NAME:
Due October 13, 2015
Reading Project, 1st Nine Weeks
TEST GRADE
For this project you will select a book to read for the nine weeks. While reading, you will work to
complete a chart on the theme of the book. You will then create a poster for your book which you
will present to the class. This will be a TEST grade (90%).
DUE DATE:
Oct. 13, 2015
Check-up Date:
Aug. 21, 2015 – MUST have a book IN CLASS by this date
Sept. 16, 2015
On this date you will bring in THIS PAPER, with the form on the back filled out by your guardian.
You will also bring in an abstract which is a short proposal, approximately 500 words in length,
which develops a thesis for what you have learned from the book, based off your selected literary
theory. This is not the time to pull in quotes, but merely summarize possible supporting events and
introduce what you believe this book reveals about life/society/humanity.
Book Criteria
 Fiction
 At least 200 pages
 Cannot be a book that has been made into a movie/series, or from a series that has been
made into a movie/series
 Cannot be a book you have read previously in school
Monitoring Progress
You will occasionally have time to read in class, although not enough to finish the book solely from
this. You must ALWAYS bring your book to class.
The Project
You will create a LITERARY THEORY poster over your book. The Dollar Store behind Applebee’s has
posters 3 for $1 typically. There are several goals for your poster detailed in the next section.
Literary Theory Poster
When analyzing literature, there are several approaches to interpretation. Familiarizing yourself
with these approaches will help you begin to understand the rhetorical implications of fiction. For
this project the approaches you may consider using are New Criticism, Historical, Psychological,
Feminism, and Deconstruction. These different approaches will be explained on a different handout.
Your task will be to select a theory that you feel best works with your novel. For example, if you
read The Hobbit a text with virtually no female characters, it would be very difficult to apply a
feminist theory to the text. It would be plausible to apply a historical theory, however, since J.R.R.
Tolkien was a soldier in World War II and many elements of his stories are inspired from his time in
war and specific locations in Europe. You might have to research a little bit about your author and
the time period in which a story was written to help select a theory.
Once you have a theory picked, you must develop a thesis that explains what you learn about
life/society/humanity based off your theory. The theory handout will offer questions to ask
NAME:
Due October 13, 2015
yourself to help guide you. If you have a historical theory, your thesis should reflect what the author
is showing/arguing about the time period, events, or lives of people within that historical
timeframe based off events in the book. The thesis should center on an abstract idea which you can
select from your abstract noun list in your toolbox.
Your poster will be a visual representation of this thesis. It must be creative, colorful, and display
craftsmanship. You may not be an artist, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have an attractive poster.
Use magazine cut outs, construction paper, markers, or printed images to develop your visual
representation.
Finally, you will present your argument to class, using your poster as support. This is a brief (no
more than 5 minutes) speech that outline your thesis and how the book supports your thesis. The
poster should aid your presentation, and it should be clear the poster illustrates specific examples
from the book. Your presentation is where you develop your commentary, explaining how the proof
from the book supports your thesis.
Outline of Required Poster Elements
 Title of novel and author’s name
 Thesis statement
 3 illustrated events from the book that help prove thesis and 3 corresponding NEATLY
WRITTEN or PRINTED quotes
o *Note: if doing a New Criticism theory, insure your quotes reflect patterns of
imagery, specific diction, figures of speech, etc., relevant to your thesis
 At least one RELEVANT outside connection. This means if you are doing a historical
criticism, you need a section with relevant historical information; if you are doing a
psychological criticism, you need a section with information about pertinent psychological
illnesses or theories; if you are doing a feminist criticism, you need a section relating what
the author is saying about women’s lot to actual historical events/facts that represent the
issue the author is exploring; etc.)
 Colorful, polished poster
 Abstract attached to back of poster
PARENT FORM:
______I know my child has an independent reading project due OCTOBER 13TH for a
test grade.
______I understand my child must complete his/her reading while at home, AND that
Lord of the Flies is not the independent reading book.
______My child has a poster ready to complete this project (rubric of requirements
attached).
_________________________________________________
(parent signature)
Additional comments or concerns:
NAME:
Due October 13, 2015
Rubric
Poster (60 pts, 4 pts each)
Visual Appeal
- Poster is colorful
- Poster includes neatly drawn images, or appropriately selected images from
magazines/printed
- Poster displays craftsmanship (no wrinkles or messy glues, or messy cutting)
- Images and text are appropriately sized so they fill the space, but also leave room for
textual information
Illustration selection
- Illustrations clearly represent specific events in the book
- Illustrations match the examples student discusses in presentation
- At least 3 illustrations are used
- Illustrations support student’s thesis
Quote selection
- Poster has 3 quotes, typed or neatly written, from book
- Quotes support student’s thesis
Thesis statement
- Thesis is written as a sentence and displayed on poster
- Thesis is an argument
- Thesis clearly reflects a literary theory
Outside Connections
- Student has an appropriate connection for thesis
- Connection is displayed neatly and appropriately
Presentation (40 pts, 5 pts each)
- Presentation is approximately 5 minutes long, not exceeding more than 1 minute or
falling short by 1 minute.
- Presenter introduces book and a brief synopsis.
- Presenter clearly states thesis
- Presenter has three examples of how events in the book support the thesis
- Presenter fully explains and explores how events develop the thesis, focusing on the
questions relevant to their theory.
- Presenter connects the story to outside connections seamlessly. This should be
integrated into your argument as appropriate, not a separate topic.
- Presenter speaks clearly
- Presenter is clearly rehearsed and is not reading from a paper or “winging it”
Student attached original abstract and CORRECTED abstract to back of poster
(10 points off if missing or uncorrected from feedback).
Student brought THIS rubric (10 points off if teacher supplied).