Zachariah+R--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 __ For my "Summer Reading Proposal" I noted that I wanted to read //Blackout by// Connie Willis, because I was interested in Historical Fiction, which is the genre of the book. The book turned out to be historical fiction, but I did not finish reading it because I did not like the way the author wrote the book, finding it hard to keep up and understand the text. Throughout the part of the book I read, the author jumps from scene to scene without developing the scene to follow along with the book. I am sure that the book would be designed for some peoples' taste, but it was not the right book for me.
 * *Must be posted to the WIKI by midnight on Wednesday, 8/24 **

Willis, Connie. //Blackout//. New York: The Random House Publishing Group, 2010. Print. Are you sure you gave it a fair shot?

__ Prompt for Paragraph Two - A Discussion of What You Gained by Reading Your Book __ Through my summer reading book //Sapphique// I learned a lot about prisons. I learned that prisons do not need to be in a guarded fence with barbed wire and security guards, but can be a place that you think of as a beautiful dream world. At first, Finn is in a dark, scary, and stereotypical prison, but when he escapes hat prison into what was thought to be a dream world, he realizes that it is a prison just as much as the last one was. In the outside, Finn says, "I'm a prisoner old man, just like you" (Fisher 210).This opened my eyes to the fact that prisons can be anywhere, even in places that seem the furthest thing from a prison.
 * *Must be posted to the WIKI by midnight on Thursday, 8/25 **

Fisher, Catherine. //Sapphique//. N.p.: Dial Books, 2008. 210-210. Print.

__ Prompt for Paragraph Three - What to do With it... __ The books Incarceron and Sapphique would be great for both males and females of all age groups. While the book is listed as science fiction, it has many elements of fantasy. I think that the perfect reader is someone that has to find out secrets and is willing to be on edge for the whole book because these are not casual reads. I also think the reader needs to be open to new concepts, because this book contains many items and ideas that stretch your mind and comprehension. __** Be sure to include evidence to support your ideas. **__ Fisher, Catherine. //Incarceron//. N.p.: Hodder Children's Books, 2007. Print. Fisher, Catherine. //Sapphique//. N.p.: Dial Books, 2008. 210-210. Print.
 * *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: // You have some great ideas and a good start. Keep working on mechanics and content and flow and I am confident that you will develop your writing very much this year!
 * 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