Name:
Independent Book Project
Each marking period, you will be required to independently read a novel of your choice. You will
have most of the marking period to read the novel and complete an assignment. Below are six
assignment descriptions. Each marking period, you will read one independent novel and choose one
assignment to complete. This means you may skip two of the options over the course of the year. Each
assignment is worth 20 points.
PRESENTATION OPTION
Sell your book to the class. Come up with three reasons students should read this book (a great
character, interesting writing style, unique text structure, plot twists, etc.). In a multimedia presentation
(speaking and visual), begin by providing a brief background of the novel and then sell your book to the
class by discussing three reasons they must read it. For each reason, provide a specific example from
the book. This can be done by reading excerpts or you explaining it in your own words. (Ex. If you say
the author has an interesting writing style, provide a few lines.) The presentation should be 2-4
minutes. DO NOT GIVE AWAY THE ENDING IN YOUR PRESENTATION!
Clear background of the book (2)
3 reasons are persuasive with clear examples for each (12)
Speaking voice is clear and audible (3)
Presentation is sophisticated and serves as a useful aid to the presentation (3)
WRITING OPTION
Write a letter to an important character. If you could share your thoughts on three things the character
experienced, what would you say to him/her? For each topic, provide a little background of what
occurred and then provide your thoughts or opinion on it. Your letter should be approximately one
page long.
3 topics are explained with clear background (6)
Your thorough opinion is provided on three topics (9)
Audience is the character and the tone reflects that (2)
Writing is carefully edited (3)
VOCABULARY OPTION
Find 20 high level words throughout the course of the book. Create a list of the words, their parts of
speech, their definitions, and each word being used in a sentence you create.. Then create a game that
could be used to test people’s knowledge of the vocabulary.
Parts of speech are accurate (5)
Definitions are accurate (5)
Words are used correctly in a sentence (5)
Game is creative and challenges players on the vocabulary (5)
Name:
Independent Book Project
RESEARCH OPTION
Think of anything related to the book that interests you. For example, maybe the book was set in the
1960s, and the fashion of the times interests you. If the book has a historical edge, maybe you are
interested in a historical event or the politics of the time. Maybe the characters ate a certain meal
you’ve never had, and you want to learn more. Whatever topic interests you, research it using at least
two sources. Then present your findings in any way you see fit. (For the fashion example, you could
make or find a sample outfit of the time. For the history option, you could create a PowerPoint on your
findings. For the food option, you could make and bring in the meal.) You may turn your findings in to
me or present them to the class. You must turn in a Bibliography of your two sources (can be generated
from NoodleTools) and a paragraph explaining the topic you researched.
Bibliography accurately cites two reliable sources (4)
Paragraph clearly explains the researched topic (4)
Findings display the knowledge gained from the research (12)
TECHNOLOGY OPTION
Create a book trailer. The book trailer should serve as a teaser for the book, meaning it should provide
background in an exciting way, but it should NOT GIVE AWAY THE ENDING. Besides the visual, you must
provide background through a voice over or text (voiced or written by you). The book trailer can be
made using any program you wish (ex. Movie Maker or PhotoStory), or you may film it yourself (ex.
using people as actors or animating props). The end result may be turned in through Office 365,
through email, or dropped in my drop folder. Check to be sure I will be able to view the results.
Voice over or text and images are clear and understandable (4)
Trailer provides background to pique the audience’s attention without giving away too much (6)
Voice over or text is well written and matches the tone of the novel (6)
Trailer is creatively put together in a sophisticated manner (4)
CREATIVE OPTION
Create a scrapbook that a character or several characters would have put together. The memories
placed in the scrapbook should represent the most important moments in the novel. Each page should
include several artifacts from that memory. Artifacts can include pictures (taken, drawn, or found),
keepsakes, words, etc. At the bottom of each memory page, include a brief description that tells what
the memory is and how the page represents it. The scrapbook should include 5 memories.
5 memories represent important moments from the novel (5)
5 descriptions clarify the pages (5)
Descriptions are carefully edited (3)
Items in scrapbook accurately represent the moments (5)
Scrapbook is neat and creative (2)