Welcome - Plotts, Michelle (English)

Novels: Syllabus

Novels elective

NOVELS CLASS – SEMESTER CURRICULUM PACKET

My Novels class runs like a well-oiled machine! Novels is an elective class at my high school open to grade 9-12. Basically, my students do everything independently. They pick books of their choice from my classroom library, the school library, or they bring them from home. Each student has a folder where they record the book(s) they are reading. They read for approximately 80 minutes (we have block classes), but this would work just as well in a 50 minute class. As they are reading, they make entries in their dialectical notebooks. When they finish a book, they fill out a conference form and put it in their folder, recording the date the book and conference form was completed. Then, on to their next book! At least once per quarter, we have book talks. These are very informal – each student talks for about 5-10 minutes about the book they are currently reading. This really helps to spark interest in different books and gives students ideas for what they would like to read next. Towards the end of the semester we start work on our finally projects and present them the last week of the semester.

Included in this packet:

Novels Class Information (given to students on the first day) – p. 2-5
Book Information sheet (kept in student folders) – p. 6
Book Conference Form (for fiction) - p. 7-8
Book Conference Form (for non-fiction) – p. 9-10
Rubric for semester project – p. 11
Rubric for book talks – p. 12

NOVELS CLASS INFORMATION

WHAT NOVELS CLASS IS:

If you enjoy reading, but don’t have much time to do it, this class is for you!
You will have free choice of the novels you read.
You will be striving to read 1,000 pages per quarter (an average of 100 pages per week/about 50 pages per block).
You will keep a dialectical notebook to record the books you are reading, the amount of pages you read per day, and your thoughts while reading.
You will write a conference form over each of the books you read in order to count the pages.
Occasionally you will participate in book talks.
You will be required to do a book project/presentation in place of a mid-term and/or final exam.
It is A QUIET READING TIME.

WHAT NOVELS CLASS IS NOT:

A class novel study.
A time to do homework.
A time to read a required novel for your English class (the pages won’t count).
A time to socialize, draw, sleep, write notes to your friends, or anything other than reading, writing in your annotated notebook, filling out a conference form, or working on your book project/presentation!

YOUR CLASS GRADE WILL BE BASED ON:

Weekly grading of your dialectical notebook
Participation in book talks
The number of pages you read per quarter (test grade)
Book project/presentation (exam grade)

PAGE REQUIREMENT GRADING SCALE:

PAGES POINTS

1,000 = 100

900 = 95

800 = 90

700 = 85

600 = 80

500 = 75

400 = 70

300 = 65

200 = 60

100 = 55

50 = 50

HOW TO USE YOUR DIALECTICAL NOTEBOOK:

Every entry should include:

The date
The name of the book you are reading
The page number you start reading
The page number you stop reading
The total number of pages read for the day
At least three dialectical entries (see directions & examples)

SAMPLE DIALECTICAL JOURNAL ENTRY:

Date: August 20, 2010

Book: To Kill a Mockingbird

Page start: p. 105

Page stop: p. 112

Total pages: 7

TEXT

RESPONSE

1. What does “oppressive” mean? (p. 106)

2. Why doesn’t Atticus get mad about the things Mrs. Dubose says about him? (p. 108)

3. What did Jem mean when he said, “old hell-devil, why can’t she leave me alone?” (p. 111)

1. Causing discomfort by being excessive or intense

2. Maybe he feels sorry for her because he knows she is dying or maybe he understands that she was raised in a society that believed these things.

3. Perhaps he felt as though she was still haunting him from the grave.

SAMPLE DIALECTICAL NOTEBOOK ENTRIES:

Use three different kinds of entries each time you read. If you think of something new, go for it!

Definitions of words you don’t know
Questions or statements about what you are reading
Comments on direct quotes from the text
Your opinion about a character/advice you would give a character
Comment on what you think may happen next
Your feelings about what is happening
Statement about when something similar has happened to you
Comment about what you would do in the situation
Your opinion on how the author is writing
Comment on the author’s use of figurative language (similes, metaphors, etc.)

PROJECT/PRESENTATION:

SEMESTER BOOK PROJECT

OBJECTIVE: To create a PowerPoint that advertises one of the books you

read this semester.

PROCEDURE:

Make sure you pick a book that you have finished reading.
Create a PowerPoint that has at least 7-11 slides. Your slides should include:
1. Cover - title and author (1 slide)
2. Information about your author (including other books written) (1-2 slides)
3. List & describe the main characters (1-2 slides)
4. A summary & highlights of your book (3-5 slides)
5. Your recommendation to other readers (could also include recommendation quotes from other people) (1 slide)
You may put pictures, clip art, video clips (if a movie has been made from your book or possibly an interview with the author), etc. Be creative – make it so that someone else will want to read the book.
Due dates for presentations will be announced later in the semester.

NOVELS – 1^st Quarter

Student ________________________

Book Title	Author	Total # of pages	Date conference form completed

Total pages: ________

Page requirement grade: ________

BOOK CONFERENCE FORM – FICTION

Book Title ____________________________

Author __________________________

# of Pages ___________

List and describe the main characters:

__________________________________________________________________

Describe your reaction to the book (did you like it, dislike it, why or why not?)

__________________________________________________________________

On the back of this sheet, give a brief summary of the plot (it should be at least 10 sentences).

__________________________________________________________________

BOOK CONFERENCE FORM – NON-FICTION

Book Title ____________________________

Author __________________________

# of Pages ___________

What is the topic of this book?

___________________________________________________________________

List 10 facts you learned from this book:

1. ___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

2. ___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

3. ___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

4. ___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

5. ___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

6. ___________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

10.

________________________________________________________________

Describe your reaction to the book (did you like it, dislike it, why or why not?)

___________________________________________________________________