Independent Reading Project
English 9D
Gealy
As part of this differentiated English class, each of you is required to read an approved work of literature outside the curriculum. Your book must be more than 200 pages longand chosen from the list I provide you. The East High media center has an impressive collection of classics, as do all of the Lincoln City Libraries. If the East Library does not have the title you are looking for, they can request it from another of the Lincoln public schools and have it delivered here. Just don’t forget to renew your book every three weeks to avoid fines!
Sign-Up for a Book Conference
Later this semester, you will schedule a conference with me, when you will lead me through a discussion of the book you read. You must have your book completed before you conference.The conference will last roughly twenty minutes, be held before school, after school,or at lunch, and give you the opportunity to tell me all about the book you read. It is your responsibility to sign-up for a conference and to have your book completed and your book-talk prepared before the date you schedule.
The Conference
Think of it as an informal oral exam if you’d like, or think of it as a chance to discuss literature, but remember that it is your job to read the book and prepare material to guide us through a twenty-minute discussion.A sign-up sheet will be posted before the end of the week next week. Because of the number of 9D students, the conferences will be spread over several weeks. This means, that some of you will need to complete your book by mid-November, while others won’t need to be finished until early December.
The Response Paper and the Outline
You must come to the conference prepared to lead a discussion. To help with that, you typeand bring with youa response paper of at least a page in length, single-spaced. The response paper is a reasonably detailed summary of the book (think setting, characters, plot, mood, conflict(s), themes, etc), and a description of your response to the book (What did you like? What did you not like? What was challenging? Etc. Explain). In addition to this summary and response, you will type an outline of the ideas you plan to discuss with me during your conference. Discussion topics to consider for your outline: A brief summary of the book; what you enjoyed and didn’t enjoy, or what you found the most difficult or confusing; questions you have about the book that you would like me to answer; or questions that the book wants the reader to ask about the world. Your outline is the roadmap of the discussion you will guide me through, so plan accordingly. It is better to have too many potential ideas to discuss and not get to them all, than to come up short and have ten minutes left. Bring both of these with you to guide you in your conference, and to leave with me when your conference is complete. They are due on the date of your conference.