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Independent Reading
Beginning of the year introduction presentation about independent reading
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PRESENTATION OUTLINE
INDEPENDENT READING
MRS. HUGHES’S ENGLISH 7
The goal of independent reading is to encourage students to read, plan, and comprehend independent of the teacher and class structure. You should always have something to read. Also, the selected IR novel titles relate to in-class novels.
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WHAT IS INDEPENDENT READING (IR)?
A novel that you read outside of class
What do I mean by outside of class? I mean beyond what we read together as a class. You will be responsible for finding, reading, and testing on the novel. You have an entire semester to complete your independent reading; however, part of this assignment is planning ahead to get it done in an appropriate amount of time.
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HOW DOES IR WORK?
- Order / check out novel
- Read in free time
- Take short quiz following each chapter
- Take IR response at end of semester
Independent reading is simple. You find and read the book, then take a comprehension quiz for each chapter. After the end of the semester, you will take a final essay test on the novel.
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WHERE DO I FIND EACH SEMESTER’S IR NOVEL?
Visit our class website to find novel title and easy ordering information.
You can find the novel title, author, and ordering links on our website up to a month before the next semester.
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HOW MANY IR NOVELS DO I NEED TO READ?
English 7 - one each semester
Honors English 7 - two each semester
Each semester the regular English class will read one novel while the honors class will read two. You are responsible for creating your own reading schedule.
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WHAT DO I GET A GRADE ON?
- Chapter quizzes are averaged into one test grade.
- IR response at the end of the semester is a test grade.
Your independent reading will translate into two test grades. One is an average of all of your chapter quizzes, and the other is an essay exam at the end of the semester.
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WHAT IS THE IR RESPONSE?
An essay exam after due date that focuses on literary elements (plot, theme, etc.) in IR novel
Your IR response is an essay exam that practices the key literary elements that we will learn this year like plot, theme, conflict, characters, point of view, etc. You will write a short essay that applies what you know about the literary element to the novel(s) that you read. There will be several different versions of the test, so most of you will have a different essay question.
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WHAT IS THIS SEMESTER'S IR?
English 7 - Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
Honors 7 - Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor & Port Chicago 50 by Steve Sheinkin
Read by: Dec. 7
The regular English class will read Mildred D. Taylor's classic novel Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, and the honors class will read Taylor's novel plus Steve Sheinkin's Port Chicago 50. I selected each of these novels for a reason. See if you can figure out the connection!
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QUESTIONS?
Are there any questions about independent reading or the graded assignments?
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