Reading

Competencies:

Vocabulary: Students will apply and acquire vocabulary through speaking, listening, reading, writing, and the use of vocabulary strategies.
Reading Literacy Competency: Students will demonstrate the ability to comprehend, analyze, and critique a variety of increasingly complex print and non-print literary texts.
Reading Informational Texts Competency: Students will demonstrate the ability to comprehend, analyze, and critique a variety of increasingly complex print and non-print informational texts, including texts for science, social studies, and technical subjects.

Essential Questions:

How do effective readers infer or read between the lines?
How do we know our ideas about a piece of writing are valid?
How do we know what the author is trying to communicate to the reader?
What is the message?
How and why do individuals, events and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text?
How do we make meaning out of the written word?
How do organization and format lead to an understanding of a text?
Why is point of view and purpose important?
What do effective readers do?
Why read?

READING REASONS

Reading Minute:

Reading Minute Assignment

Reading Minute Log

Monthly Reading Board Themes:

September: Reading Wisdom

Reading Quotes

October: Hard Reading Material

Example of hard reading

November: It's A Wacky World

Example of Wacky Headlines

December: Book Recommendations

Book Recommendation Form

January: Words of Wisdom

Example Words of Wisdom

February: Words We Love

7 Novels to read for better vocabulary

Example:

Vulnerable - easily hurt (adjective)

The Great Gabsy

March: Hundred Greatest Novels of All Time

The List of 100

April: I didn't know that!

I didn't know...

May: Show, Don't Tell

Rich Descriptions

June: The Book of the Year

Cast Your Vote

READING GENRES & RESOURCES:

100 Greatest Novels of All-Time

The List

Reading Log Template (General 9)

Multi-Genre Reading Log Template (General 9)

Reading Log Rubric

Example Reading Logs

Example Reading Log 1

Example Reading Log 2

RESOURCES:

Good Reads

YALSA-Young Adult Library Services Organization.

http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/booklistsawards/booklistsbook.cfm

This website is packed with great book lists such as: Best Books for Young Adults, Best Fiction for Young Adults, Printz Award Books, Great Graphic Novels, Outstanding Books for the College Bound and more.

Teenreads.com

http://www.teenreads.com/reviews

Teenreads has many book reviews and you can search by title, author, genre or date. Check out the list "Adult books you want to read" for some challenging titles.

Reading Rants

http://www.readingrants.org/

Reading Rants: Out of the Ordinary Teen Book Lists. This site categorizes books by subject or interest area and includes lists such as: Inquiring Minds Want to Know, Nailbiters, Gods and Monsters, and The Coolest Classics You Never Heard of.

Overbooked

http://overbooked.com/booklists/abya/index.html

Overbooked calls itself “a website for ravenous and omnivorous readers” and with a collection of reading lists under the title Adult Books for Teens, even the most ravenous middle school reader can find challenging titles.

Figment

http://figment.com/features

Figment is a community where you can share your writing, connect with other readers, and discover new stories and authors. Whatever you're into, from sonnets to mysteries, from sci-fi stories to cell phone novels, you can find it all here.

Make Literature Online

http://www.makeliterature.com/forums/

Make Literature online is a reading and writing forum. Under the Fiction Books tab they have interesting lists such as Top 100 Interesting Novels of All Time and Single Most Important Book in Your Life as well as a wealth of book reviews.

Reading Strategies:

1. Summarize:

What is happening?
What is your book about?

2. Make Connections (text to self, text to text, text to world):

Pick ONE of these to address. Explain the connection
How can you relate to the book, an event or character (text to self)?
How does this book, an event or character relate to another text (text to text)?
How does this book relate to a world event (text to world)?

3. Ask Questions:

What is confusing?
What do I not understand?

4. Choose Themes:

What are the themes or issues (world peace, friendship, good vs. evil, family, overcoming odds, achievement, etc.)?
What lessons or ideas was the writer trying to communicate to the reader?
What is the message?
Why are these important?

5. Identify an Emotional Response:

Identify a specific part of the book that caused an emotional response and explain how it made you feel and why (something confusing, disturbing, humorous, etc.).

6. Analyze a Quote:

What is a thought-provoking quote (excerpt from the book)?
- Copy the excerpt with the page number and who said it (this could be the narrator)
- Explain why the excerpt stood out for you.

7. Critique: