Search+for+Life+on+Mars

Search for Life on Mars fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff Science
 * **Project Title:**
 * Department/Discipline:**

Eric Himburg
 * Teacher:**

7th || || http://ow.ly/71cYr ||
 * Grade Level:**
 * **Description:** || Using a wiki, drag/drop programming, etc., student study electricity, rocketry, and life itself. ||
 * **Instructional Tools:** || http:wikispaces.com, http://scratch.mit.edu/ ||
 * **Links:** || http://ca-science7.wikispaces.com/Kristin+Example

**Trimester One Independent Reading Project: Book Club**

For your Independent Reading Project, you will read, reflect on, and write about/discuss a novel along with one or two of your classmates (it does not have to be a member from your class section). **__Steps:__** 1. **__Choose and Read a Book.__** You and your partner(s) will choose one book you both are dying to read. Each of you will obtain your own copy of the book, and both of you will read the entire book over the same period of time. 2. **__Discuss First Half of Book__**. When both of you have read halfway through the book (agree upon a sensible target date), you will hold an online discussion with each other over the first half of the book. You will use a Typewith.me link that your teacher will send to you. ***A recommended target date for your first discussion is September 12.*** 3. **__Discuss Last Half of Book.__** Once you have all finished reading the entire book (again, agree upon another target date before the final project is due), you will hold an online discussion over the last half of the book. 4. **__Revise and Edit Your Writing.__** Your discussion can have a relaxed, informal tone, but the writing itself must be in complete sentences, properly punctuated, and free of grammar errors. Do not use short-hand texting language. **__Book Discussion Guidelines__** **__First Half of Book__** For the first discussion, your individual comments should be based upon the following **//__four__//** elements:

**1. Wonder About Character Motives/Feelings:** Consider why certain characters do the things they do, say the things they say, or just generally act the way they do. Consider what is important to them, what they are trying to achieve, how they view or feel about other characters/events.

**2. Wonder About Passages:** Think about the deeper meaning passages have if they seem important. Think about what the lines reveal about characters and their relationships. Think about how passages relate or tie in to the story. If you find some passages confusing, simply ask others to help you make sense out of it, but be sure to say what you think about it when you ask. Include the quotation in your question. For example, you may say the following: //What does Johnny mean exactly when he tells Ponyboy to “stay gold”? I thought the poem by Robert Frost was saying nothing can stay gold forever. So is Johnny telling Ponyboy to stay innocent or to just stay positive and hopeful? Maybe just to stay out of trouble? Help, I don’t get it!!//

<span style="display: block; height: 1px; left: -40px; margin-left: 30.4pt; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: -25px; width: 1px;">**3. Evaluate:** Form personal opinions about what you read, both while you are reading and after you have finished. Judge characters and develop your own ideas about events. Ask yourself: is this plot twist believable? Do I agree/disagree with how the characters are handling conflicts or events? Is the narrator/author trustworthy or biased? Explain why or why not.

<span style="display: block; height: 1px; left: -40px; margin-left: 30.4pt; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: -25px; width: 1px;">**4. Predict:** Try to figure out what will happen next and how the selection might end. Form hypotheses, give your reasoning why, and then read on to see if your guesses are correct or not. <span style="display: block; height: 1px; left: -40px; margin-left: 30.4pt; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: -25px; width: 1px;">**__Last half of book__** <span style="display: block; height: 1px; left: -40px; margin-left: 30.4pt; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: -25px; width: 1px;">For the last discussion, your individual comments should be based upon the following **//__four__//** elements:

<span style="display: block; height: 1px; left: -40px; margin-left: 30.4pt; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: -25px; width: 1px;">**1. Notice Character Development:** Pay attention to how the main characters change or mature over the course of the novel—are they dynamic or flat? Ask yourself: does this character appear to be developing new physical skills or intellectual/moral/emotional strengths that he/she lacked or neglected previously? Is this character experiencing any major shifts in attitude towards challenges and/or people around them?

<span style="display: block; height: 1px; left: -40px; margin-left: 30.4pt; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: -25px; width: 1px;">**2. Wonder About Themes or Messages:** What message(s) do you think the author is trying to convey in this novel? What makes you think this? Notice patterns or recurring ideas, and consider what the author's personal view might be.

<span style="display: block; height: 1px; left: -40px; margin-left: 30.4pt; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: -25px; width: 1px;">**3. Notice Author's Craft:** Pay attention to the unique style of the author and literary devices he/she uses to bring life to the text. For example, consider **the point of view** (1st person? 2nd? 3rd? limited or omniscient?), **the tone** (how the author feels about certain characters or settings), **figurative language** (similes, metaphors, personification?), **imagery** (description that appeals to the senses), **word choices** (formal or informal vocabulary), **symbolism**, **time arrangement** (chronological or flashbacks), etc. How do these elements affect the whole text and its impact or enjoyment?

<span style="display: block; height: 1px; left: -40px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: -25px; width: 1px;">**4. Connect:** Connect personally with what you are reading. Think of similarities between descriptions in the text and what you have personally experienced, heard about, or read about. What have you gone through, what songs have you heard, what history have you studied, what other stories or articles have you read or heard others tell, what movies have you watched, etc. that remind you of the events in this novel.