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8thGradeEnglishSummerReadingAssignment2017PartI:CoreNovelAllstudentsmustread:IAmMalala:HowoneGirlStoodUpforEducationandChangedtheWorld(YoungReaders’Edition)byMalalaYousafzaiwithPatriciaMcCormickISBN:9781780622149“InthisyoungreaderseditionofYousafzai'sbest-sellingmemoir,theNobelPeacePrizewinnerretellsherexperiencesathomeandatschoolanddiscussestheimpactoftheTalibanpresenceinPakistan.Herstrongvoiceandidealscomeacrossoneverypage,emphasizinghowhersurroundingsandsupportivefamilyhelpedherbecometherelevantfiguresheistoday.Yousafzaihighlightstheimportanceofschoolandhowitwastheonlyspacewhereshefeltempowered....Yousafzaieffectivelysummarizesherstoryandheradvocacyforgirls'education,peace,andhumanrights.Aboveall,shestressesthatshedoesn'twanttobeknownasthegirlshotbytheTalibanbutratherasayoungpersonwhoactivelyfoughtforeducation.“SchoolLibraryJournalAssignment:YouwillalsokeepadialecticaljournalofyourresponsetoIAmMalalaasyouread.Detailedinstructionsforthisassignmentareincluded.PARTII:SelecttwochoicenovelsfromlistYouwillalsoreadtwonovelsfromthefollowinglist.Youwillgiveabriefbooktalkabouteachoneofyourselectionsduringclassthefirstweekofschool.ChooseTWOofthenovelsfromthislisttoreadinadditiontotheCoreNovel:TheNightGardenerbyJonathanAuxierFootballGeniusbyTimGreenTheBoywhoSavedBaseballbyJohnRitter MissPeregrine’sHomeforPeculiarChildrenbyRansomRiggs TrueGritbyCharlesPortisJaneEyrebyCharlotteBronte(challenge)UnbrokenbyLauraHillenbrandTheHelpbyKathrynStockettTheHobbitbyJ.R.R.Tolkien
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Your “Book Talk” assignment involves delivering a 2-minute book talk to the class about the novel you have read for independent reading. The object of a book talk is to convince the listener to read the book you are recommending. This book talk is essentially a persuasive speech to convince the listener that they should read a specific book. A book talk is very similar to a trailer for a film, which shows you just enough information to convince you that you should watch the movie You may use note cards to make your presentation. The book talk will cover the some elements of the novel, but you should focus much of your time on the plot and conflict of the novel. Introduction: Find an interesting, exciting, or mysterious quote to start off your presentation. This quote will get the reader’s attention. Don’t just pick any old quote… choose carefully and deliberately to try to capture the attention of the audience Also explain why you chose the quote.. Clearly introduce your book by giving the name and author of the book. Middle: The middle of the presentation will cover the setting, characters, and plot of the book without giving too much away of the story. Tell a little where the book is set, what kind of action or conflict is involved in the book, and what it is about in general. Mention the theme of the novel. Under no circumstances should you give away the ending of the novel. Do not just list the characters and the setting and don’t give a drawn out summary of the book. . Resolution: Without giving away the ending, convince the reader that you loved this book and that this is the book they want to read next. Highlight why you enjoyed the book and why others would as well. ***********************************************************************ENGLISH8:SUMMERREADINGASSIGNMENTDialecticaljournaldirectionsforcorenovel:Simplyput,adialecticaljournalismerelyadoubleentryjournal.Thepurposeofsuchajournalistoidentifyandconsiderimportantpassagesoftext.Itshouldbeusedtothinkabout,digest,summarize,question,clarify,critique,andrememberwhatisread.Itisawaytotakenotesonwhatisreadusingtheactualtext.Ineffect,youwillbeholdingadiscussionwithyourselfonkeypoints,askingquestions,andreactingtoparticularphrasesthatdrewyourattention.•Divideyourpaperintotwocolumns:
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Titletheleft-handcolumn“quotes”Titletheright-handcolumn“commentary”•Asyoureadyourbook,selectivelyhighlightpassagesofinteresttoyou.Marginnoteswillalsohelpyouwhenyouchooseyourpassages.Thisstepispartofyourgrade!Fromthesepassages,chooseonetofivesentencesthatseemsignificantormeaningfultoquoteintheleftcolumn.● Writethepagenumberinparenthesesaftereachquotedpassageyouselect.
● Assoonasyoutakeanote,movetotheright-handcolumnandwritefreely
whatyourmindsaysaboutthatquote.Listentoyourownthoughts.● Writeaquote;writeanote.Continueasyouread.
● Afterthreeorfourentries,stopandreflectonwhatyouhavediscovered.
● YourdialecticaljournalforIAmMalalamustcontainatleast18entries(one
foreverytwochapters,includingepilogue.Thetypesofentriesmayincludereactionstoevents,characterization,relationships,orsetting,oranyquestionsthatcometoyourmind.Youmayalsoincludepersonalreflectionsonthetextorconnectionsthatyouhavebeenabletomakebetweenwhatishappeningintheworkandyourownexperiences.Further,youmaywanttocommentontheauthor’suseofimagery,figurativelanguage,plotdevelopment,characterizationorpredictability.Finally,youmaywishtointerpretwhattheauthoristryingtosayinaparticularpassage.PleasereadafewentriesfromthemodelstudentexampleonthefollowingpagetomakesureyouunderstandtheexpectedformandcontentofyourjournalforIAmMalalaTypedjournalsarepreferred(Arialfont,11pt.;twocolumntable)● TITLEYOURJOURNALASFOLLOWSATTHETOPOFYOURFIRSTPAGE:
Name DateEnglish8
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Dialecticaljournal:IAmMalalabyMalalaYousafzai
STUDENTEXAMPLE:StudentX September1,2015DIALECTICALJOURNAL:UgliesbyScottWesterfied“TallylookedupatDr.Cable’scruelbeauty,....SherememberedallthetricksSpecialCircumstanceshadplayedonhertoday—howthey’dkeptherwaitingforanhourinthehospital,waitingandthinkingshewouldsoonbepretty,thebrutalflighthere,andallthecruelfacesinthehalls---andshedecided”(p.109).
IthinkthatthecruelbeautyoftheSpecialCircumstancespeoplefitsthemwell.Tallycan’thelpbutnoticetheirbeauty,buttheperfectfacescannothidetheircoldnessandinhumanity.TallywantstoresisttheirquestionsaboutShay,butwillshepayapriceforherdecision?
“Ashudderofreliefandexhaustionwentthroughher.Shehaditnow,anexcusetobreakhervow.She’dmadethatpromisetoPeris,justasreal,beforeshe’devermetShay.Shehadknownhimforyears,andShayforonlyafewmonths”(p.126).
Tallyistryingtojustifywhysheshouldgivein.Sheisn’tbeingthatgreatofafriendtoShay.Periswaskindtoherwhenshehadtheoperationcancelled,andthatwasniceasafriendwho’sa“pretty,”butsheisbetrayingShaywithahugesecret.Whatfor,anyways?Justsoshecanbepretty?Ithinkthat’sreallyselfish.
“Asthetributaryclimbeditswayintothemountains,thefieldsaroundherfilledwithflowers.Soonthebrilliantwhitebonnetswereasthickasgrass,drivingeveryothercolorfromthelandscape”(p.168).
Ithinkthewhitetigerorchidsareametaphor.Theylookbeautiful,butareactuallybad,messingupthewholeecosystemanddestroyingotherplants.IthinktheorchidsrepresentthecityTallylivesin;thelifethereseemswonderfulbecauseyougetamakeoverthattransformsyouandmakesyouextremelybeautiful,whileacoldgovernmentliesbehindtheglamour.
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“Halfwayaroundshereachedablackenedpatchwherethefirehadalreadypassed.Thebrittlestemsofflowerscrunchedunderhershoes,andtheheatcomingoffthescorchedearthstunghereyes”(p.173).“TheBosswasanoldugly.Tallyhadspottedafew(uglies)fromadistanceonthewayin,buthadmanagedtoturnhereyesaway.Butherewasthewrinkled,veined,discolored,shuffling,horrifictruth,rightbeforehereyes.Hismilkyeyesglaredatthenasheberatedwhoeverwasonthephone,inarattlingvoiceandwavingatthemtogoaway....‘Prettywild,huh?He’slike,forty!Waituntilyoutalktohim.’Tallyswallowed,tryingtoerasetheimageofhissaggingfeaturesfromhermind.Thesepeoplewereinsanetotoleratethat,towantit”(p.197).
Theauthorusesvividsensoryimagerytopaintacontrastbetweenthethickasgrasslandscapeofwhiteflowers,andthenafewpageslater,theblackenedscorchedearththatisleftbehindaftertheorchidsareburnedtocontroltheirrapidgrowth.ItwasfunnytoseeTally’shorrifiedreactiontoanormalforty-yearoldman,thinkinghewascompletelyugly.LaterwhensheandShaylookthrougholdmagazinesandseewhatpeopleusedtolooklike,shewondershowtheycouldsmileandlaughandnotbeashamedoftheir“deformities.”Sheisgladthatanorexiaasadiseasedoesn’texistbecausenoonehastoworryaboutgettingfat.Whatproblemswouldbesolvedifeveryonewasbeautifulandnoonewasoverweight?Whatnewproblemswouldbecreated?
REMINDER!“Putthelinefromthetextinquotes”(page).
Yourcommentshouldbeyourreaction,question,challengetothethought,oradvancethethoughtoftheauthor.ItshouldNOTREPEATorjustRESTATEwhattheauthorsaid.
● Don’tforgettoinsertpagenumbersintoyourdocument!
● Entriesmustbeinchronologicalorder.
● DUEonthesecondfulldayofclass(Monday),August21,2017
● Thisjournalwillbethebasisofourclassdiscussionofthebook,andwillcount
asatestgrade.
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ALLENTRIESMUSTBEYOUROWNORIGINALTHOUGHTS,WORKANDWRITING.ANYEVIDENCEOFPLAGIARISMORLACKOFAUTHENTICITYWILLRESULTINa“0”ONTHEASSIGNMENT!● Yourjournalwillbegradedaccordingtothefollowingrubric.
RubricforDialecticalJournals:GRADEPOINTS QUOTATIONS INTERPRETATION ANDPLOTDETAILS ANDRESPONSELevel4(90–100points)
Studentcopyofbookrevealsevidenceofeffectiveselectivehighlighting.(Step1)Well-chosenpassagesthatarespecificandmeaningfulCorrectlyformattedwithproperpunctuation.PagenumbercitedforeachquotationJournalcontainsatleast20entrieswithatleast18entriesofexcellentquality
Thoughtful,freshandinsightfulcomments;avoidsclichésIntelligentquestionsorpredictionsVariousliteraryelementsarediscussedthroughoutjournal:theme,pointofview,setting,figurativelanguage,imagery,author’sstyle,plot,characterization,conflict,etc.(EachresponsedoesNOThavetoincludeall)!ClearsyntaxandcorrectgrammarPrecisewording;richandfluentuseofvocabularyWriter’svoiceiscompellingandauthenticOpinionsaresupportedbycloseexaminationofthetext
Level3
Someespeciallywell-
Manyinterestingor
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(80–89points)
chosenpassagesFew,ifany,punctuationerrorsCorrectlyformatted;PagenumbercitedforeachquoteJournalcontains20entrieswithatleast15strongentries
insightfulcomments,questions,orpredictionsSomediscussionofvariousliteraryelements.Sentencestructureisclearwithprecisewording.Writer’svoiceisfreshandoriginalOpinionsarerelevantandclearlybasedonaclosereadingofthetext
Level2(70–79points)
SomeselectedpassagescarelesslychosenortakenoutofcontextNotenoughquoteddetailMinorpunctuationerrorsPagecitationsincomplete
Commentslackdepth;toogeneralorsimplisticLittlediscussionofliteraryelementsAwkwardsentencestructure;grammaticalerrorsthatinterruptflowVagueorconfusingwordinginplacesAttemptstosupportopinionswithtextualevidence
Level1(60–69points)
Incomplete/vaguequotesPoorlyselectedquotedpassagesErrorsintranscribing;incorrectformat
Commentstoovague,brief,general,orrandomLittletonodiscussionofliteraryelementsMeaningunclearduetopoorwordchoice;
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SeveralpunctuationerrorsPagecitationsmissingorincomplete
punctuationandgrammaticalerrors;run-ons,fragments,misspelledwords,etc.“Surfaceonly”ortriteresponse/Opinionslacksupportorrelevance
