Accelerated Reader Instructions for Ms. Weiss (Ar) & Book List (2016-2017)

ACCELERATED READER INSTRUCTIONS FOR MS. WEISS (AR) & BOOK LIST (2016-2017)

This program's main goal is to motivate students to read voraciously and to read material that is increasingly challenging. Furthermore, this program helps students to track comprehension levels. It lets me know too!

Students are given a screen name and may log on to take reading quizzes as soon as they finish a book. Each book has a point value based on the length of the book (word length) and the difficulty of the book. Please note that the reading level is NOT the interest level. (Example: The Face on the Milk Carton has a reading level assignment of 4.8 but would NOT be appropriate for your little fourth-grade brother.) Students strive to reach the point goal for each trimester as they read, read, read.

For now, these are the number of points I have come up with as a goal. The points do NOT go back to zero each trimester. They will accumulate.

GRADING SYSTEM:

Trimester 1 Goal: 20

Trimester 2 Goal: 60

Trimester 3 Goal: 100

*Students receive percentage based on points accumulated, up to 100%

Important Rules:

1. Take the quiz soon after finishing your book.

2. Do not discuss quiz questions with anyone.

3. You may only take a quiz for a book you have read since July 1, 2016. (Honor system!)

4. Once you begin taking a quiz, you must finish the quiz.

5. You may not "try again" once you have taken a quiz.

6. HINT: Check to see that AR has the quiz/book that you want before beginning to read.

7. HINT: Check the reading level in AR before beginning a book that you plan to quiz yourself on.

8. Only take one test if there is a line of people waiting to get on a computer for AR.

9. Do not stand near anyone who is taking an AR test as this may be perceived as CHEATING!

ALTERNATIVE ASSIGNMENT (MINI-ESSAY)

1st Paragraph: Give a brief summary of the book (5-7 sentences)

2nd Paragraph: Analyze one of the characters from the novel. Explain how you could or could not relate to that character.

3rd Paragraph: Recommend the novel to your friends (or not.) Why or why not would you recommend this novel? Explain its merits and/or its deficiencies. Thumbs up? Thumbs down? And WHY?

Alternative assignments can only be handed in if you have FAILED the test on the computer first. You can still get credit for a book you read if you fail the test by doing the alternative assignment.

A. Print out a report that shows you failed the quiz on AR

B. Print out the ARBookFind Point Proof

C. Attach Mini-Essay

D. Staple all 3 together, in this order, top to bottom, and place your name, date, period in upper right corner of top paper (quiz fail proof). Turn in at end of trimester on AR Due Date, which, at present, is TBA.

Science Fiction

Author: / Douglas Adams
Title: / Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Description: / This cult classic of humorous science fiction features satire, word play, and wacky characters.

Author: / M.T. Anderson
Title: / Feed
Description: / It's consumerism gone mad in this futuristic society where people connect to the Internet via feeds implanted in their brains.

Author: / Jennifer Armstrong
Title: / The Kindling
Description: / Teenagers must care for the younger kids after a virus wipes out their memories and kills all adults.

Author: / Hilari Bell
Title: / A Matter of Profit
Description: / Can Ahvren figure out who wants to murder the Emperor?

Author: / Marion Zimmer Bradley
Title: / Exile's Song
Description: / Margaret remembers almost nothing of her past, until she returns to Darkover and her latent psychic powers are awakened.

Author: / Nancy Butts
Title: / The Door in the Lake
Description: / Joey mysteriously disappears one night and returns two years later, the same age, with memories of an alien presence.

Author: / Orson Scott Card
Title: / Ender's Game
Description: / In a world decimated by alien attacks, the government trains young geniuses like Ender Wiggin in military strategy.

Author: / Peter Dickinson
Title: / Eva
Description: / After a terrible accident, Eva wakes up to find she has been given the body of a chimpanzee.

Author: / Lois Duncan
Title: / A Gift of Magic
Description: / Nancy has ESP, but finds it hard to control.
Call Number: / YP F Duncan

Author: / Sylvia Louise Engdahl
Title: / Enchantress from the Stars
Description: / Elana arrives on primitive planet Andrecia to study its society, but soon becomes involved in saving it from invasion.

X.

Author: / Nancy Farmer
Title: / The House of the Scorpion
Description: / Humans and clones populate a corrupt drug empire located between the United States and Mexico.

Author: / Mel Gilden
Title: / Pumpkins of Time
Description: / Fourteen-year-old Myron finds that he has become very interesting to a menacing alien from outer space.

AA.

BB.

Author: / Alison Goodman
Title: / Singing the Dogstar Blues
Description: / In this novel set in futuristic Australia, Joss gets to learn about the past firsthand--through time travel!

CC.

DD.

Author: / Margaret Peterson Haddix
Title: / Among the Hidden
Description: / Born third when having more than two children per family is illegal, Luke has always lived in hiding.

EE.

FF.

Author: / Monica Hughes
Title: / Invitation to the Game
Description: / Lisse and her friends are unemployable after graduation, since most jobs are done by machines. Then they discover the Game.

GG.

HH.

Author: / Madeleine L'Engle
Title: / A Wrinkle In Time
Description: / Three children travel through space and battle an evil power to find their missing physicist father.

II.

JJ.

Author: / Sonia Levitin
Title: / The Cure
Description: / A sixteen-year-old boy living in 2407 collides with the past when he finds himself in plague-stricken Strasbourg in 1348.

KK.

LL.

Author: / Lois Lowry
Title: / The Giver
Description: / In a futuristic world of no suffering, twelve-year-old Jonas learns the terrible truth about his society.

MM.

NN.

Author: / Anne McCaffrey
Title: / Dragonsong
Description: / Fifteen-year-old Menolly runs away to live among the fire lizards when her parents forbid her to use her musical talents.

OO.

PP.

Author: / Garth Nix
Title: / Shade's Children
Description: / The future is bleak: everyone over the age of thirteen is turned into a hunting machine or food.

RR.

Author: / Susan Price
Title: / Sterkarm Handshake
Description: / Andrea travels through a time tunnel from present day back to the sixteenth century.

SS.

TT.

Author: / Philip Reeve
Title: / Mortal Engines
Description: / In the distant future, when cities move about and consume smaller towns, two teens are on the run.

UU.

VV.

Author: / Sharon Shinn
Title: / Jenna Starborn
Description: / Harvested from the gen-tanks of Baldus as an infant, Jenna now seeks her destiny in this retelling of Jane Eyre.

WW.

XX.

Author: / Arthur Slade
Title: / Dust
Description: / Children are disappearing but no one is talking about it. What evil is taking root in this small Canadian town?

YY.

ZZ.

Author: / Stephanie S. Tolan
Title: / Welcome to the Ark
Description: / Miranda, Doug, Taryn, and Elijah discover their minds have powers they could never have imagined.

AAA.

BBB.

Author: / Vivian Vande Velde
Title: / Heir Apparent
Description: / While Giannine is playing a total immersion virtual reality game, the equipment is damaged. She must win--or die!

CCC.

DDD.

Author: / Nancy Werlin
Title: / Double Helix
Description: / Eli discovers a shocking secret about his family while working for a scientist whose specialty is genetic engineering.

EEE.

FFF.

Author: / Jane Yolen
Title: / The Devil's Arithmetic
Description: / Hannah resents her Jewish heritage until time travel places her in the middle of a concentration camp.

GGG.

HHH.

Author: / Timothy Zahn
Title: / Dragon and Thief: A Dragonback Adventure
Description: / When a spaceship crashes near Jack's hiding place, with one survivor, his life is changed forever.

III. Beagle, Peter S. Giant Bones.
New tales of magic and adventure in six fantasy novellas by the author of “The Last Unicorn.”

JJJ. Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451.
Classic, harrowing, futuristic tale of the burning of books. Title refers to the temperature at which paper ignites.

KKK. Cooney, Caroline B. Prisoner Of Time.
Attempting to break free from the oppression of women in the nineteenth century, sixteen-year-old Devonny steps through time hoping to find the power to change her fate.

LLL. Coville, Bruce. ed. Glory Of Unicorns.
Twelve enchanting stories by such authors as Nancy Varian Berberick, Gregory Maguire, and Katherine Colville, about unicorns in both mythical and contemporary settings.

MMM. Cormier, Robert. Fade.
The ability to disappear at will is passed down from Uncle to Nephew in alternate generations for the Moreaux family. The latest "fader" considers it the ideal way to get away with murder.

NNN. Doyle, Debra. Groogleman.
When thirteen-year-old Dan journeys to the Dead Lands to rescue the village healer kidnapped by the groogleman, he discovers strange things about himself and the world.

OOO. Nix, Garth. Shade's Children.
In a savage post-nuclear world, four young fugitives attempt to overthrow the bloodthirsty rule of the Overlords with the help of Shade, their mysterious mentor.

PPP. Peak, Richard. Lost In Cyberspace.
While dealing with changes at home, sixth grader Josh and his friend Aaron use the computer at their New York City prop school to ravel through time.

QQQ. Shusterman, Neal. Dark Side Of Nowhere.
Fourteen-year-old Jason faces an identity crisis after discovering that he is the son of aliens who stayed on Earth following a botched invasion mission.

RRR. Teller, Astro. Exegesis.
An exchange of E-mail tells the tale of Edgar, an insatiable curious computer program who very much resembles a real developing human being.

SSS. Mystery

TTT.

UUU. · Mel Glenn. Who Killed Mr. Chippendale

VVV. · Peter Hautmann. Mr. Was

WWW. · Daniel Hayes. Flyers

XXX. · Rob MacGregor. Hawk Moon

YYY. · Willo Davis Roberts. Twisted Summer

ZZZ. Clark, Mary Higgins. Pretend You Don't See Her.
Lacey Farrell, a New York real estate agent, witnesses a murder and is relocated to Minneapolis. The killer traces her whereabouts when she makes phone calls to her mother.

AAAA. Cooney, Caroline. The Terrorist.
Laura, an American student living in London, tries to find the person responsible for the death of her younger brother Billy who has been killed by a terrorist bomb.

BBBB. Dexter, Catherine. I Dream of Murder.
Avery has recurring dreams and memories of an unsolved murder he witnessed years before. Suspenseful thriller with a scary villain.

CCCC. Glenn, Mel. The Taking Of Room 114 - A Hostage Drama In Poems.
Who is holding the senior graduating class hostage and why?

DDDD. Hobbs, Will. Ghost Canoe.
While fishing with the Makah in the Pacific Northwest, Nathan finds himself holding a vital clue when a mysterious stranger comes to town looking for Spanish treasure.

EEEE. Hoh, Diane. Blindfold.
Maggie Keene discovers a horrible secret buried in the courthouse basement when her mother is hired to restore the old building.

FFFF. Korman, Gordon. Something Fishy At MacDonald Hall.
Just as the headmaster of MacDonald Hall is on the verge of retirement, a wave of practical jokes hits the school and roommates Bruno and Boots become suspects.

GGGG. Nixon, Joan Lowery. Murdered, My Sweet.
Jenny and her mother hunt a killer while fearing for their safety after the reading of their millionaire cousin's will leads to the murder of another cousin.

HHHH. Nixon, Joan Lowery. Spirit Seeker.
Holly Campbell's life becomes a nightmare when her friend Cody's parents are found murdered and Cody is the prime suspect.

IIII. Sleator, William. The Beasties.
Why are the Beasties taking body parts? What are they doing with them?

JJJJ. 1999 Edgar Award Best Young Adult Mystery Book Winner and Nominees

KKKK. Winner: The Killer's Cousin, by Nancy Werlin
Nominated:
Finn, by Katharine Jay Bacon
The Maze, by Will Hobbs
Paperquake, by Kathryn Reiss
For Mike, by Shelley Sykes

LLLL. 1998 Edgar Award Best Young Adult Mystery Book Winner and Nominees

MMMM. Winner: Ghost Canoe, by Will Hobbs
Nominated:
Tangerine, by Edward Bloor
Yesterday's Child, by Sonja Levitin
Thin Ice, by Marsha Qualey
Deal with a Ghost, by Marilyn Singer

NNNN. 1997 Edgar Award Best Young Adult Mystery Book Winner and Nominees

OOOO. Winner: Twisted Summer by Willo Davis Roberts

PPPP. 1996 Edgar Award Best Young Adult Mystery Book Winner and Nominees

QQQQ. Winner: Prophecy Rock by Rob MacGregor
Nominated:
Spying on Miss Muller by Eve Bunting
In the Middle of the Night by Robert Cormier
Angel's Gate by Gary Crew
Spirit Seeker by Joan Lowery Nixon

RRRR. 1995 Edgar Award Best Young Adult Mystery Book Winner and Nominees

SSSS. Winner: Toughing It by Nancy Springer
Nominated:
Poison by Alane Ferguson
Shadowmaker by Joan Lowery Nixon
The Midnight Club by Christopher Pike
Pale Phoenix by Kathryn Reiss

TTTT. 1994 Edgar Award Best Young Adult Mystery Book Winner and Nominees

UUUU. Winner: THE NAME OF THE GAME WAS MURDER by Joan Lowery Nixon
Nominated:
STRANGE OBJECTS by Gary Crew
HELP WANTED by Richie Tankersley Cusick
CLASS TRIP by Bebe Faas Rice
SILENT WITNESS by Patricia H. Rushford

VVVV. 1993 Edgar Award Best Young Adult Mystery Book Winner and Nominees

WWWW. Winner: A LITTLE BIT DEAD by Chap Reaver
Nominated:
BREAKING THE FALL by Michael Cadnum
THE ONE WHO CAME BACK by Joann Mazzio
THE WEEKEND WAS MURDER by Joan Lowery Nixon
THE HIGHEST FORM OF KILLING by Malcolm Rose

XXXX. 1992 Edgar Award Best Young Adult Mystery Book Winner and Nominees

YYYY. Winner: THE WEIRDO by Theodore Taylor
Nominated:
CALLING HOME by Michael Cadnum
WE ALL FALL DOWN by Robert Cormier
SCARFACE by Peter Nelson
THE CHRISTMAS KILLER by Patricia Windsor