Kathryn+S--Sum+Reading

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 __ ** The series, //The Lying Games// (__The Lying Game__ and __Never Have I Ever__) are the books that I read this summer. Sara Shepard, the author of these books, used suspense and drama to keep readers into the books and create the perfect mystery. Shepard uses voice to emphasize the difference between the dead and living by using the voice of Sutton, who is dead, to make the story more dramatic, "I'll see you in the morning... even though you won't see me" (Shepard 307). This book was book that I could not put down and kept me wondering and until it ends, will keep it's reader guessing. **
 * *Must be posted to the WIKI by midnight on Wednesday, 8/24 **

Please review the power paragraph format. Does your first sentence directly relate to the prompt? Could it be stronger, more focused? A good topic sentence tends to set the stage for a strong response to a prompt. You have tried to say too much here and as a result, your overall idea is obscured.

__ Prompt for Paragraph Two - A Discussion of What You Gained by Reading Your Book __ **This book, in my opinion, taught me little but what I did get out of it was you never know about another person's life till you climb into their shoes and walk around in them (Lee). Emma is forced into becoming Sutton, her secret twin sister, when Sutton mysteriously disappears but Sutton has a completely different lifestyle than Emma. When Emma comes into Sutton's lifestyle, she's amazed " Emma couldn't help but feel a tiny twinge of jealousy. Not only did Sutton have a family, but she was wildly popular, too. How come Emma had gotten such a crappy life and Sutton had gotten a great one, I wasn't sure about that, considering Emma was alive and I wasn't" (Shepard 56). Even though another life may seem greater and cooler then yours, be appreciative to what you have.** The prompt asks you what you took from the reading, therefore you shouldn't need to use "in my opinion," as these words tend to weaken your points. Your last sentence in this paragraph would be a strong first sentence.
 * *Must be posted to the WIKI by midnight on Thursday, 8/25 **

__ Prompt for Paragraph Three - What to do With it... __ **This book would be intriguing to a teenage girl who is into the mystery and dramatic/romantic book. This author uses extreme voice to allow the reader to feel like they are personally involved with each individual character's personal drama and dilemmas as their stories progress. Emma Mercer is attempting to find her twin sister's murderer who killer her with the locket around her neck so while at a spa with her friend Madeline and Madeline leaves her phone on the table, Emma looks through her pictures, "It was a close up of Laurel sitting on a big red rock, the sun rising behind her. A round pendant on a silver chain hung around her neck. With shaking hands, Emma pulled the chain around her throat and examined the locket. It looked exactly the same as the one in the picture. ... Emma wondered what Laurel was doing wearing Sutton's locket-the locket someone had strangled her with. Could it be...?" (Shepard 225). It is lines like this that makes this book a must read and one of the reason's that I could not put the book down and kept me on the edge of my seat till the end.**
 * *Must be posted to the WIKI by midnight on Sunday, 8/28 **

You have covered all of the questions in the prompts, but need to work on your overall format and proofreading. I know that we are posting these responses, but you might benefit from printing copies and using the WIW for help. Keep working though, you are becoming a stronger writer!


 * 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: //
 * 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