Read an inclusive variety of written texts and record the reading experience

1. Read an inclusive variety of written texts and record the reading experience 12095 4 Credits Internally Assessed

2. This is very important and must be completed in a book all of it's own. The work will be handed in for assessment and is worth 4 Credits You must complete 9 Reviews

3. What types of texts can I read? • Reading an 'inclusive variety of texts' means that the texts selected should include a balance: • of text categories, including extended and shorter texts - our wide reading activity states that you should read at least five extended texts. • of cultural perspectives linked to New Zealand, to other countries and ethnicities • of texts and/or authors with established critical reputations • of texts that are written by both male and female writers, or feature characters or viewpoints from both genders.

4. If I'm reading short stories, do I have to read all the short stories in one collection; then write about several of them? For poetry or short stories, you need to read collections of short stories or poems. This could be several short texts that may be drawn from various sources, rather than from a single collection. The entry you write could be based on just one [or more] stories or poems.

5. Across the nine texts you select from various genre - such as fiction, non fiction, articles, poetry, web texts - is your selection at level 7 of the curriculum? • For example: • Pride and Prejudice': Pre 20C fiction • 'Daggers': fiction • 'I am Not Esther': NZ fiction • 'Closed, Stanger': NZ fiction • 'The Wait': short story from student writing anthology 'This Other Place' • 'Michael King' : Listener feature article • 'The last seven months of Anne Frank': non fiction • '8 Minutes': hyperfiction text, through English On Line • 'Feed': science fiction

6. Texts that are read aloud to the class can't be included as part of the wide reading programme. You must read all the texts yourself. You need to convince your teacher that you are reading texts and writing wide reading entries in an on going way. You should bring your current wide reading texts to class, as this helps your teacher keep in touch with your reading. For authenticity reasons, your written entries to texts should be presented as you finish each text throughout the year. Your teacher won't accept several wide reading entries later in the year without any checkpointing or on going contact with you beforehand about your wide reading. As a formal check that you have read texts recorded in your log, you'll discuss one text in detail with your teacher at some point in the year. You and your teacher might discuss incidents, characters, or ideas [or other relevant aspects] supported by specific references from the text.

7. Can I write plot summaries for my responses? Do I have to write the entries at all - could I just tell the teacher? • You should write your responses, giving your opinion on one or more aspects of each text. Check out these starters: • What point of view does the author hold on an idea or theme raised in text? What is your opinion on the author's view? • What links could you make between ideas in this text and either other texts you have read, or your own experience? • What did you learn from the text? • How did you react to an aspect of the text? (eg to an incident, or a scene, or setting, or narrative technique, or issue) • What aspects of a particular character interested you and why? • Your opinion must be supported by at least two relevant specific details from the text - a plot summary is not suitable. You could give two opinions focusing on different aspects of one text, then support each opinion with one relevant specific detail. The details used to support your opinions might include quotations, but that isn't a requirement.

8. Can I fail wide reading responses if they have too many spelling, punctuation and grammatical mistakes? While developing accuracy in using writing conventions is important in your English programme, wide reading doesn't assess the accurate use of conventions. Your teacher will assess each entry based on whether you've included a convincing opinion and two relevant specific supporting details which are based on an appropriate text. PLEASE NOTE: Your teacher may not be able to understand a badly written response that is difficult to understand because of mistakes.

9. What's all this about 'critical reputation?' Most books have this anyway. You need to provide some evidence [for two texts] that either the text has "literary merit" or that its author has been recognised. The most common method is a print out or photocopy from a reputable source where you have highlighted particular sections that indicate the text or the author has been appropriately acknowledged.

10. There is a variety of ideas you must take into consideration when completing this Unit Standard One or a combination of the components in this grid may help to place a text in terms of curriculum level. Use this grid when you talk with your teacher about the texts you are reading or plan to read. You should use your teacher as a 'sounding board' throughout the year to make sure that you've selected texts appropriate for curriculum level 7.

11. No credit Title: Pride and Prejudice Author: Jane Austen Type: Pre-20th Century Date finished: 22 March Personal response I found this book hard to read, not because of the words, but because of the story. The whole book was about finding a husband and a few scandals that went with it. The book was 400 pages of five females gossip, especially the mother the only thing she cared about was money, and being better than the neighbours. I thought it was a pathetic book and I didn't enjoy it all.

12. Credit Title Daggers Author Roger Green Type Fiction Date finished: 20 Feb This novel is about a girl called Caroline and her discovery of the 'family secret' when she goes to visit her Great Aunt who is on her death bed. I thought that the title for this book is quite misleading when looking at the text as a whole. When you first glance at the book you think it is going to be quite gruesome because of the title 'Daggers' and the picture of the bright red blood when really the 'daggers' refers to Caroline's 'deathly stares' that she inherited from her Great Aunt Clara and there is no actual deliberate murder in the book. I felt sorry for Caroline as her relationship with her father was not very close or strong. Throughout the book she refers to him as the 'fossil' and doesn't agree with her father's outlook on life as being money, money, money especially when he doesn't care if Aunt Clara dies because he knows that it will all go to him. When they are in the solicitor's office she describes him as 'an old faulty money bag himself. Soiled and soggy, ready to be chucked away.'

13. How should I Record What I have Read? You need to keep a log of your reading. Head the page with the date you finished reading the text, the title, the author, the text type and source if it has part of a bigger publication like a magazine article. You should have your current wide reading text with you in class. You need to keep a log of your reading. Make a list of the NINE texts using this log template.