Wow, it's been such a long time!!! Your next entry is due Friday, April 17th.
Goal: to use a link
Model: there are 2 models from readingrants.org posted on the main page of our blog. You can get there by scrolling through the main page or clicking here. Read them carefully because the better blog entries will be structured more like hers.
How-To: Using the book you are currently reading, create a summary of what you have read so far and link to information you believe is important or of interest to your reader. See what she does and do it!
* You may choose to write about a book you just finished if you would prefer.
Your first comment! It is due Thursday morning, January 22nd.
- Choose an entry to read--
- you can read the Best Book entry of a friend
- you can read the Best Book entry written about a book you have read
- you can randomly pick and entry you believe is written well
- Read this entry carefully. Make some personal assessments about it:
- is the grammar ok (mostly)?
- does the writer give you enough information about the book and why it was chosen as the best book read in 2014?
- does the writer draw you in with his or her voice, or does it sound like it was just done to be finished
- Comment. You ARE NOT grading the writing. You ARE NOT criticizing the entry.
- your comment will be at least 5 sentences long
- you CAN tell the writer you wish there was more information in the entry bc you are confused or want to know more
- you CAN make a connection between the book in the entry and another book you have read-- perhaps offering that book in your comments as a "must read"
- you CAN give your own thoughts on this book if you have also read it. You can comment on your favorite character or favorite part. You can respond.
- you CAN NOT comment on grammar or sentence structure unless it hinders your comprehension of the entry
Topic for Week of January 12th-- Blog entry due Friday, Jan. 16th.
Best Book of 2014
This entry asks you to return to all the books you have read in 9th grade in 2014 (last semester) in order to choose 1 that you think was the best one you read. You will write about that best book.
- How did you decide which book to write about?
- What is the plot of the book? Be specific and tell the story, but don't give too much away in case someone wants to read it.
- Describe what, specifically, you liked the best about this book. It can be more than one thing.
- What part of the book will stick with you long after you have read this book (what will you remember next year?) Explain it clearly.
- Add a graphic, or a video-- SOMETHING that visually demonstrates you connection. If using an image, use the caption to cite your source.
Click here for my entry about Anthony Horowitz's novel The House of Silk.
Topic for Week of November 10th-- Blog entry due Friday, November 14th.
This week's blog entry will have you finding all kinds of connections to the book you are currently reading, or the book you MOST RECENTLY completed.
- Give some information about the book itself-- share the title and the author, give a brief summary of the book to the point at which you are now.
- Why did you choose this book? Did someone recommend it? Was a friend reading it? Did you like the cover? etc. You will accomplish this bullet when you have at least 4 full sentences-- a good, solid paragraph, not just a sentence.
- What connections do you see emerging between a character or idea in the book and either the world around you (political, social, ideological, etc) or something else with which you are familiar. DO NOT MAKE A PERSONAL CONNECTION
- Thoroughly explain your connection-- give it at least a solid paragraph.
- Then add multi-media to further demonstrate your connection-- if your connection is to a song, add the YouTube video. If it is to a picture, include the picture (cite the source). A PIC OF THE COVER IS NOT MULTI-MEDIA OR A CONNECTION.
Topic for Week of September 29th-- Blog entry due Friday, October 3rd.
This week you will write about SETTING. Again, you do not have to be finished reading the book to write this entry. You may also decide to write this entry about the last book you finished. Note: you can only write about a finished book once.
Begin by explaining where (specifically) and when (roughly) your book is set.
Describe the world in which your character lives-- use at least 3 of the five senses
Think about your character and how he or she fits into the setting (environment). Does he fit in comfortably with his job and money and role in society? Does she seem to always get the short end of the stick-- someone who is outcast because of not fitting into some aspect of society? Write about it using at least 1 specific scene from the book. Setting can be broken down into smaller units such as the school or at work if you need to.
Finally, make a prediction. Based on what you have read and what you can infer, what do you suppose will happen next? Explain your reasoning.
If you are writing about a book you have finished, think about what you think would be next for this character? What do you think would happen in his or her life after everything in the book happened?
You can find my entry for the week about Soulless, by Gail Carriger, here.
Topic for Week of September 8th-- Blog entry due Friday, September 12th
For your first blog entry topic, you will write about CHARACTER. You do not have to be finished reading the book to write this entry. You do have to be at least 20 pages into the book, however. Get reading!!!
- Why, specifically, do you like (or dislike) this character?
- Use a piece of text from the novel that describes the character or shows something you liked.
- Refer to at least 2 specific scenes in which your character is involved so you can talk intelligently about why you like (or dislike) this character.
- Make a connection between this character and another character s/he is like from another book you have read. Why did you make this particular connection?
