3rd six weeks
Reading Seminar
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You will NOT have an “Outside Reading”
assignment during the third six weeks.
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Don’t get too excited… I never said you
wouldn’t be reading.
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You may choose the seminar you participate in.
You will be reading books. Note the plural.
They will be chosen from as specified list of
books related to your seminar topic.
Your group will decide the timeline for reading
completion.
You WILL NOT be able to complete the
assignments for this seminar if you do not read.
 Assignments require ready in-depth knowledge of
books.
 Your group members will ‘vote you off the island’ if
you do not contribute due to a lack of effort.
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You will be reading 40 points worth of books.
Books vary in length and difficulty, with point values
ranging from 5 to 20 points.
 Point values reflect difficulty and literary merit, not length.
▪ Ex: Against All Odds includes Any Harry Potter (5), The Lovely Bones
(10), Into Thin Air (15), Sword of Shannara (20)
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It will be up to you and your group members to decide
how to earn your 40 points.
 Can be done in as few as three books in every seminar.
 No seminar requires more than six books to reach 40
points.
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Reading and Discussion
 Completion of 40 points worth of books*
 Participation in Seminar Discussion (including Ticket in and Notes)
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Reader Reaction Tickets/Short Answer Quizzes
 Given at random to assess progress
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Vocabulary Quizzes
 rhetorical terms
 wotd
 vocab from books- yes, I know… you’ll all be reading different books
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Two Major Papers major/test grade
 iSearch paper (slightly different from Outside Reading assignment)
 Reflections paper (at end of seminar)
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Knowledge Folder major/test grade
*- Completion of 40 points of books is necessary to receive full credit on ALL major grade assignments. The
number of points you fall short x10 is the number of points that will be removed from EACH test grade at
the end of the seminar should you not complete the appropriate readings. I will consider extra credit for
going over 40 points if you can demonstrate depth of understanding.
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Six weeks of reading a series of books (40 points).
Topics:
 Against All Odds
▪ stories of human triumph
 A Woman’s Place
▪ literature about the role of women in society
 The Search for Identity
▪ Coming of age stories
 Diversity in America
▪ Literature by and about different cultural groups in the United States
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You will be stuck with these books for an entire six weeks,
choose a seminar based on the books you want to read
rather than defaulting to your usual group of friends.
TITLE (POINT VALUE)
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Z is for Zachariah (5)
Two Old Women (5)
Inherit the Wind (5)
Any 1 Harry Potter (5)
The Bean Trees (10)
Anthem (10)
The Pleasure of My Company (10)
The Lovely Bones (10)
Nickel and Dimed (10)
Nectar in a Sieve (10)
Seventh Son (10)
Devoted(15)
A Man Named Dave (15)
Master and Commander (15)
National Velvet (15)
Cold Mountain (15)
Into Thin Air (15)
Over the Edge of the World (20)
Sword of Shannara (20)
A Soldier of the Great War (20)
AUTHOR
Robert O'Brien
Velma Wallis
Jerome Lawrence
J.K. Rowling
Barbara Kingsolver
Ayn Rand
Steve Martin
Alice Siebold
Barbara Ehrenreich
Kamela Markandaya
Orson Scott Card
Dick Hoyt
Dave Pelzer
Patrick O’Brian
Enid Bagnold
Charles Frasier
Jon Krauker
Laurence Bergreen
Terry Brooks
Mark Helprin
TITLE (POINT VALUE)
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Rules of the Road (5)
The Giver (5)
Of Mice and Men (5)
What Should I Do with My Life? (10)
The Honk and Holler Opening Soon (10)
Tuesdays with Morrie (10)
Expecting Adam (10)
A Gracious Plenty (10)
Ishmael (10)
July, July(10)
Shades of Simon Gray (10)
Speak (10)
The Catcher in the Rye (10)
Barefoot in Baghdad (10)
Siddhartha (10)
A Prayer for Owen Meany (15)
A Separate Peace (15)
‘Tis (15)
My Name is Asher Lev (15)
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle
Maintenance (20)
AUTHOR
Joan Bauer
Lois Lowry
John Steinbeck
Po Bronson
Billie Letts
Mitch Album
Martha Beck
Sheri Reynolds
Daniel Quinn
Tim O’Brien
Joyce McDonald
Laurie Halse Anderson
J.D. Salinger
Manal Omar
Herman Hesse
John Irving
John Knowles
Frank McCourt
Chaim Potok
Robert Pirsig
TITLE (POINT VALUE)
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Welcome to the World, Baby Girl (10)
Tara Road (10)
In the Temple of My Familiar(10)
Having Our Say (10)
Reviving Ophelia (10)
Black and Blue (10)
Ellen Foster (10)
Where the Heart Is (10)
Herland (10)
In a Different Voice (10)
The Divine Secrets of the YaYa
Sisterhood (10)
Nectar in a Sieve (10)
The Secret Life of Bees (10)
So Long a Letter (10)
In the Time of the Butterflies (10)
Reading Lolita in Tehran (10)
Jane Eyre (15)
The Bonesetter’s Daughter (15)
The Red Tent (15)
The Poisonwood Bible (20)
AUTHOR
Fanny Flagg
Maeve Binchy
Alice Walker
The Delaney Sisters
Mary Pipher
Anna Quindlen
Kaye Gibbons
Billie Letts
Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Carol Gilligan
Rebecca Wells
Kamela Markandaya
Sue Monk Kidd
MariamaBu
Julia Alvarez
Azar Nafisi
Charlotte Bronte
Amy Tan
Anita Diamant
Barbara Kingsolver
TITLE (POINT VALUE)
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The Watsons Go To Birmingham (5)
Tunes for Bears to Dance To (5)
The Bluest Eye (10)
Black Like Me (10)
Hijas Americanas (10)
A Lesson Before Dying (10)
When I was Puerto Rican (10)
Their Eyes Were Watching God (10)
Living up the Street (10)
The Color of Water (10)
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the
Nighttime (10)
In the Temple of My Familiar (10)
Nickel and Dimed (10)
The Hundred Secret Senses (15)
My Name is Asher Lev (15)
Jubilee (15)
Snow Falling on Cedars (15)
Crescent (15)
Black Boy(20)
Ceremony (20)
AUTHOR
Christopher Paul Curtis
Robert Cormier
Toni Morrison
Howard Griffith
Rosie Molinary
Ernest Gaines
Esmeralda Santiago
Zora Neale Hurston
Gary Soto
James McBride
Mark Haddon
Alice Walker
Barbara Ehrenreich
Amy Tan
Chaim Potak
Margaret Walker
David Guterson
Diana Abu-jaber
Richard Wright
Leslie Marmon Silko
LIBRARIES
BOOK STORES
Spring/Harris County
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 http://www.hcpl.net
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Barbara Bush Library
 6817 Cypresswood Drive
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Woodlands/Montgomery County
 http://www.countylibrary.org
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Woods Mitchell Library
 8125 Ashlane Way
Once and Again Books
 www.onceagainbooks.com
 Sawdust Road across from HEB
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Jill’s Used Books
 27718 I-45 N
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South Regional Library
 2101 Lake Robbins Drive
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 1960 at Stuebner Airline
Northwest Library
 11355 Regency Green Drive
Half Price Books:
Once Read Twice Sold
 250 Cypresswood, Suite E
Barnes and Noble
(Woodlands or 1960)
 Borders (Woodlands)
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Today’s Deliverable:
 List including:
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Group Members
Seminar Choice
Books you plan to read (w/ Point Values)
Group Name/Crest-Should reflect the books you’ll be
reading and your group’s individual character
Tonight:
 Look up the books you picked.
 Length
 Difficulty level
Talking about it!
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Every Monday you and your group will get
together to discuss what you have read.
Discussion Dates:
 11/29
 12/5
 12/12
 1/4
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You will need to prepare five note cards for each
discussion- these will serve as your “admission
ticket” to your seminar.
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If you do not have your note cards fully
prepared, you will not be admitted to the
seminar (grr ...).
 That means you will not receive your points for the
note cards or the discussion! In other words, these are
VERY important. The good news is that they are not
difficult to prepare.
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1 & 2: Significant Events
 Front: page number and the first sentence of a significant passage
 Back: (choose one)
▪ A) a personal connection,
▪ B) and ethical or social concern, or
▪ C) something you found upsetting, disturbing, confusing.
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3: Mode of Discourse:
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Choose one of the modes of discourse we have discussed (narration and
description; comparison/contrast; process analysis; division and classification) and:
 Front: write down example of mode of discourse (text or page number for
reference)
 Back: Answer: why did the author choose to use that mode?
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4: Author’s Style:
 Front: quote or reference
 Back: Answer: what is unique about this author’s style?
▪ Suggestions: use of dialogue, pace of novel, chronology, setting, character
development, tone, point of view, author’s opinion of his characters
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5: Will be blank, as it will be used during the seminar.
You will have the entire period to discuss what you have
read.
 During this time you should:
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 Share your note cards. Go around the group, one at a time, and
ask everyone to read one of their note cards. The group will
then discuss what the person has shared.
 Continue taking turns until either the class period is over, or you
have all run out of note cards (four rounds!)
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Your ‘blank’ note card should be used to either:
 make note of something you found particularly insightful
 write down an idea or question for further research
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Once the group has finished their discussion, check to
make sure all group members are at approximately the
same point in their reading, and that the original choice of
the ‘next book’ is still valid.
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Once you have chosen a seminar, you and
your group members need to create a
schedule.
Include:
 List of titles to be read
 Discussion dates for each title
▪ Where the group should be in each book by the date of
discussion (finished? Halfway?)
Part Icheckpoints and quizzes
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Book Check
 do you have your book, are you reading it? (you should
have your book EVERY DAY, by the by)
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Quick-Quizzes
 AP Multiple Choice questions over rhetorical devices
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Ticket Out of Class
 Short-answer (OER style) connecting your reading to
things we have learned in class (ex: Modes of Discourse,
Rhetorical Devices, etc.)
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Vocabulary Quizzes
 Chosen from Word of the Day, Rhetorical Devices, and
context vocabulary from your reading
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Note Cards
 From seminar discussion- will be checked before each
discussion, and are included in your knowledge folder
Part II- Papers
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Choose a topic, issue, or event from your
reading that you would like to know more
about.
 This could be anything : ex: What was so special
about Shelby cars? How do people from
Singapore adapt their culture when they come to
America?
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The report will have five sections, asking you
to discuss not only the topic you researched,
but also the process you used in conducting
your research.
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Rough Draft for peer editing: December 8
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Final Draft, with cover sheet and rough draft
included, due by December 13th.
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Both drafts must be printed out at due date.
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You will be asked to write a paper discussing
the way the books you have read have
affected or changed your understanding of
the seminar theme you have chosen.
Paper will be assigned after Winter Break.
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This will be a one-period cold write asking
you to reflect on your experience in the
seminar.
Conducted after Winter Break.
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Completion of 40 points of books is necessary to
receive full credit on ALL major grade assignments.
 iSearch paper
 Reflections paper
 Knowledge Folder
The number of points you fall short x 10 is the number
of points that will be removed from EACH major
grade at the end of the seminar should you not
complete the appropriate readings.
 I will consider extra credit for going over 40 points if
you can demonstrate that the extra book added depth
to your understanding
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This major-grade assignment is intended to
help you track and understand significant
features and themes of the novels being
studied.
It is an individual project, but feel free to
‘compare notes’ with other students.
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Front of Folder: collage that is representative
of the books
Inside folder: two-page spread for each book
analyzing elements of the novel including
plot, characters, literary devices, theme, and
more!
Back of Folder: Reflection on the meaning of
the seminar
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Collage-style
representation of books
you and your group have
read.
Must Include:
 Titles and Authors
 Pictures that are
representative of the story
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Suggested inclusion:
 Favorite line or quote from
each book
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Each folder will have a two-page spread
dedicated to each book you read.
You have been given two legal-sized folders.
This allows for three books. If your seminar
includes more than three books, I can provide
you with an extra.
 I will not provide replacement folders- you’ll have
to get those on your own if something happens to
the folders I gave you.
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Title and its significance
MLA Citation
Statement of Theme: including
 a quote
 the context of the quote
 how the quote is related to the theme.
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Connection to the Seminar’s Theme
Seminar Discussion Notes
Plot Synopsis: includes
 major events
 Climax
 resolution.
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3 ‘Level’ questions about the book:
1.
2.
3.
Level 1: recall/general knowledge
Level 2: interpretation of something in the book
Level 3: larger theme, connects to topics outside of the book
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Point of View and its significance
Setting:
 Time
 Place
 Significance
 Social setting
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Major Characters (3): including
 changes they go through: how do they develop?
 their motivation why do they do the things they do?
 their function in the story
what purpose does the character
serve?
 the narrator’s opinion does the narrator paint the character in
an overly negative or positive light?
 and your reaction to the character how do you feel
about the character? Do you dread it when he/she shows up?
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Literary Devices:
 Choose three rhetorical or literary devices from
each of the three columns on your CE assignment
sheet. (Emphasis, Organization, Decoration)
 For each device (total of 9):
▪ Name of Device
▪ Quote where it appears in the book
▪ Function of the device- What is it doing? (NOT what is
it?)
▪ Significance: How does it help the story or the writing?
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Author information:
 Background: date of birth/death; nationality; living
conditions; education; major world events or conditions
going on at the time of writing, etc.
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Letter to the Author*:
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Mention one thing you liked
One thing you did not like
One question you have for the author
What has reading this book meant to you?
*Must be letter-formatted in a properly addressed envelope. (address c/o
publishing house)
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Answer the following questions about your
experience during the seminar using quotes
from various readings
 What does the theme of the seminar and/or a
book you have read mean in terms of:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Your family
Your friends
Your community (local or national)
Your understanding of the human condition
So when am I going to get all of this
accomplished?
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Nov. 18: Reading Day, Quiz
Thanksgiving Break
Week of Nov. 28 (3-2):
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Mon: Seminar Discussion Day 2
Tues: Reading Day, Quiz (CE Assignment Due)
Wed: iSearch paper rough draft due, peer editing,
Quiz
Thurs: Timed Writing: Comparison/Contrast
Fri: KF check, Quiz, reading day
Week of Dec. 12 (3-4):
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Mon: Seminar Discussion Day 3, iSearch paper
due
Tues: Reading Day, Quiz (CE Assignment Due)
Wed: KF check, Reading Day, Quiz
Thurs: Timed Writing: Author’s Style
Fri: reading day (early release)
Winter Break
Week of Jan. 2 (3-5):
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Week of Dec. 5 (3-3):
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Mon: Reading Day, Quiz
Tues: Seminar Discussion #1 (CE Assignment
Due)
Wed: intro iSearch paper, Reading Day, Quiz
Thurs: Timed Writing: Author’s Purpose
Fri: KF check, Quiz, reading day
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Mon: Holiday
Tues: Reading Day, Quiz
Wed: Seminar Discussion Day 4
Thurs: Reading Day, Quiz
Fri: KF work Day
Week of Jan. 9 (3-6)/Finals:
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Mon: KF Due
Tues: Timed Writing: Reflections Paper
Wed: Seminar Review Paper assigned
Thurs: Work on Seminar Review Paper/
Final Exam vocab
Fri: Seminar Review Paper due
Please note: you will only have 7 major
grades this six weeks. Last six weeks
you had 11. This means each of them
counts for more than you are
accustomed to, and a 70 (or lower) hurts
more.