7th Grade Independent Reading

1
7th GradeIndependent Reading

• Lessons Learned
• Marking Period 1

2
Problem Essay is mostly a re-telling or summary
of the story

• Discussion
• Assume the reader has read the book.
• Your task is not to re-tell what happens in the
  book.
• Your task is to answer the question(s) in the
  assignment.
• Solution
• Read the essay assignment and do exactly what it
  asks.
• Do NOT re-tell the story.
• Any re-telling of the story must directly support
  your answer to the essay question(s). In other
  words it must be evidence to help you make a
  point.

3
Problem There is no relationship between your
organizers and your essays.

• Discussion The purpose of your organizers is to
  help you organize your thoughts for the essay.
• Solution
• Keep in mind as you read the book, what essay
  question you will be answering.
• Use the organizers to help you prepare for that
  essay.

4
Problem Your essay is not an essay.

• Discussion Several essays were simply one
  giant paragraph.
• Solution Just as a paragraph is made up of
  sentences, an essay is made up of paragraphs.

5
Problem Your essay has a middle but no beginning
or end.

• Discussion An essay is just like a paragraph. It
  needs a beginning, a middle and an end.
• Solution
• Make sure you have an introductory paragraph
  designed to introduce your topic and grab the
  readers attention.
• Make sure you have a closing paragraph designed
  to summarize your main points and wrap the essay
  up by bringing it back to the topic.

6
Problem Your essay never mentions the title of
the book.

• Discussion I did not have a format for a proper
  heading. My bad.
• Solution For future independent reading
  assignments, use this heading on the first page.
  On all other pages, make sure your name is in the
  top left hand corner.
• Name, Section, Student Date
• Title
• Author

7
Problem Title of book not punctuated or
improperly punctuated.

• Discussion The titles of novels and non-fiction
  books are underlined or typed in italics.
• Solution
• If you are writing by hand, as in your
  organizers, underline the title.
• If you are typing, use italics.

8
Problem The essay is not in the proper format.

• Discussion Essays improperly formatted or
  packets that are incomplete may not be turned in
  on time, resulting in -5 homework points.
• Solution
• The format and all other requirements are spelled
  out in the handout.
• Just do it!

9
Some Final Notes

• The first independent reading project was worth
  1.5 tests.
• The second will be worth 2 tests.
• The final project will be worth 2.5 tests.
• I will grade them based on the criteria in the
  handout AND the lessons learned (this slideshow).
  
• If you read fiction for the first project, you
  must read non-fiction for the second and vice
  versa.
• You may choose either fiction or non-fiction for
  the final project.