Summer+Reading+Assignment

Home About This Class Power Paragraph Format Students (click on your name to post your paragraphs)

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__ Discuss the reasons you provided on your "Summer Reading Proposal" form for one of your summer reading selections (you will need your original proposal for this!). Were your original reasons affirmed when you read the book? For example, if you said you chose a book because you have read and enjoyed other books written by the same author, you would explain if **and** why or why not the book met your original expectation that you would enjoy the book. The evidence in this paragraph will come from **your own words** on your summer reading proposal (quote yourself) and **from the text** of the book itself (quotes and/or paraphrases are acceptable). Be sure to use in-text or parenthetical citations to properly credit your sources.
 * 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__ "Reading pushes and pulls us; it asks us to imagine and imagine again. Reading uncovers places and spaces in ourselves that create a sense of power, of knowledge, [of belonging]... Books open our hearts and our minds and embolden us to become part of our ever-growing community" (Summer Reading Proposal 2) These are some big ideas and we realize that they may not all apply to your experience. For this paragraph, consider the following: What did you learn? How were you changed? Did the book clarify or bolster any of your thoughts/ideas? Did the book lead you to to question - anything - your beliefs, society, the meaning of life, the benefits of eating dessert before dinner? You get the idea?
 * Must be posted to the WIKI by midnight on Thursday, 8/25**

__Prompt for Paragraph Three - What to do With it...__ Last spring your teachers asked you to make thoughtful, purposeful choices for your summer reading book selections; you may have asked your peers, parents, librarians, or teachers for ideas. Hopefully, your teachers discussed summer reading in class and perhaps you took suggestions from these discussions. Without realizing it, you considered whether or not you would WANT to read a book. Was it about a topic you find interesting? Was it written by an author you like? Did it sound like something you could connect with? Is it a genre you tend to enjoy? Did it remind you of another book you had read? Would it challenge you to consider another culture, ideology, or simply an individual point of view? You had to have answered at least one or two of these questions, if you were thoughtful about your selections, of course. For this paragraph, you are to provide answers to these questions that may inspire others either to read or avoid your book. Examine and discuss who would like this book? What type of person? Is the book likely to be enjoyed more by girls or boys? Might people of certain ages be more likely to enjoy your book? (Be careful, your teachers do enjoy some YA literature!) What might a reader's interests be that would lead him or her to enjoy your book? Who might find connections to a character or characters or situations in the book? In essence, describe the perfect reader for your book.
 * Must be posted to the WIKI by midnight on Sunday, 8/28**

//An outstanding response to the prompts will include the following://
 * Scoring: Your three paragraphs will be given one overall grade, and the timeliness of your posts will be reflected in your "timeliness" grade.**
 * 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