Independent+Reading

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Each student will read four books of their choosing, one book per quarter in CyberEnglish9. The first two books must be from the fiction genre, the second two books, if so desired, may be from the nonfiction genre. =Blog = Write five posts of 200 to 300 words. Be sure to post while you are reading the book. Do not wait until you have finished the book. Posts Options: You may mix and match between these two.   Independent Reading Blog Rubric  =Book Talk = What is a book talk? Think of a book talk as being similar to a movie trailer or movie preview. Its purpose is to sell the book to a small or large group. This can be done in three different ways: book talk, photo story and podcast. Each student will create four book talks, one of each type listed below and a final one of your choosing.
 * 1) Use twenty questions about literature list to prompt responses.
 * 2) Cite a short passage from your book and respond to it.

Book Talk
 Book Talk Rubric 
 * 1) You need to have the book as a visual prop during your book talk.
 * 2)  <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">Tell your audience the name of the book and the author.
 * 3) <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">Give a brief description of the main characters in the story so that your listeners understand who you are talking about when summarizing the plot.
 * 4) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">Describe enough of the plot to attract your listeners. Focus on highlighting the most interesting points of the book. However, do not give away major scenes or the ending.
 * 5) <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">Read one long or two short passages from the book to your listeners. Think of this as showing your audience a scene from the movie you are promoting. So choose passages that grab your audience’s attention and draw their interest. Try leaving the audience with a cliffhanger, always keep them wanting more!
 * 6) <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman'mso-ansi-language; text-align: left;">Each book talk will be given orally in front of the class and only needs to be about three to five minutes in length. You will need to fill out the Book Talk Script beforehand so that you do not forget anything. Please see my sample script. As always, these documents are also located at Ms. Degenhardt’s English Classroom.
 * 7) <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">At the conclusion of your book talk please rank the book. Use a five star system, five stars being the best you have ever read, one being the worst. Give a reason for your rating.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; text-align: left;">Photo Story
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msobidilanguage: AR-SA; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msofareastlanguage: EN-US;">
 * 1) <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">Show your audience the name of the book and the author. Through images show enough of the plot to attract your viewers. Include images that represent the important parts of the book without giving anything important away. Beware of copyright when using images off the Internet (look for the © mark). Music can also be copyrighted.
 * 2) <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">Your photo story is set to music. Also, include one long or two short passages from the book in your photo story. Think of this as showing your audience a scene to the movie you are promoting. So choose passages that grab your audience’s attention and draw their interest. Try leaving the audience with a cliffhanger, always keep them wanting more!
 * 3) <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">Each photo story will include a voiceover, which is your commentary about the book. Each voiceover only needs to be about three to five minutes in length. It is a good idea to write out what you are going to say to your audience before you begin recording your commentary. Describe enough of the plot to attract your listeners, focus on highlighting the most interesting points of the book. Just like with the visual images, do not give away the major scenes or the ending.
 * 4) <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">Each photo story will be presented to the class. At the conclusion of your presentation please rank the book. Use a five star system, five stars being the best you have ever read, one being the worst. Give a reason for your rating.
 * 5) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msobidilanguage: AR-SA; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msofareastlanguage: EN-US;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman'mso-ansi-language;">Make a link to (or embed) your Photo Story on your blog. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msobidilanguage: AR-SA; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msofareastlanguage: EN-US;">

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; text-align: left;">Podcast
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman'mso-ansi-language;"> =<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; text-align: left;">Assessment = <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">100 total (per quarter)
 * 1) <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">For your podcast recording you need to tell your audience the name of the book and the author.
 * 2) <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">Describe enough of the plot to attract your listeners, focus on highlighting the most interesting points of the book. However, do not give away the major scenes or the ending.
 * 3) <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">Give a dramatic reading of one long or two short passages from the book to your listeners. Think of this as showing your audience a scene to the movie you are promoting so choose passages that grab your audience’s attention and draw their interest. Try leaving the audience with a cliffhanger, always keep them wanting more!
 * 4) <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">Each podcast will be listened to in class as well as posted on your blog. Your completed podcast needs to be about three to five minutes in length. It is a good idea to write out what you are going to say before you begin recording.
 * 5) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msobidilanguage: AR-SA; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msofareastlanguage: EN-US;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">After presenting your podcast to the class, please rank the book. Use a five star system, five stars being the best you have ever read, one being the worst. Give a reason for your rating.
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">50 blog, 10 pts each
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">35 book talk
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">15 silent reading participation