ELA 9 Self-Selected Independent Reading Text Complexity Rubric

ELA 9

INDEPENDENT READING

NAME: PERIOD:

ELA 9 Self-Selected Independent Reading Text Complexity Rubric

Name: ______Period:______

Text: ______

Complexity Measure / Low
(1 point) / Moderate (2 points) / High
(3 points)
Complexity of Meaning: Does the book use or include complex literary elements? (i.e. satire, allegory, pun, symbolism, complex motif, technical/academic content?) Or does it seem more like a beach read?
Text Length: Low: 150 or less pages; Moderate: 150 – 200 pages; High: 200+ pages
Text Structure and Organization: Does the book appear to be organized or structure in a unique and perhaps challenging way? For example, does is appear to employ flashbacks, multiple perspectives, or be written in a non-traditional way?
Language Conventionality: Does the book have challenging vocabulary or historical language such as Elizabethan, Old English constructions, technical and/or academic vocabulary?
Background Knowledge: Do you have background knowledge on the topic, which would make the text easier to comprehend?
Reading/Lexile Level:*
Grades 2-3 (450-790 L)
Grades 4-5 (770-980 L)
Grades 6-8 (955-1155 L)
Grades 9-10 (1080-1305 L)
Grades 11-12 (1215-1355 L)
Challenging: Will this text challenge you?Challenging is determined by you comprehending about 75% of the text, while working to make meaning of the remaining 25%.
Interest Level: Does this text match your interests?
Complexity vs. Content: For example, is the text a lower Lexile book with adult content?
Awards: Did the book win any awards or earn any literary merits?
TOTAL ______/ 30

24-30 points: APPROPRIATE TEXT CHOICE

15-23 points: ACCEPTABLE TEXT CHOICE

8-14 points: RECONSIDER TEXT CHOICE

0-7 points: ELIMINATE TEXT CHOICE

*Lexile Level:

In order to determine a text’s Lexile Level, please visit . In addition, Barnes & Noble allows you to search for books based on Lexile Level at:

ELA 9 Independent Reading RecommendedTitles

This list is by no means an exhaustive collection of possible book selections for independent reading. Instead, it is merely a list of exemplary titles we have compiled based on our knowledge as language arts teachers and the challenging titles we observe students reading, which you may use to guide your independent reading choices.

Please note that there is only one example per author, so if you find a similarly-written and challenging title by the same author, feel free to read it.

Mystery/Thriller/Horror/Drama

Title / Author / Fiction/ Nonfiction
Runner / Carl Deuker / F
The Adoration of Jenna Fox / Mary E. Pearson / F
The Road / Cormac McCarthy / F
Sherlock Holmes: A Study in Scarlet / Arthur Conan Doyle / F
Endangered / Eliot Schrefer / F
Liar / Justine Larbalestier / F
It / Stephen King / F

Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Dystopian

Title / Author / Fiction/ Nonfiction
The Hobbit / J.R.R. Tolkien / F
Heart of Darkness / Joseph Conrad / F
Uglies / Scott Westerfield / F
Divergent / Veronica Roth / F
Matched / Ally Condie / F

Coming of Age/Relationships

Title / Author / Fiction/ Nonfiction
If I Stay / Gayle Forman / F
Tuesdays with Morrie / Mitch Albom / N
Marley & Me / John Grogan / N
The 5 People You Meet in Heaven / Mitch Albom / F
The Poisonwood Bible / Barbara Kingsolver / F
Angela’s Ashes / Frank McCourt / N
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time / Mark Haddon / F
Lord of the Flies / William Golding / F
Looking for Alaska / John Green / F
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children / Ransom Riggs / F
The Glass Castle / Jeanette Walls / N
The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian / Sherman Alexie / N/F
Me Talk Pretty One Day / David Sedaris / N
Why We Broke Up / Daniel Handler / F
Dreamland / Alyson Noel / F
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight / Jennifer E. Smith / F
Because I Am Furniture / Thalia Chaltas / F
The Pigman / Paul Zindel / F
Ishmael / Daniel Quinn / F
The Glass Menagerie / Tennessee Williams / F
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / Betty Smith / F
To the Lighthouse / Virginia Woolf / F
Siddhartha / Herman Hesse / F
Jane / April Lindner / F
A Prayer for Owen Meany / John Irving / F
Cold Sassy Tree / Olive Ann Burns / F
The Red Tent / Anita Diamant / F
The Perks of Being a Wallflower / Stephen Chbosky / F

Emotional Turmoil/Life Lessons

Title / Author / Fiction/ Nonfiction
Sold / Patricia McCormick / F
Crank / Ellen Hopkins / F
The Kite Runner / Khaled Hosseini / F
Tweak / Nic Sheff / N
Nineteen Minutes / Jodi Picoult / F
Before I Die / Jenny Downham / F
The Bell Jar / Sylvia Plath / N
Ordinary People / Judith Guest / F
The Lovely Bones / Alice Sebold / F
Bad Boy / Walter Dean Myers / N
Nothing / Janne Teller / F
Death of a Salesman / Arthur Miller / F
Home Front / Kristin Hannah / F
Dodger / Terry Pratchett / F
Hate List / Jennifer Brown / F
The Running Dream / Wendelin Van Drannen / F
Going Bovine / Libba Bray / F

Romance

Title / Author / Fiction/ Nonfiction
Water for Elephants / Sara Gruen / F
The Notebook / Nicolas Sparks / F
The Time Traveler’s Wife / Audrey Niffenegger / F
Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas / James Patterson / F
Lady Chatterley’s Lover / D.H. Lawrence / F

Sports

Title / Author / Fiction/ Nonfiction
Friday Night Lights / H. G. Bissinger / N
I Never Had It Made / Jackie Robinson / N
Million Dollar Throw / Mike Lupica / F
The Blind Side / Michael Lewis / N
Sandy Koufax / Matt Doeden / F

War/Survival/Historical Fiction

Title / Author / Fiction/ Nonfiction
Persepolis / Marjane Satrapi / N
Maus / Art Spiegelman / N
Jarhead / Anthony Swofford / N
No Easy Day / Mark Owen / N
Ghosts of War / Ryan Smithson / N
The Things They Carried / Tim O’Brien / F/N
Night / Elie Wiesel / N
The Dark Game: True Spy Stories / Paul Janeczko / N
Sarah’s Key / Tatiana de Rosnay / F
The Book Thief / Markus Zusak / F
127 Hours / Aron Ralston / N
A Stolen Life / Jaycee Dugard / N
Of Beetles and Angels / Selamawi Asgedom / N
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas / John Boyne / F
The Grapes of Wrath / John Steinbeck / F
The Life of Pi / Yann Martel / F
The Perfect Storm / Sebastian Junger / N
Soldier’s Heart / Gary Paulsen / F
Uncle Tom’s Cabin / Harriet Beecher Stowe / F
Between Shades of Gray / Ruta Sepetly / F
Salvage the Bones / Jesmyn Ward / F
Destined to Witness / Hans J. Massaquoi / N
Breaking Night / Liz Murray / N
Stolen / Lucy Christopher / F
To Book Thief / Markus Zusak / F
The Astonishing Life of Octavia Nothing / M. T. Anderson / F

Culture/Life Lessons

Title / Author / Fiction/ Nonfiction
Things Fall Apart / Chinua Achebe / F
The Bluest Eye / Toni Morrison / F
Cry, The Beloved Country / Alan Paton / F
The Joy Luck Club / Amy Tan / F
The Woman Warrior / Maxine Hong Kingston / NF
Falling Leaves / Adeline Yen Mah / NF
A Raisin in the Sun / Lorraine Hansberry / F
How to be an American Housewife / Margaret Dilloway / F
The Gathering / Anne Enright / F
The Women of Brewster Place / Gloria Naylor / F
In Darkness / Nick Lake / F

Miscellaneous Nonfiction

Title / Author / Fiction/ Nonfiction
The Tipping Point / Malcolm Gladwell / N
Columbine / Dave Cullen / N
Steve Jobs / Walter Isaacson / N
A History of the World in 10 ½ Chapters / Julian Barnes / N
Devil in the City / Erik Larson / N
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks / Rebecca Skloot / N

Miscellaneous Fiction

Title / Author / Fiction/ Nonfiction
Ahab’s Wife / Sena Jeter Naslund / F
The Sound and the Fury / William Faulkner / F
The Red Tent / Anita Diamant / F
Picture of Dorian Gray / Oscar Wilde / F

Additional lists of recommended titles

Hatboro-Horsham Library Guide for Young Adult Literature:

American Library Association’s Best Fiction for Young Adults

Alex Award Winners

Printz Award Winners

Independent Reading Book Talk
20 points

Now that you are finished reading your two (or more) independent reading books for the quarter, your job is the share one of these books (your favorite of them) with the class. Your book talk should demonstrate thorough and thoughtful understanding of the book as well as the meaningful connections you made with characters, events, or themes.

You are required to include the following information in our book talk:

A brief synopsis/summary of the book
(just enough to entice your classmates, but don’t give away the ending) -2 POINTS

A short reading from your book (a few paragraphs that will give us a sense of the style of your book)- 2 POINTS

The reasons why you liked the book
(BE SPECIFIC. Don’t just say, “Because it was good.”)-2 POINTS

A connection you made with your book (BE SPECIFIC. “I couldn’t connect because I’m not like the character.” Is not a acceptable response.)-2 POINTS

Who you would recommend this book to and why
(BE SPECIFIC. “Everyone” is not acceptable unless you truly mean everyone.) -2 POINTS

In addition, you will be held accountable for having effective public speaking skills! So please be prepared!

Name:______Date:______Period:____

Book Talk Outline #1

Directions: Use this outline to help you prepare for your book talk presentation

I. Give a Summary of your book

What is the book title? Why do you think it was given this title?

List the main characters/people in your book, what you imagined them to look like, and their personality traits:

List the main events/facts in your book in order (remember not to give away the ending):

1st event/fact =

2nd event/fact =

3rd event/fact =

4th event/fact =

II. Explain at least one thing you liked about the book

What did you like about your book? (genre, topic, style, etc.)

2. Pick a short passage (1-2 paragraphs) that demonstrates why you like it. Mark the page # and write it down here. PAGE # ______

III. Connections

1. What about your book could you specifically connect to? (Remember connect it to yourself, other books, things studied in school, TV/movies, music, etc.)

IV. Recommendation

1. Who do you recommend this book to? Why? (Be specific)

2. What age group is your book appropriate for? Why?

3. Is their a type of person or age group this book is not appropriate for? Why?

V. Letter Essay

1. Email your letter essay to Mrs. Small on the day you give your speech by the start of class. Include your first and last name, book title and author’s name in the subject line of your email.

Name:______Date:______Period:____

Book Talk Outline #2

Directions: Use this outline to help you prepare for your book talk presentation

I. Give a Summary of your book

What is the book title? Why do you think it was given this title?

List the main characters/people in your book, what you imagined them to look like, and their personality traits:

List the main events/facts in your book in order (remember not to give away the ending):

1st event/fact =

2nd event/fact =

3rd event/fact =

4th event/fact =

II. Explain at least one thing you liked about the book

What did you like about your book? (genre, topic, style, etc.)

2. Pick a short passage (1-2 paragraphs) that demonstrates why you like it. Mark the page # and write it down here. PAGE # ______

III. Connections

1. What about your book could you specifically connect to? (Remember connect it to yourself, other books, things studied in school, TV/movies, music, etc.)

IV. Recommendation

1. Who do you recommend this book to? Why? (Be specific)

2. What age group is your book appropriate for? Why?

3. Is their a type of person or age group this book is not appropriate for? Why?

V. Letter Essay

1. Email your letter essay to Mrs. Small on the day you give your speech by the start of class. Include your first and last name, book title and author’s name in the subject line of your email.

NAME:PERIOD: DATE:

BOOK TITLE:

Hatboro-Horsham Oral Presentation Rubric – Book Talk #1

CONTENT KNOWLEDGE
Distinguished / Proficient / Basic / Below Basic
Focus /

Demonstrates clear purpose and the ability to stay on topic.

Demonstrates a purpose but unable to stay on topic.

Purpose is inconsistent throughout/difficult to follow.

No clear purpose.

Distinguished (10) / Proficient (6) / Basic (2) / Below Basic (0)
Content /

Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of topic.
Sophisticated analysis; develops ideas with supporting details that are specific.
Makes no omissions or errors.

Demonstrates proficient knowledge of topic.
Shows adequate understanding of the topic and explains with detail.
Makes few errors or omissions.

Demonstrated basic knowledge of topic.
Show minimal understanding of the details of the topic.
Many errors and/or omissions.

Does not demonstrate knowledge of topic.

Distinguished (4) / Proficient (3) / Basic (2) / Below Basic (0)
Organization /

Well organized and thoroughly supports focus. .

Organized andmoderatelysupports focus.

Organization is limited and/or lacksclarity.

Presentation lacks organization.

PRESENTATION SKILLS
Distinguished(2) / Proficient (1) / Basic (.5) / Below Basic (0)
Presenter Engagement with the Audience /

Use of direct eye contact for entire presentation.
Consistently engages the audience through appropriate levels of emotion throughout.
Does not need to rely on notes for prompting

Use of direct eye contact most of the time.
Engages the audience through appropriate levels of emotion most of the time.
Relies on notes for prompting only.

Minimal eye contact with audience.
Inconsistently engages the audience through appropriate levels of emotion.
Often reads from notes.

No eye contact.
Does not engage the audience through appropriate levels of emotion throughout.
Entirely read from notes

Language/Clarity /

Advanced use of grammar and vocabulary.
All words are pronounced correctly.
No use of filler words (like, you know, etc.).

Proficient use of grammar and vocabulary.
Most words are pronounced correctly.
Minimal use of filler words (like, you know, etc.).

Basic use of grammar and vocabulary.
Seldom are words pronounced correctly.
Significant use of filler words (like, you know, etc.).

Below basic use of grammar and vocabulary.
Distracting use of filler words (like, you know, etc.)

Voice/Volume/Rate /

Always speaks with clarity
Volume is at a level where audience can easily hear throughout.
Pace is appropriate.

Speaks with clarity most of the time.
Volume is at a level where audience can hear most of the time.

Sometimes speaks with clarity.
Volume is inconsistent; audience struggles to hear.
Pace is inconsistent.

Does not speak clearly or is not easily heard.
Speaker is inaudible.

VISUAL ENHANCEMENT
Distinguished / Proficient / Basic / Below Basic
Visual
Enhancement /

Creatively uses high quality visuals/ media/ technology that clearly supports and enhances the presentation.

Uses Visuals/media/ technology that support the presentation.

Uses visuals/media/ technology that provides limited support of the presentation.

No use of visuals/media/technology to support the presentation.

TOTAL: _____/20