Spring Semester Independent Project

In this activity, you will select your own novel to read during the first week of school and can choose your own medium (meaning way you will present your project) for the final book "report." With easy access to book and chapter summaries online, it's important to note that these reports are not about summarizing the book but rather, the assignment requires you to reflect on your own reactions and track your personal discoveries as you journey through the novel.

NOTE: You must choose a different form of presenting your information as well as reflect on what worked and what didn't with your note-taking strategies in the fall project.

1. Reflect on your fall project including the type of book you chose and the level of interest it provided you. Write up a brief reflection on the book you chose, how well your note-taking strategy worked and what you think you should do differently, and

2. Browse and select a book for the semester in the drop-down below.

3. Choose a pathway for how you will take notes based on your reflection on the book to track your personal reactions and thoughts while you read. Here are some ideas and feel free to combine multiple ideas (you will turn your notes in as part of your evidence):

   • Post-its (I can provide)

   • Traditional written reactions in a notepad (by chapter or theme)

   • Typed reactions (by chapter or theme) in Docs or Slides

   • Take notes via graphic organizers

   • Voice notes at end of sections/chapters (audio recordings or voice-to-type technology)

   • Draw/create images reflecting your reactions

4. Consider how you will likely produce your project on the novel. Here are your options; you must choose a different medium from what you did in the fall:

   • Typed reflective essay (minimum 3 pages)

   • Slides with multimedia (minimum 12 slides)

   • Infographic (minimum 2 Letter size pages)

   • Video (minimum 5 minutes)

5. Report selections and turn in reflection to Ms. Tucker by due date (see Google Classroom Calendar on home page of this site).

• 100 pts total!

Your essay, slides, infographic, or video must include the following, with textual evidence included where appropriate (please note, the numbers do not indicate paragraph numbers but rather general elements that must be included for full points):

1. (5 pts) Attention grabber: An introductory hook about the impact this book had on you personally

2. (5 pts) Essential info: Name of book and author, genre, and brief synopsis summary

3. (30 pts) Themes: What underlying themes does the book address (e.g. coming of age, the dangers of war, individualism, big brother, fear, survivalism, and so on)? This section should include a lot of textual evidence to support your claims on the theme(s).

4. (30 pts) Connections: Why and how did these themes impact or change your thinking on these topics? What didn't change or what supported your previous thoughts on this topic? How do these themes connect to today and why do they matter? This section should include at least some textual evidence to support your connections.

5. (20 pts) Reactions: Discuss whether or not you enjoyed the book and why? Did you like the author's style and why or why not (be specific with textual evidence)? Who would you recommend this book to and why?

6. (10 pts) Writing conventions: The revising & editing part of the writing process should be clear and evident in the final product; project should be free of repetitive grammar, punctuation, and capitalization errors; and should also follow MLA formatting conventions.