-12 Language Arts teacher that demonstrates your thoughtful reading of your book. We have chosen to break this down further into three focused "Power Paragraphs" for two reasons, one, to introduce you to the idea of a power paragraph, and two, to assist you in covering all aspects of the assignment.

__ Prompt for Paragraph One - A Reflection of Your Choice __
 * *Must be posted to the WIKI by midnight on Wednesday, 8/24 **

In my summer reading proposal I said that I wanted to read a classic novel. At the time i was writing the proposal I completely forgot about a series I wanted to read. I ended up reading the final book of the Hunger Games series. I wanted to read the book because I had read the two previous books and was hooked on both of them. I read the second one during school last year within the first couple weeks and then we started getting into other books for class and the required work turn out to be quite a bit. Not too much. I just didn't have enough time on my hands to read a book while also doing other leisurely activities. So this summer I remembered that I wanted to read it and I did. It took me about two weeks.The last book __Mockingjay__ __ was awsome and suspense ____ ful the whole time. At the end of every chapter there's an extreme twist that completely changes everything. One __ in particular at the end of the book is really shocking. I don't know if you are planning on reading this book but I'm going to give the ending away. Katniss, the main character, is supposed to shoot the President of the Capitol, President Snow. Katniss' mind has been exploited by everyone and she doesn't know who to trust. Before his execution, President Snow meets with Katniss. He tells her that he is not her enemy. The President of the Rebels, President Coin, is her enemy. He says President Coin has just been using her from the very beginning and brainwashing her. Katniss does not know who to trust. At the execution of President Snow, supposed to be carried out by Katniss, instead of shooting Snow, she turns her bow and shoots President Coin. "The point of my arrow shifts upwards. I release the string. And President Coin collapses over the side of the balcony and plunges to the ground. Dead" (Collins 372). That is probably the biggest twist, but the whole book and entire series leading up to that point is really suspenseful and there is a lot of action.

I have no clue what's going on with that one little section. It won't let me change it. Please review the guidelines for a power paragraph. We are asking you to focus on stating your ideas clearly and precisely to address a prompt without including unnecessary summary or distracting language. This is an important skill for a writer that will certainly help you as a student too. Be sure to include a citation of your book here!

__ Prompt for Paragraph Two - A Discussion of What You Gained by Reading Your Book __
 * *Must be posted to the WIKI by midnight on Thursday, 8/25 **

From this book I learned about a different view upon the future of the world. Before reading this book I didn't think much of nuclear warfare and about nukes in Iraq and Cuba and other places but now I realize what a devastating effect they would have theoretically. In the book they talk about what would happen were the two sides to go into a nuclear war. Once one side nukes the other. The other side will send more right back which could lead to the destruction of all human life. I don't know if this book would be considered realistic-fiction or just plain sci-fi, because the story may be so made up, but the beliefs and values were really meaningful. It's definitely changed my opinion on warfare overall. There are other morals in the story too, but I'd say the main moral of the book is about the effect war could have if it ever comes to as drastic of measures as in the book. I don't know if I've mentioned this yet, but the book takes place like a thousand years or so in the future. I don't think the world will ever come to the civilization described in the book. I think that the human race is civil enough to avoid that possibility.

__ Prompt for Paragraph Three - What to do With it... __ I loved this entire series of books and I think that the third one was particularly awesome. I found the topic interesting. It was about a futuristic society i that started after a nuclear war ruined the entire world and North America is the only place left that's inhabitable. I haven't read anything else by Suzanne Collins but I know she also has a couple other series of books I know about and plan on reading. I think anyone would enjoy this book. I usually think books and tv shows with a strong female lead can get kind of corny or annoying, but this was different. You really like Katniss's strength and begin to like her even more as the series goes on. Anyone who enjoys lots of action would benefit from reading this book. There's even a bit of romance in this book. I'm not going to lie I didn't hate the "mooshy" scenes. So this book would be a good read for just about anyone.
 * *Must be posted to the WIKI by midnight on Sunday, 8/28 **


 * Scoring: Your three paragraphs will be given one overall grade, and the timeliness of your posts will be reflected in your "timeliness" grade. **

// An outstanding response to the prompts will include the following: Please review the guidelines and model for a power paragraph. Did you take the time to review your work? It seems that you might have rushed through your responses. //
 * A strong topic sentence that clearly establishes the focus on the prompt
 * Evidence that clearly supports the topic sentence
 * Correct use of internal citations and a properly formatted MLA citation for your book (put this citation at the end of paragraph one)
 * Strict adherence to the Power Paragraph format
 * Mechanics are clean and do not detract from meaning