Independent Novel Study

Independent Novel Study Senior English Fall Semester 2012

As the name implies, independent study will involve reading a novel on your own and then completing a series of activities where you study your novel on an in-depth level. You will be required to keep reader response journals while you read, research the author and an event or topic related to your novel, and present your book to the class. You will be graded on your progress during class time as well as the completion of the actual assignments. This is a long term assignment so you must pace yourself appropriately.

Requirements:

Reader Responses (100 points) Due Monday, October 23 Throughout our study of your novel, you will keep a special kind of journal called a “Reader-Response Journal.”

Requirements for these journals are as follows:  You will write a minimum of ten entries during the course of your reading. Divide the total number of pages by ten, and then write each entry for approximately that number of pages.  You will meet the length requirement of ½ page.  For each of these journal entries, you will choose from five different approaches that challenge your critical thinking and creativity. You will label each entry with the type of approach being used.  You need to explain where you are in the story, chapter or page numbers, and explain what has just happened.  You must use each approach at least once.

The types of approaches are as follows:

Palm Reader: What has occurred that you consider foreshadowing? Based on this occurrence, what do you believe will occur in the future? Why?

Straight Talker: Speak directly to a character and “give your two cents' worth.” If you could stop the action at a particular point, what would you say?

Judge: Evaluate an action or a decision by a character or characters. Do you feel a wise or a poor decision has been made? Why? What decision do you think should have been made? Why?

Memory Keeper: Perhaps you remember an experience from your own life that is similar to an experience a character is having in the story right now. Reflect on that personal experience and relate it to the story.

Artist: What visual images come to mind as you read the story? Draw those images. Also, write at least one paragraph that explains what your visual image means or represents in the story. Author Biography (30 points) Due Thursday, October 4 Using research from the library, write a one page paper on your author. You can include information about the novel’s reception by the public if information on your author is scarce. You must use a minimum of two sources, at least one of which needs to be a book or online database (Infohio or Gales Sites). This must be typed in MLA format.

Author Bibliography (5 points) Due Thursday, October 4 A bibliography must be completed using MLA format. You must turn in a bibliography or your work is considered plagiarism and will receive a zero.

Presentation (50 points) Due Wednesday, October 24 Your presentation will last for 3-5 minutes and you will give the class information about your novel. Some of the topics you will need to cover in your presentation are: information about your author (brief), information about the novel (year of publication, public reception, etc.), and information about the plot (summary, character information, and setting). You will need to create an outline for your speech that you will turn in to Mrs. Gerber before your presentation. You will need to have a visual aid for your presentation: Power Point, poster board, video, etc. Novel Options You may not choose a book you have already read. There are too many good novels out there. Try something new.

Angela’s Ashes- Frank McCourt A Lesson Before Dying- Ernest Gaines

As I Lay Dying- William Faulkner Life of Pi- Yann Martel

The Bell Jar- Sylvia Plath The Lovely Bones- Alice Sebold

Bluest Eye- Toni Morrison The Memory Keeper’s Daughter- Kim Edwards

Brave New World- Aldous Huxley Nectar in a Sieve- Kamala Markandaya

Catcher in the Rye- J.D. Salinger Of Mice and Men- John Steinbeck

Ceremony- Leslie Marmon Silko Old Man and the Sea- Ernest Hemingway

Cold Mountain- Charles Frazier One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest- Ken Kesey

Count of Monte Cristo- Dumas Othello- William Shakespeare

Dracula- Bram Stoker The Picture of Dorian Gray- Oscar Wilde

The English Patient- Michael Ondaatje Pride and Prejudice- Jane Austin

Fahrenheit 451- Ray Bradbury Rebecca- Daphne Du Maurier

A Farewell to Arms- Ernest Hemingway The Red Tent- Anita Diamant

Frankenstein- Mary Shelley The Scarlet Letter- Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Good Earth- Pearl S. Buck The Secret Life of Bees- Sue Monk Kidd

The Great Gatsby- F. Scott Fitzgerald Sense and Sensibility- Jane Austin

Grendel- John Gardner Sold- Patricia McCormick

Hamlet- William Shakespeare Snow Falling on Cedars- David Guterson

The Handmaid's Tale- Margaret Atwood The Sun Also Rises- Ernest Hemingway

The Help- Kathryn Stockett Their Eyes Were Watching God- Zora Neale

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings- Maya Houston

Angelou Things Fall Apart- Chinua Achebe

Jane Eyre- Charlotte Bronte The Things They Carried- Tim O'Brien

Kite Runner- Khaled Hosseini A Thousand Splendid Suns- Khaled Hosseini

Turn of the Screw- Henry James Uncle Tom's Cabin- Harriet Beecher Stowe Wuthering Heights- Emily Bronte

Warriors Don't Cry- Melba Patillo Beals