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The summer reading test is fairly basic and the questions are concrete — Who is this person? What did they do? What are they known for?
Remember, the story is important. Don't just look up a description of the character. Find out what happened to them and what other characters were involved. Consider the overall theme of their story.
Analysis isn't necessary at this point — we will do that, together, in class.
The fastest way to get the information is to just read the portion of the text concerning the listed character/place/object. Google the name if you can't find it in an index. Then, read the story and take brief notes. Don't be afraid to use an online encyclopedia as a starting place, but remember, the best and often fastest/shortest way to get the info is to read the original text (e.g. the Bible and Edith Hamilton's mythology).
We STRONGLY encourage students to take simple notes on the concrete aspects of the story.
Make a PRODUCT, such as a shared Google Doc with notes, or note cards
Don't worry about the little details (like, who "beget" whom, or how many years someone lived).
Sample Note:
Noah
Character is good man called by God to build an ark (boat) and collect animals before flood
On ark for 40 days and nights
Sent dove who brought back an olive branch proving flood gone (dove and olive branch now symbols for peace)
Rainbow sent by God as symbol for promise not to flood the Earth again
Resources:
Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes, by Edith Hamilton
Wikipedia — Yes, go ahead. Just be sure to check the quality of the article which will be noted at the top with symbols.
bronze star = best of the best, featured article which is peer reviewed and checked for excellence
lock = excellent article, fact checked and reviewed, only certain people may edit
disputed article warning box = facts/research of article under dispute. Avoid these articles.
the Bible, online (there are many versions online, find the one that you like best)
Bible Encyclopedia/Dictionary, online (again, there are many online versions. Warning: the entries are often many times longer than the original Bible story, so, it is always better to read the original text)
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