Book Bytes

Happy Halloween, my friends! Sorry that this post has been delayed, but Halloween week tends to be one of the busiest ones of the year for me. Many of my LeGrande students are participating in our annual Thriller dance project and they know that I’ve been spending almost the same amount of time in the gym as I have in the library! JCMS students, I know that Mrs. Martin loves Halloween as much as I do, so I bet you’re getting to do something fun in her class, too!

Anyway, let’s get down to business. This week we are going to tackle the topic of genre – a fancy word for “type” or “kind”. Remember, since the ERP focuses on fiction we are really dealing with its sub-genres. Your booklist was divided into five genres: Realistic Fiction, Fantasy Fiction, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction and Mystery Fiction. If you need some help remembering the specifics of these, you can find a quick list by clicking HERE.

And now. your prompt!

• Identify the title of one of your ERP books and its genre.
• List three examples from your book of details that make you think that your chosen book is an example of that genre.
• Do you typically read books in this genre? Why or why not?

AND AS A BONUS DISCUSSION TOPIC (answer only if you WANT to)…

• In honor of Halloween, what is your favorite scary story or book? Would you recommend it to others? Why or why not?

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It’s getting close to time for us to wrap this project up with our book videos! Be aware that LeGrande students need to be reading, blogging, quizzing, reviewing and working on video production all at the same time! JCMS students, I’m sure Mrs. Martin has a project in mind for you, too!

Enough chit-chat though, let’s take a look at this week’s prompt!

• Identify a significant conflict (AKA problem) contained in one of the books that you have read for the ERP. You may choose from the following types of conflict:
  • Man vs. Man
  • Man vs. Self
  • Man vs. Nature/Supernatural
  • Man vs. Society
• Identify the title of the book that you have chosen to use for this response and describe the specifics of the conflict including the characters who are involved and their situation.

Check this space later for the Scoring Guide so that you can self-assess!

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Welcome back from Fall Break, my friends! I hope you worked in some extra reading time while we weren’t in school. I certainly did! I even took my AR tests on the books that I read while we were off so that I’d have them fresh in my mind when the computer threw those questions at me!

If you’re wondering, I read The Knife of Never Letting Go (an ERP book!) and its sequel, The Ask and the Answer which were strongly recommended to me by 8th graders, Simon T. and Aaron L. I’m almost done with the third book, Monsters of Men and I can’t wait to see how it all ends! I promise to hurry so you can read it next, guys! If you’re a fan of dystopian science fiction (i.e. The Hunger Games) the Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness is one to check out ASAP!

Since we are now in Week #6 of the ERP, you are going to need to discuss TWO of your project books this week. Starting next week I will be providing some extended library hours to assist you with working on your book videos. Remember, you can click on the “Book Videos” page at the top to get inspired!

And now with your prompt:

• Compare and contrast two characters from two different books that you have read for the ERP. Include the characters’ names and the book titles in your response.
• Please choose either two main characters or two minor characters for this assignment. And remember that you will need to describe how the characters are alike and how they are different!

For the purposes of self-assessment, you may refer to the Prompt #6 – Scoring Guide.

Let the posting commence!

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