Summer Reading: Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How many books am I supposed to read?
A: You will read two books in total, The Book Thief by Mark Zusak and I am Malala by MalalaYousaifzai.
Q: Where do I get the books?
A: Check with the local libraries or bookstores. Barnes and Noble in Savannahhas been notified that these are on your summer reading list and should have them available. Online bookstores, such as Amazon.com, also have them available and often have them available at a discounted price.
Q: Do I do one or two body biographies? Do I do one or two explanatory essays?
A: You will create a body biography and write an explanatory essay for whomever you deem the hero of The Book Thief, and you will create a body biography and write an explanatory essay for whomever you deem the hero of I am Malala. This means that you will have two body biographies and two explanatory essays to submit.
Q: I know I’m supposed to create a body biography, but how do I do that?
A: A body biography is a symbolic representation of a character. To make it, you will combine different symbols to make up a picture of the character. You may choose to simply draw the character and symbols. You may choose to cut out magazine pictures, take specific photographs, utilize 3-D objects, etc. It is also okay to do a combination of these things. In the past, students have utilized things like crayons, textured scrapbook paper, macaroni noodles, and yarn all on the same character. Most importantly, your body biography should be your creation and reflect your understanding of the character. Because body biographies are going to be quite individualized, it is hard to set a standard for size; however, aim to make your body biography roughly no smaller than a standard size of copy paper (8 ½”x11”) and no bigger than half a piece of poster board (22”x14”). When verifying you’ve met the expectation of the body biography, be sure it meets the expectations outlined on the rubric.
Q: A lot of thinking goes into the product of these pieces. How do I keep track of all of my thoughts?
A: Like with any project or paper, using a planning guide can help you organize your thoughts and ensure you aren’t overlooking an idea you had or forgetting to brainstorm on a certain subject. While the planning guide is optional, it will definitely assist you in completing both tasks successfully. If you use the planning guide for one or both books, please attach it to the back of the respective essay.
Q: How long is the explanatory essay supposed to be?
A: The length of each essay is going to be largely dependent on the complexity of your symbols and the reasoning you provide to explain your choices, but the essay should meet a minimum of 300 words. While no requirement of paragraphs or pages exists, be sure your essay meets the ideas, organization, style and conventions expectations outlined on the rubric.
Q: Does the essay have to be formatted a certain way?
A: As a standard for ninth grade honors English, essays should either be typed in black, Times New Roman, sized 12 font and single spaced with standard margins. If the essay is handwritten, it should be done so neatly in blue or black ink. This formatting allows the clearest presentation.
Q: I just want to see an example to make sure I’m on the right track. Is that possible?
A: Yes, a teacher model exists on the webpage. Look for the documents labeled “Planning Guide-Teacher Model,” “Body Biography-Teacher Model,” “Explanatory Essay-Teacher Model,” and “Completed Rubric-Teacher Model.” These documents show you how one completed project would look, including the optional planning guide and a rubric completed to evaluate the product.
Also, feel free to use a search engine to explore body biographies. You will find many examples. Simply keep in mind as you search that not all of the examples are examples of high school work, nor are all of the examples superlative.
Q: I’ve carefully read all of the information but still have a question. What do I do?
A: Email Ms. Lawson at . You may ask a question that needs to be added to this list.