Name:__________________________________ #__________ Date:__________________
Letter
Book Summary & Skill Lesson
Paragraph #1: In this paragraph begin by telling me the title of your book,
author, and lexile of the book. Afterwards you will write a brief summary of at
least five (5) sentences of what you have read. You must cite specific examples
from your story.
The suspenseful novel that I am reading is written by Lemony Snickett entitled, The Reptile
Room. The lexile of the book is 1040L. In book two, the Baudelaire orphans are onto their
second relatives house after becoming orphans in book one. The children adore their Uncle
Monty and life and luck seem to be on the children’s side once and for all. Things take a
drastic turn for the worst as a new assistant, Stephano, suddenly makes an appearance into
Uncle Monty’s and the children’s lives. The children, Sunny, Violet, and Klaus, eventually
convince Mr. Poe that Stephano is no other than the evil and manipulative..(AHA! You must
read the novel to figure this out but you get the idea) This is an important part of the story
because once and for all the children are freed from the grasp of ???. This; however, does
not put an end to the children’s streak of bad luck or as the series implies their “series of
unfortunate events” but nevertheless it does free them from their captor. Or does it?
Paragraph #2: In this paragraph begin by telling me this week’s reading skill.
Then write the definition of the skill. Lastly, apply the reading skill to your
independent novel.
This week’s reading skill is setting. Setting is when and where the story takes place. The
novel does not state the time period in which the story occurs but if I were to guess I would
say that it could occur in the present day or the fairly recent past. The Reptile Room is
really located inside of Uncle Monty’s beautifully manicured and maintained mansion. The
author really makes the setting come to life by the vivid description of the scenic drive
through the town of Tedia and past Hazy Harbor, where a pungent odor of sardines overruns
the area. The most amazing detail definitely lies in the reptile room. On page 39, the author
describes in detail the enormous glass room with spectacular views which houses Uncle
Monty’s most prized possessions, his collection of snakes.
This will be turned in and will be given an assessment grade. Please score yourself using
the rubric and staple it to the corner of your paper before turning it in.
Letter Rubric
Category
Points
Possible
1. SUMMARY:
Title, Author, 5 well written
sentences that summarize your
novel.
2. SKILL:
At least 5 well written (lots of
details) sentences that states the
skill, defines the skill, and then
applies the skill to your novel.
3. CONVENTIONS:
Spelling, Capitalization, Punctuation,
Titles underlined, Complete
Sentences, subject/verb agreement,
pronoun usage
Your Score
Teacher’s
Score
Your Score
Teacher’s
Score
45
45
10
Total
Letter Rubric
Category
1. SUMMARY:
Title, Author, 5 well written
sentences that summarize your
novel.
2. SKILL:
At least 5 well written (lots of
details) sentences that states the
skill, defines the skill, and then
applies the skill to your novel.
3. CONVENTIONS:
Spelling, Capitalization, Punctuation,
Titles underlined, Complete
Sentences, subject/verb agreement,
pronoun usage
Points
Possible
45
45
10
Total