Reading Ladders - Grade 8 & 9

All students will complete a reading ladder before the end of first term. Students will be given time in class to work on their ladders. See below for assignment guidelines.

Reading Ladder – Analyzing your reading process

A Reading Ladder is simply a piece of explanatory writing where students rank the books they’ve read according to complexity, reflect on their reading habits, and make plans for future growth.

Purpose: to step back and look at what you have accomplished as a reader in order to measure progress and set new goals for term two and the rest of the school year.

Process

1.    Compile a list of all of the books you completed and abandoned so far this school year. List the books in order of most difficult to least difficult.

2.    Write a “Why this Order?” paragraph.  Explain your reasons for ranking books. Discuss what make a book ‘difficult.’

3.    Reading Rate – calculate the number of pages you've read this term. Then calculate the average number of pages you read per week. This will determine your reading rate for this term. Compare this new rate with your reading rate at the beginning of the term. Discuss your at home reading habits.

4.    Summary – summarize four books. Provide a true summary of the book, not just a comparison between books.

5.    Personal Goals – set goals for term two and the rest of the school year. These should be specific: I will read 15 books by June. I will read one nonfiction book. I will develop an at home reading habit. I will…

Due date:__________________________

What we're doing in room 112!

Grade 8's

We've just finished studying main idea(in both non-fiction & fiction). This week we stared studying the elements of a short story. Hopefully next week students will begin writing their own short story.

Book Talks - Next week students will sign up for a date to present their book talks. Below are the guidelines for book talks.

Book Talk Assignment Guidelines

For this assignment you will give an oral presentation about the book you have been reading to the class. Please bring the book or a printed picture of the book.

Criteria:

1. Prepare notes for your speech. Your notes will count as 10 points of your total book talk grade.

2. Begin your book talk with an introduction. Introduce the book you read with an interesting lead or hook that get’s the readers attention. Be sure to identify the author(you may want to tell a little about the author) and title of the book. Also, why you chose the book.

3. Tell about the different literary elements in your book, including:

____ Setting: Briefly describe the time period and place where the story takes place.

____ Protagonist: Describe the main character and explain his/her conflict.

____ Minor Characters: Describe any minor characters that are important to the plot.

____ Plot: Briefly summarize the main events of the book. Don’t try to tell everything, but give the listener a good idea of the events of the plot.

4. Share a selection. Read a short passage from the book that you like. This could be descriptive writing, suspenseful part, a scary part...or something that you think the author has done well. Read this selection out loud from the book. Be sure to explain what is happening in the book at the point you are reading.

5. End with a recommendation/critique. Explain whether or not you would recommend this book to your classmates. Which audience would enjoy it most? Be sure to give a strong supporting reason to your opinion. 

Remember to practice your book talk aloud before the due date!!!!

Grade 9's

Most students are finished or almost finished writing personal narratives. I would like all narratives by Thursday, October 29th. 

Book Talks - We've started book talks for first term. All grade 9 students will present before November 5th. Students are expected to prepare book talk on their own time and practice their 'talk' at home. 

Grade 9's are currently studying the parts of speech.

 

Grade 8's - Two Islands Advertisement

Greenel or Graynel Poster due Friday, October 3rd. If students did not finish this assignment in class it is homework. 

Advertisement – Graynel or Greenel

Design an ad that encourages people to settle in either Greenel or Graynel at the time of their development. The purpose is to encourage people to move to the island. The ads should focus on what the island has to offer and the values the island upholds.