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Objective: Encourage, support, and motivate independent reading by appealing to different learning styles and offering students multiple choices when responding to books. Some choices will be completed while students are reading the book, some after.
 
NOTE: All class presentations must be 8 to 10 minutes in length even if not so noted. Mrs. Durff has the final say on all grades!
 
 C Level
*Required: Read a book at your independent reading level as arranged through Mrs. Durff. Everyone will have a different book. Display evidence of completion to Mrs. Durff through your student agenda or reading homework book signed by parent/guardian, 4 x weekly for 20 minutes per session, AND by reading in class whenever assigned.   Extra credit may be given for reading Wednesday evening or for more than one weekend day.
 
During and after reading, choose any 7 of the following choices for a total of 70 points:
1.      Choose a book report & complete it using your book as your source. Confer with Mrs. Durff. (20 points)
2.      Draw or illustrate two or more story elements. (20 points)            
3.      Do a "Book Bag" report using props and explaining their significance to the whole class. (20 points)
4.      Role-play - be a main character from the book—tell about your life and experiences first-person. Do for the whole class.  Let listeners question you. (10 points)
5.      Create an 8.5” X11” poster that would advertise or "sell" your book. (20 points)
6.      Using pictures from magazines, etc., design a collage that represents your book in some aspect. Use at least 50 pictures. Present your poster to th! e class. (20 points)
7.      Write two page, every-line letters to your friends about the book, sharing your thoughts. Read one to the class. Send one to your pen pal. (10 points)
8.      Write an appropriate rap about the book. Absolutely no hurting, killing, or other inappropriate topics – if you wouldn’t say it in front of your grandmother, don’t say it in school! Present it to the class. (20 points)
9. Write song lyrics and/or music - create a song about the book. Perform the music for the class. (20 points)
10. Write a 20-line poem about the book. Read it to the class. (20 points)
11. Use your Reading Journal to respond to your book daily, showing the "tracks of your thinking" -- e.g. questioning, visualizing, connecting, predicting, inferring, summarizing the essence of tex! t, etc. Read two 2 page long entries to the class. (40 points)
 
B and A Levels (do 40 points AFTER doing 70 points at C level)
1. Help write and act out a scene from the book either as a group or as an individual. Perform 10 minutes worth for the class. You will be timed. (30 points)
2. Assume the r! ole of interviewer. Come up with five questions to ask the author. Write these down in your Reading notebook and read them to the class. (10 points)
3. Put together a TV show for three people, one person being the interviewer, other people taking roles from the book, or being questioned about the book. You write the questions and decide on the parts each will play, then gather your group, rehearse, and present the show to the class in ten minutes. You will be timed. (40 points)
5. Genre study: Write up and conduct a survey of peers about favorite, least favorite genres, finding out why people feel the way ! they do. Organize and compile findings, present them both verbally and graphically. Present your findings to the class. (40 points)
6. Do independent research about a topic suggested by your study of the book. Mrs. Durff must approve your topic. Search at least five different sources, writing down the source in APA format, and summarizing your findings to the class, using a full ten minutes. (30 points)
7. Make flash cards of at least ten new words you encountered in the book. Put the word on one side, the definition and the word used in context on the other side. (5 points)
8. Create and illustrate a timeline of the book. Present it to the class. (20 points)
9. Create a map of the setting. Tell what important events occurred at each location. Present it to the class. (20 points)
11. Rewrite the ending of the book. Present it to the class. (20 points)
12. Ponder what you think is the main theme or overarching concept of the     book. Write it down. Then choose two of the following: (40 points)
             a. Write a 200 to 300-word essay about this theme.
             b. Read another book that relates directly to that theme
             c. Tell about the new book in a Thursday Share session.
13. Share your thoughts about the book with the entire class. Bring a food item representative of the book to share with the class. Tell how it would relate to the book and why you chose it. (30 points)
14. Create a new cover for the book, as if you were on assignment from a major publishing house. Think about design and illustration elements, color, and font…what will make this book even more appealing to readers. Fold your paper so you have flaps just like a real book cover. On the inside front cover, write a blurb - a summary of the book for potential readers. On the inside back cover, write "All about the illustrator"—that’s YOU. Tell readers a little about yourself, and include a photo if possible. If   not, draw yourself. On outside back cover, write reviews of the book from various publications as if you had interviewed them. (40 points)
16. Become an expert on one of the main topics or themes of the book. This theme could be from the setting, prevailing culture, characters, relationships, conflict, etc. Be sure you have teacher approval for your topic before you begin. Write a 300-word essay in your Reading notebook. (40 points)