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The Share & Tell assignment will count for 15% of your final grade
(10% M.E.A.L. paragraph + 5% presentation/visual element)
You will sign up for a date on one of our Tuesday meetings to present for 4-5 minutes on a young adult or middle-grade book that made an impact on you. You will also create an accompanying visual element to share with the class. One week after your presentation, you will turn in a M.E.A.L. plan paragraph tying your text to one of your chosen themes. Instructions and examples are on the course website.
Instructions
Instructions
You will sign up for a date on one of our Tuesday meetings to present for 4 to 5 minutes on YOUR CHOICE of a young adult (YA) or middle grade (MG) book that made an impact on you.
You will also create an accompanying visual element to share with the class.
Having trouble thinking of a book? Contact me or view "How to choose a book" below.
Looking for previous Share & Tell presentations? Find them here.
Sign up sheets
Sign up sheets
Click your section below to be taken to the signup sheet. I strongly recommend that you complete this assignment sooner rather than waiting until the end of the semester when other projects might also be due! Check your schedules to make sure you can prepare well for that date before you sign up.
How to choose a book
How to choose a book
Try to remember what you enjoyed most of your reading around ages 8-18 - whether you read this in school or for fun. Comics and graphic novels count, as do genres (mysteries, science-fiction/fantasy, etc.).
Note I say that you should choose a YA or MG book that impacted you. I don't necessarily say that it has to be your most favorite book! (Though if it's both, that's fine, too.)
The impact the book had may be anything, like the moment you first remember getting really into a story, or the YA novel that taught you a lesson about something meaningful--like death or friendship, or the book that you reread over and over. As this is a literature class, however, please avoid genres such as self-help manuals or technical guides.
Consider choosing the first YA/MG book in which you remember seeing a reflection of yourself.
Need help brainstorming? Stop by during my student hours or contact me.
How to tell if your book qualifies for this assignment
How to tell if your book qualifies for this assignment
Try to remember what you enjoyed most of your reading around ages 8-18 - whether you read this in school or for fun. Comics and graphic novels count, as do genres (mysteries, science-fiction/fantasy, etc.).
The impact the book had may be anything, like the moment you first remember getting really into a story, or the YA novel that you taught you a lesson about something meaningful--like death or friendship, or the book that you reread over and over. Maybe choose the first YA/MG book in which you remember seeing a reflection of yourself.
Most important: Once you determine the book, confirm that your book qualifies for this assignment! I cannot give you credit for talking about, say, a Stephen King novel, even if you read it when you were in middle school - because Stephen King's novels do not qualify as a middle grade (MG) or young adult (YA) text. That being said:
Check the publisher for clues! (Some of the biggest companies that publish YA and MG texts include Scholastic, HarperCollins, Little Brown, Houghton Mifflin, Yearling.)
Sometimes the publisher will have the word "Teen" or in their title, which gives you a big hint about their primary audience! Example: Soho Teen, Harlequin Teen, Tor Teen
On a related note, "For Young Readers" may be a middle grade or young adult novel (e.g., Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers), but make sure it isn't a children's book as that is too young an age range for this class!
Publishers' websites will also categorize their books specifically. For example, Penguin Random House has a page focusing on their Teen & Young Adult books: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/teen-young-adult
Speaking of which, websites will often have information on this.
Goodreads (link here!) is an EXCELLENT resource for this course, containing YA lists and more. Note, however, that it is crowd-sourced, so use your judgment.
If the book is for younger people, Amazon includes "Age Range" and "Grade Level" information in the Product Information section of the book page.
If the author is most popular for their YA/MG work, or publishes exclusively in these disciplines, then their official author webpages will confirm this.
The short list and video explainer below has additional tips.
Is your book middle grade fiction, or young adult fiction?
Is your book middle grade fiction, or young adult fiction?
There are of course exceptions to every rule, which is why you should note the above, however...
Middle grade (MG):
Middle grade (MG):
Examples: Handler's Lemony Snicket series, Broaddus's The Usual Suspects
Age range of target readers (and often of the protagonists): ~8-12
Usually no profanity, graphic violence or sexuality beyond an innocent crush or a first kiss
Typically shorter than YA (exceptions for fantasy, which can run longer in general)
Tend toward simple and clearer language and sentences
Widely assigned to middle school students or later grades of elementary school
Young Adult (YA):
Young Adult (YA):
Examples: most of the rest of our syllabus, Hunger Games, Twilight, etc.
Age range of target readers (and often of the protagonists): ~13-18
Profanity, graphic violence, romance and sexuality (except for eroticism) are allowable but not necessarily required
Typically longer than MG (exceptions for fantasy, which can run longer in general)
Sentences & word choice might be more complex to match the emotion of the text
Widely assigned to high school students
Video explainer
Video explainer
Here's a quick video explainer to help you find more clues about your text and whether it qualifies!
Presentation Details
Presentation Details
As mentioned above, you have four to five minutes to present your book. In that time, you must...
name the title, author, and main publisher
give a very, very brief summary of the text (no spoilers!)
this is a good opportunity to explain how this book differs from other YA or MG books
when you remember reading it, related circumstances and reactions
connections to common themes in young adult literature
how/why this text impacted you
Try to make your speech interesting and memorable. Maybe even consider trying to convince your classmates that it is worth reading!
Scroll down for additional advice for presentations.
Don't forget! One week after your presentation (or earlier!), you must also turn in a M.E.A.L. plan paragraph to Brightspace. Instructions are below.
Visual Element Requirements & Examples
Visual Element Requirements & Examples
Requirements
Requirements
I share your presentation with the class on the big screen, so it would be great if you could provide them to me before our class on Tuesday!
Your visual must include:
Basic information on the book, including the author, title, publisher, copyright date/original year of publication
A short (2-3 sentences) summary of the book (no spoilers!)
Intended primary audience: Age range and any other relevant information
Connections to common themes in young adult literature
Briefly, any additional information you want to include that you feel speaks to why someone might enjoy the book - such as a relevant quote, etc.
Your choice of visuals (color schemes, font, format, etc.) should show thoughtfulness about your topic and text.
This is very important: Be very mindful to avoid plagiarism. If you use someone else's words, cite them. Not doing so may lead to you failing the course and/or getting kicked out of the university, so please, please, please do not do this, and definitely ask me if you have any questions or concerns.
Consider the Writing Lab for assistance with your visual element (and, of course, extra credit).
Examples
Examples
There are an endless number of options for your visual element, but just to give you some examples, you can create:
An original handout or poster (students love using Canva for this; there’s a free version of the app online)
A video with images, at least 3-5 minutes – you don’t have to narrate the video if you don't want to, but you should include your personal “voice” in some way so that we can see how you crafted or composed your visual element
A website (Google Sites is what I use for our course website and is very easy to use)
A Prezi, Powerpoint, or other slide presentation
A creative project - like a poem that you wrote paired with an image, or a painting (take a picture and give us a description that includes the required information)
Other ideas? Feel free to e-mail me so we can talk about them! Additional advice on visual elements are below.
Aim to turn in your visual element the day before our class on the Tuesday that you sign up to present. That way, I can easily make it available to your classmates!
Turn in the assignment to Brightspace Assignments if it can be attached, or copy and paste a link to your project on the Brightspace Assignments page.
One week (or earlier) after your presentation, you must also turn in a M.E.A.L. plan paragraph to Brightspace. Details are below.
Share & Tell M.E.A.L. plan paragraph
Share & Tell M.E.A.L. plan paragraph
This will be due one week following your presentation (though you can of course turn it in earlier if you wish). Examples and writing strategies are below!
First, choose one of the themes you mentioned in your presentation. You will craft a one-sentence thesis statement making an argument about why your chosen theme is important in young adult literature. See below for thesis statement advice. The more specific, the better!
Next, you will follow the below format for one M.E.A.L. plan paragraph about your Share & Tell book. Link the paragraph to the thesis statement you crafted. Use and analyze a quote from your Share & Tell text, using MLA format for your quote and parenthetical citation.
MLA format example: Jack wants to expand her aspirations beyond her neighborhood because she knows "that the world we're living in right here in Bushwick isn't the only place" (Woodson 146).
The Purdue OWL offers more help on formatting quotations in MLA style.
You don't necessarily to have re-read your book to find a good quote! You can skim, or find quotes online at sites like Goodreads.
Be sure to revise as that too is part of your writing practice!
You only become a better reader and writer by actually reading and writing. Therefore, please avoid plagiarism, ChatGPT, and so on.
The "A" or "analysis" portion of each body paragraph is a great option for a place to incorporate the critical approaches we have been practicing in class. Don't forget to consult your critical approaches handouts and your notes for other suggestions and examples on critical approaches analysis and applications.
Literary thesis statements
Literary thesis statements
Course engagement thesis statements are all about practice. Therefore, while they don't have to be perfect, it would help you most if you try to make them as specific as you can.
Advice
Advice
Your aim is for a narrow & debatable argument about about your texts and your topic. To a certain extent, a lot of young adult texts do similar things. Therefore, it is important to set your argument apart from everyone else’s by making sure it is specific to the texts and topic you have chosen. Some advice:
Once you choose a topic, try narrowing that down further if you think it will help make your argument specific.
Rather than having a broad, generic thesis statement that can apply to any text in YA literature (such as "these books help young adults relate to this topic"), instead aim for a more specific argument that ties your three texts together with your topic in a unique and interesting way.
Just like any thesis statement for this class, you will want to devise a very narrow and specific main argument about your text(s) as a whole. Thus, your thesis statement will largely depend on how narrowly you present your topic.
Examples:
You may want to focus on a specific trend(s) you see happening in your particular chosen topic based on the texts you chose, and/or your insights into your topic and how it has evolved over time.
Maybe you make an argument about the major recurring patterns you see with your topic, and/or how those patterns shift and change throughout YA literature history and specifically in your three texts.
Oftentimes, students will create an argument that is more about the topic, rather than about YA literature. Direct your focus so that it is appropriate to a literature class by using one or more of our literary approaches handouts.
More examples:
More examples:
Let's say your chosen topic is "tennis" and your chosen texts are Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes, Game. Set. Match. by Jennifer Iacopelli, and When No One was Looking by Rosemary Wells.
(I know that this is not a real topic in the midterm list and that we have not read any of these books this semester - this is just an example :))Bad example:
"These three texts shows how playing tennis also teaches you about life."
This example is not a good one because, to a certain extent, all YA literature about sports and other similar activities does this. Therefore, there isn’t much of an argument here for which to provide specific evidence. It's also super broad and vague, which means that likely no one will agree or disagree - that's the sign of something being a summary, rather than an argument.
Good examples:
"These three texts shows how competitors in YA tennis novels can also be friends by embracing female solidarity even despite competition."
"These three texts show how carrying on a family legacy started by your parents can sometimes lead to a positive self-image in both sports and life."
"These three texts all allude to tennis player Billie Jean King in order to draw attention to the specific ways in which both King and the protagonists fight harassment and being underestimated in a male-dominated sport."
"Focusing on the masculine stereotype about female tennis players in these texts allows us to understand how age, gender, and race together can make advancement in tennis difficult without support from someone in power."
The above examples are good because they are: (1) specific, (2) can only apply to those three texts and the chosen topic, and (3) can be debated (meaning someone can agree or disagree or provide another alternative, thereby proving it's an actual argument.)
Writing Tips
For specific examples and advice about thesis statements, scroll down.Writing Tips
Don't pick the first topic or prompt or texts that come to mind. Instead, review all of your options and strategically choose the one(s) that will best support your argument.
As indicated below in the advice about thesis statements (scroll down) - narrow down your topic. So rather than just "parents", it may be helpful to make your argument just about "mothers" or "fathers."
Similarly, while your draft can be written in any order you want, when you revise, consider arranging your essay so that you can best show your argument in its strongest light.
Focus the majority of your essay on your analysis of your chosen texts and on strengthening the foundation of your thesis statement.
Aim for about 1/3 or less of each paragraph to be comprised of someone else's words and ideas.
Revision is where the real writing happens. On your first draft, just get your ideas down. Work towards finding the line of your argument in your revisions.
When revising, pay attention not just to grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Instead, consider organization and overall structure:
Have you adequately examined all the terms necessary for readers to understand your argument?
Do you apply at least one critical approach in your essay, as they are defined by your critical approaches handout? Is it clear in the essay when/where you are doing so?
Does each paragraph work in support of your argument about your primary text?
Does each body paragraph have the elements discussed in the M.E.A.L. plan example above?
Is your argument and essay trying to do too much? Can you narrow down your thesis statement in order to clarify and strengthen your overall argument?
Do you need to revise your thesis statement?
I strongly recommend a reverse outline to help you better address organization and the above questions.
Additional presentation advice
Additional presentation advice
The optional book for this class, the Little Seagull Handbook, contains excellent advice on presentations.
There are numerous videos (like the one below) that can also help!
Additional advice for your visual element
Additional advice for your visual element
While most students find Canva pretty intuitive for making posters, you can find instructions online and in YouTube (one example here)
More ideas for visual elements
Your course website was made using Google Sites. As a UIndy student, you are able to make a similar website for free if you wish to do so for your visual element.
If you decide on a PowerPoint or another slide presentation app, be sure to think about design and readability. Here's one website with advice.
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