2014-2015 Independent Book Projects
Mr. Innes: English 9
Assignment: You are to complete an independent book project each 2 months
throughout the year. You will read a book and complete a paper or outline and visual
project that displays the elements of writing and/or fiction from the book. You will
present your book projects to your classmates.
Your assignment may be done at any time throughout the 2 months, at your
convenience. However, the assignment is DUE NO LATER THAN THE DUE DATE
GIVEN BY THE TEACHER (below). You are expected to have your project completed
and be prepared to present it to your classmates on the assigned due dates:
*September-October:
Genre: Your choice
Book approved by: Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Project due by: Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Project Type: Written Book Analysis (required for all)
*November-December: Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy
Book approved by: Monday, November 3, 2014
Project due by: Monday, January 5, 2015
Project Type: Written Book Analysis (required for those not scoring
B or above on first report) or an outlined book analysis and visual
project
*January-February:
Genre: Biography/Autobiography/Non-fiction
Book approved by: Monday, January 12, 2015
Project due by: Thursday, February 26, 2015
Project Type: PowerPoint, Feature Article, Video, Treasure Box, or
Website
*March-April:
Genre: Multi-Cultural
Book approved by: Monday March 9, 2015
Project due by: Monday, April 27, 2015
Project Type: Written Book Analysis (required for those not scoring
B or above on previous reports) or an outlined book analysis and
visual project
*May:
Genre: Your Choice
Book approved by: Monday, May 4, 2015
Project due by: Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Project Type: Book Analysis or Visual Project
Requirements:
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Choose a book that is at or above your reading level
Read the book and complete the required analysis or project
See my website for Book Analysis Requirements
You will choose a book when the due date of the project is given (see time table above).
You will be required to present the book (or eBook) to Mr. Innes before or on the due
date. Your project can change by the end of the nine weeks; your book choice may NOT.
Usually, I will allot one week for you to choose our book and decide on a project. I will
then keep this information in your class’ binder to be sure you are completing projects
and meeting the project requirements.
Suggestions for books: (It is your responsibility to find out what reading level the book
is and if it is appropriate for you to read).
RECOMMENDATIONS (see the lists included below and visit my website for more)
Resources for Helping You and Your Child Choose Books
 www.bookadventure.com Find books based on reading level, genre, and
interest.
 www.goodreads.com Find books based on other books that you’ve
enjoyed. This site also has many lists and resources for readers.
 http://www.ala.org/yalsa/ Find new award-winning books of all genres.
SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY Recommendations (see website for more)
o Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland- Lewis Carroll
o A Great and Terrible Beauty- Libba Bray
o Elsewhere- Gabrielle Zevin
o Something Wicked This Way Comes- Ray Bradbury
o Eragon- Christopher Paolini
o Thumped- Megan McCafferty
o Bruiser- Neal Shusterman
o Between the Lines- Jodi Picoult and Samantha van Leer
o Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children- Ransom Riggs
o Shiver- Maggie Stiefvater
o The Host- Stefanie Meyer
o The Alchemyst- Michael Scott
o The Vampire Diaries- L.J. Smith
o The Scorpio Races- Maggie Stiefvater
o The Maze Runner- James Dashner
o The Green Mile- Stephen King
o Unwind- Neil Shusterman
o Wicked Lovely- Melissa Marr
o Ender’s Game- Orson Scott Card
o The Adoration of Jenna Fox- Mary Pearson
o A Winkle in Time- L’ Engle
o Brave New World- Alduous Huxley
o Uglies- Scott Westerfeld
o The Future of Us- Jay Asher
o The House of the Scorpion- Nancy Farmer
o Flowers for Algernon- Daniel Keyes
o Life As We Knew It- Susan Beth Pfeffer
o Dracula- Bram Stoker
NON-FICTON/ BIOGRAPHY/ AUTOBIOGRAPHY Recommendations
Links to Recommendations
http://yaloft.weebly.com/biography.html
http://www.cityofpuyallup.org/library/page.php?id=150
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Angela’s Ashes- Frank McCourt
Unbroken – Laura Hillenbrand
Through My Eyes- Tim Tebow
My Teenage Dream Ended- Farrah Abraham
Med Head- James Patterson
Three Little Words: A Memoir- Ashley Rhodes-Courter
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks- Rebecca Skloot
American Sniper- Chris Kyle
Wild- Cheryl Strayed
The Story of Rose: A Man and His Dog- Jon Katz
Their Eyes Were Watching God- Zora Neale Hurston
A Child Called It- Dave Pelzer
The Glass Castle- Jeannette Walls
The Other Wes Moore- Wes Moore
The President’s Club- Nancy Gibbs
Dream Team- Jack McCallum
Tuesdays With Morrie- Mitch Albom
The Last Lecture- Randy Pausch
Into Thin Air- John Krakauer
Into the Wild- John Krakauer
Boss: Richard Daley of Chicago- Mike Royko
MULTI-CULTURAL Book Recommendations
o The Color Purple- Alice Walker
o The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian- Sherman Alexie
o Nectar in a Sieve- Kamala Markandaya
o Sold- Patricia McCormick
o Copper Sun- Sharon Draper
o Persepolis- Marjane Satrapi
o The House on Mango Street- Sandra Cisneros
o Esperanza Rising- Pam Munoz Ryan
o The Kite Runner- Khaled Hosseini
o The Skin I’m in- Sharon Flake
o The First Part Last- Angela Johnson
o The Circuit: Stories of the Life of a Migrant Child- Francisco Jiminez
o Indian Chiefs- Russell Freedman
o Last of the Mohicans- James Fennimore Cooper
o The God of Small Things- Aruhndhati Roy
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If You Come Softly- Jacqueline Woodson
Beloved- Toni Morrison
Shadow of the Dragon- Sherry Garland
Tyrell- Coe Booth
Kendra- Coe Booth
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl- Harriet Jacobs
Long Walk to Freedom- Nelson Mandela
Kira Kira- Cynthia Kadohata
Story of an African Farm- Olive Schreiner
Things Fall Apart- Chinua Achebe
American Born Chinese- Gene Luen Yang
Please note: If you cannot find books in the library at school that suit your needs or
desires, you have 8 WEEKS to complete the project. Take a day or two to choose a good
one and have your friends or parents take you to the London library, or any other public
library to find the perfect book. Also, if you’re interested in owning the book, you can
always go to your local bookstore and buy it or order it from places like Amazon.com.
Please remember that you must pick a book that you have not studied in the
elementary or middle school grades and have not read before. If you choose a book
that a movie has been based on, it might be helpful to compare and contrast the movie
and the book or at least include aspects of the book that were different than the movie.
Project Guidelines: This assignment is an opportunity for you to choose what you
would like to learn about and how you would like to show what you have learned about
your novel to your classmates and myself. Your project can be any of the following
suggestions or something you create on your own (with teacher approval.) Make sure
that you choose a project based on what you are good at, what is appropriate for your
book, and something that is easily transported to school and can remain in your locker
during the day. You will not be graded on your ability to draw or create artwork. Rather,
you will be graded on the effort you put into your project and your ability to
demonstrate different aspects of your novel.
Types of projects you may choose from (if you don’t know what a project is, you can
use Google to research and find out):
Poster
o Colorful
o Must include a summary of the plot/characters/setting, etc. somewhere on the
poster. Each should be descriptive and use correct MUGS.
o Neat and organized
o Creative
o A Works Cited page and citations for quotes (you MUST have at least 3 quotes
from your novel) and your novel
PowerPoint
o PowerPoint tools are used (sound devices, pictures, headings/sub points,
transitions, etc.)
o Aesthetically (visibly) appealing
o Concise
o Organized
o Creative—does something out of the ordinary!
o Citations for pictures, quotes, or any information that is not from you
Treasure Box
o Includes at least 7 items
o Includes a description of each item; why you choose this item, and how it relates
to the events of the book. This must be typed, double spaced, and have the
correct MLA heading.
o Items included should be well thought out and symbolic. The descriptions of the
items should be very thorough and complete and relate many details from the
book (one paragraph—at least 5-7 sentences)
o Creative—Think outside the box!
o Items should be in box in an organized fashion.
Scrapbook
o Has at least 7-10 pages
o Creative and visually appealing
o Neat and organized
o Uses scrap booking tools and materials (you DO NOT have to spend a lot of
money to do this!)
o Displays the elements of fiction from the novel
o Discusses important events, characters, themes, and symbols
Website
o Has a title, background, and at least 5 pictures (with captions)
o Discusses subjects relative to your novel
o Includes two or more characters from the novel
o Creative
o All links functional and can be accessed from school
o Visually appealing
o Organized
o Consistent (page/links follow a consistent format)
Diorama
o Demonstrates a reconstructed scene from your novel with a short summary of
the scene; you explain after your summary why you choose the scene
o Creative
o Colorful/ or appropriate colors to the book
o All parts stable
o Neat/organized/ clean
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ABC Book
o All letters except q and x must be used
o Must have one picture for each letter included
o Each letter includes a 1-2 sentence explanation for the word and picture;
SENTENCES/pictures must be included to receive credit
o Colorful
o Neat/ organized
o Creative
Other project examples may include (but are not limited to):
o Advertisement
o Book Cover—Create a new book cover and rewrite the first chapter of the novel!
o Board game with instructions and game pieces
o Comic Strip—Must be at least 10 frames
o Detailed illustration—No smaller than 11x16
o Diary—Must include at least five entries written from the first person point of
view of a character
o Display—Visually represents an aspect of your novel
o Drama—Act out a scene from the novel! You may include friends or classmates
to help you
o Dramatic monologue—Pick a monologue from the novel and perform it for the
class You must dress as the character whose speech you are doing!
o Editorial article—Create a newspaper with an article describing something in
your book
o Fable/ fairy tale—Write a fairy tale using characters from your novel!
o Family tree—make a family tree for a character(s) from your novel. Must include
pictures of family members
o Illustrated story—Create a storybook version of your novel!
o Large Scale Drawing—Make a giant drawing of something from your book!
o Map with legend- Create a map of a setting from your book
o Mobile—must include 5-7 elements from the novel
o Model—can be made from any material (within reason/safety/appropriateness)
you would like!
o Montage—do this on the computer or a piece of poster board!
o Movie – Create your own miniature movie or reenact your favorite scene! Must
be a minimum of 5-7 minutes.
o Mural—Create a mural that visually represents a scene, character, etc. from your
novel
o Musical composition—Compose and perform a song for our class. Lyrics are a
bonus!
o Oil/watercolor Painting
o Photo-essay—Create a minimum 10-page photo book with 3-5 sentence
descriptions for each picture you choose.
o Picture book for children—Adapt your story so that little kids would like it!
o Pottery—Create a piece of pottery that symbolizes something from your novel
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Puppet and/or puppet show—Put on a puppet show for the class! This must
reenact a scene from your book and be at least 3-5 minutes.
Sculpture—Make a sculpture that represents something from your book
Skit—Perform a NEW scene that you have written for your book. It can be a new
beginning, ending, or alternate to something that happened.
Travel Brochure- Create a travel brochure that describes the setting of the novel
and places a traveler could go. This should have at least 5 attractions/activities
someone could enjoy.