Reading with a friend
American
Literature/Paul Kandell
Voice mail
329-3837 pbkandell@hotmail.com
For our
outside reading project you will read the same book as another student in this
class, discuss and write about it together, and then give a short presentation
to the class about your book. To
get started you need to select a partner and a book. After you pick a partner, the two of you will then choose a
book that neither has read and is challenging. You need two copies of this book so you can both be reading at the same
time; your book should be at least 250 pages. There is no upper limit. See more information about your book choices at the bottom
of this handout.
THE
JOURNAL:
Each duo
will have ONE journal. In the
journal, you must:
1. Design
a colorful cover for the journal that relates to a key idea from the book
2. Have
both participants' name, class, and period on the cover or first page
3. Include
10 entries (5 each) that are written in letter format to each other. Each entry must be dated,
numbered and signed. Each participant must initiate at least 2-3 entries & respond
to at least 2-3 entries; you will end up with 10 entries total, 5 written by
you and 5 by your partner.
Example: Josh and
Lisa both read 40 pages of their book.
Josh writes an entry that he has initiated (J#1), then gives the journal
to Lisa who responds to Josh's entry, J#2 (1st and 2nd entries) After responding, Josh and Lisa both
read 40 more pages. Lisa then
initiates and writes an entry (J#3); Lisa gives the journal back to Josh and he
responds to her entry (J#4).
5. Each
entry that is INITIATED must be at least 400 words. The response entry should
be at least half that. Challenge
yourself to think critically about the book.
6. The
content of the initiated entries should be based in the text and should, in
general, focus on literary elements of the book. Here are some questions to think about:
• What are your reactions to the plot? Does it seem plausible? corny?
• Discuss the characters. Whom do you like?
dislike? Are the characters
true to their natures? Have you
learned anything from them?
• Is there a particular quote or scene that is
memorable? Why?
• What are the "big ideas" in this
book? What is the author trying to
express?
• What questions do you have? What are you wondering about? What bugs you? What are you confused
about?
• Do you have any predictions for the plot or
characters? What do you think is
going to happen? Why?
• Are the characters or plot reminding you of
anything in your life?
• Do you like the author's style? diction?
• Any other topics that strike your fancy pertaining
to the book . . .
• At all cost, avoid plot summary! I will not give you credit for simply
telling what happens in the story.
7. When
you respond to your partner's initiated entry, you need to answer/address his/her questions,
comments and concerns.
PARTNER
PRESENTATIONS:
I may ask
you to share your feelings, opinions and insights about your book with the
class in a short presentation that should need little or no preparation.
DUE
DATES:
By Wednesday,
Sept. 5, you will
need to have your book in hand and create and turn in a reading schedule for
this assignment. On this paper,
please state:
1. Your
name
2. Your
partner's name
3. Book
title
4. Number
of pages in the book
5. Why
you want to read this particular book.
(Invest some energy in this question!)
6. A
detailed schedule of how many pages you will read (either by day or by week) so you can finish the book and
the journal by Friday, Nov. 16.
7. A
schedule for who will write which journal (#'s 1-10), on what days each journal
will be completed by, and how/where you will trade the journal. Journals 1-4 need to be completed
by Friday, Oct. 5,
when there will be an official "journal check."
WARNINGS:
1. Choose
your partner carefully. Make sure
this person is someone you can trust to read the book, complete the entries
thoroughly, and not lose your treasured journal. You will receive one grade unless it is blatantly obvious
that one person did more work.
2. Make
sure that you and your partner will be able to communicate effectively. You will be passing one journal back
and forth. If you don't have
identical schedules, you will need to exchange phone numbers or find out home
addresses so you can trade off with the journal.
GRADING
Your
journal will be graded on the quality of your entries and your ability to AVOID
PLOT SUMMARY. I will be looking to
see that you have thought about and discussed the characters, events and issues
in your book. You will receive the specifics of the presentations and the
grading rubric when the time approaches.
BOOK
LIST/CHOICES
You and your partner may select any
book by an American author as long as:
1. It
is by an American author and is at least 250 pages long (with some exceptions
for small-print books of exceptional quality);
2. Neither
of you have read the book before;
3. The
book is not taught or commonly read in any class at Paly or Jordan and has not
been made into a movie.
4.
Mr.
Kandell thinks it is challenging enough (and, again, you need his approval).
5.
Your book
may be from the realms of non-fiction, adventure, drama, biography, science
fiction, fantasy, science fantasy or horror. I will discourage you from choosing a supermarket romance
novel. If you’d like to read a book that isn’t on this list, please
speak with me about your idea.
6.
You
may find a book on the chalk shelves in Room 213, at the library, or at a book
store (although finding TWO copies of any book almost always poses a
challenge). Some of the following books have been especially popular with
American Literature students:
|
Animal Dreams, Kingsolver The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison Catch 22, Heller* Into Thin Air, Krakauer The Kitchen God’s Wife, Tan The New York Trilogy, Auster The Sea Wolf, London The Electric Koolaid Acid Test, Wolfe* McTeague, Norris The Ox-Bow Incident, van Tilburg Clarke A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, Dorris |