Natalie+M--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 __ My summer reading book, //A Walk to Remember// by Nicholas Sparks, was such a perfectly well written love story; I could not put it down. This book that I thought was going to be a hard read was in fact so exciting, that I finished it in a day. In my summer reading proposal, I mentioned how I wanted to read this book because "love stories interest and excite me" (McKinney reading proposal). This story focuses on two completely different people who fall in love. And when the story takes an unexpected turn, they realize this tragedy only makes their love eternally stronger. I am so glad that I chose to read this book because it was exactly the kind of novel I was looking for. Sparks, Nicholas. //A Walk to Remember//. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 1999. Print. Remember that your topic sentence needs to be a clear response to the prompt to add focus for the paragraph.
 * *Must be posted to the WIKI by midnight on Wednesday, 8/24 **

__ Prompt for Paragraph Two - A Discussion of What You Gained by Reading Your Book __ This novel definitely made me think of how fortunate and sometimes selfish I am. In the story, even though Jamie, the town preacher's daughter is diagnosed with Leukemia, she still continues to live her life putting others before herself. On Christmas Eve, Jamie invited Landon to come to the orphanage with her "so that [he] could be there when the children opened their gifts. 'Please Landon,' she said, and with her being so excited and all [he] just didnt have the heart to turn her down (Sparks 126). Like Landon, Jamie's character made me realize how fortunate I am and how many things I take for granted everyday. This book ended up not only entertaining me, but also teaching me something of value as well. Good job overall, avoid saying "this book" though. Words like these tend to weaken your writing. Sparks, Nicholas. //A Walk to Remember//. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 1999. Print.
 * *Must be posted to the WIKI by midnight on Thursday, 8/25 **

__ Prompt for Paragraph Three - What to do With it... __ This novel interested me because I am just like most girls my age in that, I secretly fantasize about true love. From the moment most little girls watch their first Disney princess movie, they are introduced and fascinated with the idea of love. This is what drew me to //A Walk to Remember//, "'A sweet tale of young but everlasting love...' -The Chicago Sun-Times" (Sparks, back cover). People who would enjoy this book are people who like to watch romantic comedies or like to read about love stories. For those people who prefer action or horror movies, they may not enjoy this novel as much as others. I would recommend this book to women of every age. Women usually take more interest in love stories than men do, but that doesn't mean this book is limited to just women. I'd like to remind those secretly sensitive men out there, that this book can easily be hidden behind their monthly issue of Sports Illustrated. This novel is great for anyone who likes love stories and anyone who has a soft side.
 * *Must be posted to the WIKI by midnight on Sunday, 8/28 **

Sparks, Nicholas. //A Walk to Remember//. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 1999. Print. Good content here. Take a look at the power paragraph format and see what you might cut to tighten your focus.
 * 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