Outside Reading Project Quarter 2
Books made into movies
Directions: For this semester’s outside reading project, your job is to choose a novel that has been
made into a movie. The novel you choose needs to be a grade appropriate novel. Once you have read
the novel you will need to watch the movie. As you watch, take notes about the similarities and
differences in each one. Then, write a 1 ½- 2 page paper comparing the two stories. Your analysis of
the two stories should be well thought out and organized into paragraphs. You need to use the essay
format on the back of this paper to help you develop your thoughts. It might be a good idea to plan out
your essay before you begin. Use the rubric on the back to be sure all your information is included.
You will need to make comparisons based on the following criteria:
- Was the main character how you pictured them? What about the other characters?
- Do you think the director did a good job capturing the essence of the story?
- Think about the setting of the book. Did the setting in the movie look like you had imagined it?
If not, how was it different?
- Were there any changes in characters between the book and the movie? Why do you think the
people who made the movie would leave out or add a character?
- What parts were in the book but were not in the movie? Why do you think the people who
made the movie left those parts out?
- Were there any parts that were in the movie that were not in the book? Why do you think the
people that made the movie added those parts?
- Do you think the people who made the movie did a good job of portraying the book? Why or
why not?
- Which did you enjoy more, the book or the movie? Why?
You MAY NOT read the following:
The Harry Potter Series
The Twilight Series
The Hunger Games series
Some suggestions of books made into movies
A Walk to Remember
The Notebook
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Percy Jackson
White Fang
The Call of the Wild
The Adventures of Huck Finn
The Secret Garden
Precious
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging
The Chronicles of Narnia
Water for Elephants
Pride and Prejudice
The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas
The Lucky One
Extremely Loud and Dangerously Close
The Freedom Writers Diary
I Am Number Four
Beastly
Girl Interrupted
Life of Pi
The Davinci Code
The City of Ember
Dear John
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Outside Reading Quarter 2 Rubric
Criteria
Points
Awarded
Points
possible
Notes taken on the similarities and difference in the novel and
the movie (list or Venn diagram style)
10
Paper is 1 ½- 2 pages in length
5
Paper is organized into specific paragraphs. Each paragraph
includes a topic sentence
5
Paper includes an introduction which introduces the novel
and movie and provides a brief summary of the plot
15
In-depth comparisons are made between the novel and the
movie
25
A brief analysis is given as to why the changes were made or
whether or not the changes were a good idea (Use the
questions for help with this area)
30
Grammatical errors are minimal and a variety of sentence
type are used
10
Total
100