When Zachary Beaver Came to Town
Post Reading Project
PAP
Mr. Hammonds
Now that we have finished Zachary Beaver, it is now time to find other genres that we can relate to the
many themes and topics of this story. It is your job to choose one of the six themes (Friendship, War,
Loss of Friends/Loved Ones, Divorce, Childhood Obesity, and Need for Acceptance) and find two other
genres that we have studied this year (Autobiography, Biography, Memoir, Personal Narrative,
Expository, Poetry, or Drama) to show how the two relate and work together to give you a broader
understanding of that theme.
Here are some examples of what we mean:




Biography, Memoir, Personal Narrative, and Autobiography: Find someone who went through
the same issues and discuss their thoughts, feelings, difficulties, failures, and triumphs. You
don’t have to read the whole book to do this. A biographical magazine article, or an episode of
“Biography” with a written summary is also acceptable.
Expository: Find an article that relates to the theme. Pull out the facts and figures and overall
information that article gives and use it to show a broader understanding of the theme you have
chosen.
Poetry: Find a poem or song that relates to your topic and show how the words, tone, and mood
reflected in the poem/song relate to one of the themes of the book.
Drama: Find a short play or part of a long play that deals with your chosen topic. How do the
characters of the play relate to that of Zachary Beaver? What do they learn? How do they
change as a result of dealing with this issue? How is the issue understood better by you now
that you have read these two pieces?
Here is how the essay should look by paragraph:
The opening paragraph should include something interesting, funny, factual, or a quote about the theme.
Here,you should give a brief glimpse into what they will talk about.
The second and third paragraphs should be relating information from ZB and the other genres . What did
you learn about the theme?
The fourth paragraph should be about how these genres support each other and give you the writer a
better understanding of the theme.
Finally, you should write a closing paragraph that summarizes what you learned and what you plan to do
about this theme in the future.
Point
s
Awar
ded
4
3
2
Two Genres
chosen with
clear
connections
Two Genres
with a few
inconsistenci
es in
connections
Two Chosen
with little
connection
shown
Only one
Genre was
chosen
Theme was
chosen
appropriately
Correct
theme is
covered
Theme is
correct but
not related
to ZB
Theme is
correct but
shows little
connection
Theme is
incorrect
Spelling and
Punctuation
were used
correctly
Complete
Sentences
Two Genres
were supplied
upon turn in
< 2 Errors
found
3-4 Errors
Found
Two genres
chosen with
only
moderate
connections
shown
Theme is
correct with
only
moderate
connection
5-6 Errors
Found
7-9 Errors
Found
>10 Errors
Found
< 2 Errors
found
Genres were
supplied on
turn in.
3-4 Errors
Found
5-6 Errors
Found
Only 1 Genre
was supplied
on turn in
7-9 Errors
Found
>10 Errors
Found
Only the
essay is
turned in
Writing shows
depth and
understanding
of the theme
discussed
Clear
examples and
connections
are present
Examples
and
connections
present with
few errors in
explanation
Examples
and
connections
moderately
present with
few errors in
explanation
No clear
examples
and
connections
present
Five
paragraph
essay with a
strong hook, a
reflective
conclusion,
and well
thought out
ideas is
present.
Required
length with
exciting
introduction
and reflective
conclusion
Required
length but
there are
minor errors
in the
introduction
and/or
conclusion
Missing one
paragraph.
Examples
and
connections
are loosely
present with
many errors
in
explanation
Missing
paragraphs
with little to
no effort at
an
introduction
or conclusion
Standard
Required
Two Genres
were Chosen
Appropriately
5
An attempt
at an
introduction
and
conclusion
Rubric for the assignment
1
Missing
paragraphs
with no
introduction
or
conclusion.