Reading Seminar

1. Reading Seminar 3rd six weeks

2. Clear as Mud: • You will NOT have an “Outside Reading” assignment during the third six weeks. • Don’t get too excited… I never said you wouldn’t be reading.

3. Clear as Fog: • You may choose the seminar you participate in. • You will be reading books. Note the plural. • They will be chosen from as specified list of books related to your seminar topic. • Your group will decide the timeline for reading completion. • You WILL NOT be able to complete the assignments for this seminar if you do not read. • Assignments require ready in-depth knowledge of books. • Your group members will ‘vote you off the island’ if you do not contribute due to a lack of effort.

4. Crystal Clear: • You will be reading 40 points worth of books. • Books vary in length and difficulty, with point values ranging from 5 to 20 points. • Point values reflect difficulty and literary merit, not length. • Ex: Against All Odds includes Any Harry Potter (5), The Lovely Bones (10), Into Thin Air (15), Sword of Shannara (20) • It will be up to you and your group members to decide how to earn your 40 points. • Can be done in as few as three books in every seminar. • No seminar requires more than six books to reach 40 points.

5. So… Grades? • Reading and Discussion • Completion of 40 points worth of books* • Participation in Seminar Discussion (including Ticket in and Notes) • Reader Reaction Tickets/Short Answer Quizzes • Given at random to assess progress • Vocabulary Quizzes • rhetorical terms • wotd • vocab from books- yes, I know… you’ll all be reading different books • Two Major Papers major/test grade • iSearch paper (slightly different from Outside Reading assignment) • Reflections paper (at end of seminar) • Knowledge Folder major/test grade *- Completion of 40 points of books is necessary to receive full credit on ALL major grade assignments. The number of points you fall short x10 is the number of points that will be removed from EACH test grade at the end of the seminar should you not complete the appropriate readings. I will consider extra credit for going over 40 points if you can demonstrate depth of understanding.

6. The Book Seminars

7. What is a Reading Seminar? • Six weeks of reading a series of books (40 points). • Topics: • Against All Odds • stories of human triumph • A Woman’s Place • literature about the role of women in society • The Search for Identity • Coming of age stories • Diversity in America • Literature by and about different cultural groups in the United States • You will be stuck with these books for an entire six weeks, choose a seminar based on the books you want to read rather than defaulting to your usual group of friends.

8. Against All Odds Title (Point Value) Author Robert O'Brien Velma Wallis Jerome Lawrence J.K. Rowling Barbara Kingsolver Ayn Rand Steve Martin Alice Siebold Barbara Ehrenreich KamelaMarkandaya Orson Scott Card Dick Hoyt Dave Pelzer Patrick O’Brian Enid Bagnold Charles Frasier Jon Krauker Laurence Bergreen Terry Brooks Mark Helprin • Z is for Zachariah (5) • Two Old Women (5) • Inherit the Wind (5) • Any 1 Harry Potter (5) • The Bean Trees (10) • Anthem (10) • The Pleasure of My Company (10) • The Lovely Bones (10) • Nickel and Dimed (10) • Nectar in a Sieve (10) • Seventh Son (10) • Devoted(15) • A Man Named Dave (15) • Master and Commander (15) • National Velvet (15) • Cold Mountain (15) • Into Thin Air (15) • Over the Edge of the World (20) • Sword of Shannara (20) • A Soldier of the Great War (20)

9. The Search for Identity Title (Point Value) Author Joan Bauer Lois Lowry John Steinbeck Po Bronson Billie Letts Mitch Album Martha Beck Sheri Reynolds Daniel Quinn Tim O’Brien Joyce McDonald Laurie Halse Anderson J.D. Salinger Manal Omar Herman Hesse John Irving John Knowles Frank McCourt ChaimPotok Robert Pirsig • Rules of the Road (5) • The Giver (5) • Of Mice and Men (5) • What Should I Do with My Life? (10) • The Honk and Holler Opening Soon (10) • Tuesdays with Morrie (10) • Expecting Adam (10) • A Gracious Plenty (10) • Ishmael (10) • July, July(10) • Shades of Simon Gray (10) • Speak (10) • The Catcher in the Rye (10) • Barefoot in Baghdad (10) • Siddhartha (10) • A Prayer for Owen Meany (15) • A Separate Peace (15) • ‘Tis (15) • My Name is Asher Lev (15) • Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (20)

10. A Woman’s Place Title (point Value) Author Fanny Flagg Maeve Binchy Alice Walker The Delaney Sisters Mary Pipher Anna Quindlen Kaye Gibbons Billie Letts Charlotte Perkins Gilman Carol Gilligan Rebecca Wells KamelaMarkandaya Sue Monk Kidd MariamaBu Julia Alvarez AzarNafisi Charlotte Bronte Amy Tan Anita Diamant Barbara Kingsolver • Welcome to the World, Baby Girl (10) • Tara Road (10) • In the Temple of My Familiar(10) • Having Our Say (10) • Reviving Ophelia (10) • Black and Blue (10) • Ellen Foster (10) • Where the Heart Is (10) • Herland (10) • In a Different Voice (10) • The Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood (10) • Nectar in a Sieve (10) • The Secret Life of Bees (10) • So Long a Letter (10) • In the Time of the Butterflies (10) • Reading Lolita in Tehran (10) • Jane Eyre (15) • The Bonesetter’s Daughter (15) • The Red Tent (15) • The Poisonwood Bible (20)

11. Diversity in America Title (Point Value) Author Christopher Paul Curtis Robert Cormier Toni Morrison Howard Griffith Rosie Molinary Ernest Gaines Esmeralda Santiago Zora Neale Hurston Gary Soto James McBride Mark Haddon Alice Walker Barbara Ehrenreich Amy Tan ChaimPotak Margaret Walker David Guterson Diana Abu-jaber Richard Wright Leslie Marmon Silko • The Watsons Go To Birmingham (5) • Tunes for Bears to Dance To (5) • The Bluest Eye (10) • Black Like Me (10) • HijasAmericanas (10) • A Lesson Before Dying (10) • When I was Puerto Rican (10) • Their Eyes Were Watching God (10) • Living up the Street (10) • The Color of Water (10) • The Curious Incident of the Dog in the • Nighttime (10) • In the Temple of My Familiar (10) • Nickel and Dimed (10) • The Hundred Secret Senses (15) • My Name is Asher Lev (15) • Jubilee (15) • Snow Falling on Cedars (15) • Crescent (15) • Black Boy(20) • Ceremony (20)

12. Where do I find these books? Libraries Book Stores Half Price Books: 1960 at Stuebner Airline Once and Again Books www.onceagainbooks.com Sawdust Road across from HEB Jill’s Used Books 27718 I-45 N Once Read Twice Sold 250 Cypresswood, Suite E Barnes and Noble (Woodlands or 1960) Borders (Woodlands) Spring/Harris County • http://www.hcpl.net • Barbara Bush Library • 6817 Cypresswood Drive • Northwest Library • 11355 Regency Green Drive Woodlands/Montgomery County • http://www.countylibrary.org • South Regional Library • 2101 Lake Robbins Drive • Woods Mitchell Library • 8125 Ashlane Way

13. Getting Started Today’s Deliverable: • List including: • Group Members • Seminar Choice • Books you plan to read (w/ Point Values) • Group Name/Crest-Should reflect the books you’ll be reading and your group’s individual character Tonight: • Look up the books you picked. • Length • Difficulty level

14. Talking about it! Discussions

15. Seminar Discussions • Every Monday you and your group will get together to discuss what you have read. • Discussion Dates: • 11/29 • 12/5 • 12/12 • 1/4

16. Tickets Please • You will need to prepare five note cards for each discussion- these will serve as your “admission ticket” to your seminar. • If you do not have your note cards fully prepared, you will not be admitted to the seminar (grr ...). • That means you will not receive your points for the note cards or the discussion! In other words, these are VERY important. The good news is that they are not difficult to prepare.

17. Notecards • 1 & 2: Significant Events • Front: page number and the first sentence of a significant passage • Back: (choose one) • A) a personal connection, • B) and ethical or social concern, or • C) something you found upsetting, disturbing, confusing. • 3: Mode of Discourse: • Choose one of the modes of discourse we have discussed (narration and description; comparison/contrast; process analysis; division and classification) and: • Front: write down example of mode of discourse (text or page number for reference) • Back: Answer: why did the author choose to use that mode? • 4: Author’s Style: • Front: quote or reference • Back: Answer: what is unique about this author’s style? • Suggestions: use of dialogue, pace of novel, chronology, setting, character development, tone, point of view, author’s opinion of his characters • 5: Will be blank, as it will be used during the seminar.

18. Seminar Discussion • You will have the entire period to discuss what you have read. • During this time you should: • Share your note cards. Go around the group, one at a time, and ask everyone to read one of their note cards. The group will then discuss what the person has shared. • Continue taking turns until either the class period is over, or you have all run out of note cards (four rounds!) • Your ‘blank’ note card should be used to either: • make note of something you found particularly insightful • write down an idea or question for further research • Once the group has finished their discussion, check to make sure all group members are at approximately the same point in their reading, and that the original choice of the ‘next book’ is still valid.

19. 2nd Task • Once you have chosen a seminar, you and your group members need to create a schedule. • Include: • List of titles to be read • Discussion dates for each title • Where the group should be in each book by the date of discussion (finished? Halfway?)

20. Part I- checkpoints and quizzes Grading

21. Progress Checks • Book Check • do you have your book, are you reading it? (you should have your book EVERY DAY, by the by) • Quick-Quizzes • AP Multiple Choice questions over rhetorical devices • Ticket Out of Class • Short-answer (OER style) connecting your reading to things we have learned in class (ex: Modes of Discourse, Rhetorical Devices, etc.) • Vocabulary Quizzes • Chosen from Word of the Day, Rhetorical Devices, and context vocabulary from your reading • Note Cards • From seminar discussion- will be checked before each discussion, and are included in your knowledge folder

22. Part II- Papers Grading

23. iSearch Paper • Choose a topic, issue, or event from your reading that you would like to know more about. • This could be anything : ex: What was so special about Shelby cars? How do people from Singapore adapt their culture when they come to America? • The report will have five sections, asking you to discuss not only the topic you researched, but also the process you used in conducting your research.

24. iSearch Paper-Due Dates • Rough Draft for peer editing: December 8 • Final Draft, with cover sheet and rough draft included, due by December 13th. • Both drafts must be printed out at due date.

25. Seminar Review Paper • You will be asked to write a paper discussing the way the books you have read have affected or changed your understanding of the seminar theme you have chosen. • Paper will be assigned after Winter Break.

26. Reflections Paper • This will be a one-period cold write asking you to reflect on your experience in the seminar. • Conducted after Winter Break.

27. Reminder • Completion of 40 points of books is necessary to receive full credit on ALL major grade assignments. • iSearch paper • Reflections paper • Knowledge Folder • The number of points you fall short x 10 is the number of points that will be removed from EACH major grade at the end of the seminar should you not complete the appropriate readings. • I will consider extra credit for going over 40 points if you can demonstrate that the extra book added depth to your understanding

28. Knowledge Folder

29. Purpose • This major-grade assignment is intended to help you track and understand significant features and themes of the novels being studied. • It is an individual project, but feel free to ‘compare notes’ with other students.

30. Contents • Front of Folder: collage that is representative of the books • Inside folder: two-page spread for each book analyzing elements of the novel including plot, characters, literary devices, theme, and more! • Back of Folder: Reflection on the meaning of the seminar

31. Front of Folder • Collage-style representation of books you and your group have read. • Must Include: • Titles and Authors • Pictures that are representative of the story • Suggested inclusion: • Favorite line or quote from each book

32. Inside • Each folder will have a two-page spread dedicated to each book you read. • You have been given two legal-sized folders. This allows for three books. If your seminar includes more than three books, I can provide you with an extra. • I will not provide replacement folders- you’ll have to get those on your own if something happens to the folders I gave you.

33. Inside Contents- pg. 1 • Title and its significance • MLA Citation • Statement of Theme: including • a quote • the context of the quote • how the quote is related to the theme. • Connection to the Seminar’s Theme • Seminar Discussion Notes • Plot Synopsis: includes • major events • Climax • resolution. • 3 ‘Level’ questions about the book: • Level 1: recall/general knowledge • Level 2: interpretation of something in the book • Level 3: larger theme, connects to topics outside of the book

34. Inside Contents- pg. 2 • Point of View and its significance • Setting: • Time • Place • Significance • Social setting

35. Inside Contents- pg. 2 • Major Characters (3): including • changes they go through: how do they develop? • their motivation why do they do the things they do? • their function in the story what purpose does the character serve? • the narrator’s opinion does the narrator paint the character in an overly negative or positive light? • and your reaction to the character how do you feel about the character? Do you dread it when he/she shows up?

36. Inside Contents- pg. 2 • Literary Devices: • Choose three rhetorical or literary devices from each of the three columns on your CE assignment sheet. (Emphasis, Organization, Decoration) • For each device (total of 9): • Name of Device • Quote where it appears in the book • Function of the device- What is it doing? (NOT what is it?) • Significance: How does it help the story or the writing?

37. Inside Contents- pg. 2 • Author information: • Background: date of birth/death; nationality; living conditions; education; major world events or conditions going on at the time of writing, etc. • Letter to the Author*: • Mention one thing you liked • One thing you did not like • One question you have for the author • What has reading this book meant to you? *Must be letter-formatted in a properly addressed envelope. (address c/o publishing house)

38. Back Cover • Answer the following questions about your experience during the seminar using quotes from various readings • What does the theme of the seminar and/or a book you have read mean in terms of: • Your family • Your friends • Your community (local or national) • Your understanding of the human condition

39. So when am I going to get all of this accomplished? Time

40. Expected Schedule *dates subject to change • Nov. 18: Reading Day, Quiz • Thanksgiving Break • Week of Nov. 28 (3-2): • Mon: Reading Day, Quiz • Tues: Seminar Discussion #1 (CE Assignment Due) • Wed: intro iSearch paper, Reading Day, Quiz • Thurs: Timed Writing: Author’s Purpose • Fri: KF check, Quiz, reading day • Week of Dec. 5 (3-3): • Mon: Seminar Discussion Day 2 • Tues: Reading Day, Quiz (CE Assignment Due) • Wed: iSearch paper rough draft due, peer editing, Quiz • Thurs: Timed Writing: Comparison/Contrast • Fri: KF check, Quiz, reading day • Week of Dec. 12 (3-4): • Mon: Seminar Discussion Day 3, iSearch paper due • Tues: Reading Day, Quiz (CE Assignment Due) • Wed: KF check, Reading Day, Quiz • Thurs: Timed Writing: Author’s Style • Fri: reading day (early release) • Winter Break • Week of Jan. 2 (3-5): • Mon: Holiday • Tues: Reading Day, Quiz • Wed: Seminar Discussion Day 4 • Thurs: Reading Day, Quiz • Fri: KF work Day • Week of Jan. 9 (3-6)/Finals: • Mon: KF Due • Tues: Timed Writing: Reflections Paper • Wed: Seminar Review Paper assigned • Thurs: Work on Seminar Review Paper/ Final Exam vocab • Fri: Seminar Review Paper due Please note: you will only have 7 major grades this six weeks. Last six weeks you had 11. This means each of them counts for more than you are accustomed to, and a 70 (or lower) hurts more.