John+M-Sum+Read

Summer Reading Assignment Student Posts
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Given the nature of the 2011 summer reading program, you had significant autonomy in selecting the books you would read. While you were responsible for completing a proposal, you were not given other assignments to complete over the summer. As indicated on your proposal form, you are required to write a letter to your 2011-12 Language Arts teacher that demonstrates your thoughtful reading of your book. We have chosen to break this down further into three focused "Power Paragraphs" for two reasons, one, to introduce you to the idea of a power paragraph, and two, to assist you in covering all aspects of the assignment.

__ Prompt for Paragraph One - A Reflection of Your Choice __ Over the course of the summer, I read the book // Catching Fire // and //Mockingjay// by Susanne Collins and I decided to read the books because I had heard they were similar to the previous book in the //Hunger Games// series, which involved countless fight scenes and always kept me guessing. I was pleased that the books kept me guessing and I was also happy with the amount of fighting. My favorite fighting part in the book was when,"[Finnick's] trident goes whizzing over [Katniss's] head and there's a sickening sound of impact as it finds its target. The man... sinks to his knees as Finnick frees the trident from his chest," (Collins, 170). I loved the book because it had everything I expected and more.
 * *Must be posted to the WIKI by midnight on Wednesday, 8/24 **

Works Cited Collins, Susanne. //Catching Fire//. 2009.

__ Prompt for Paragraph Two - A Discussion of What You Gained by Reading Your Book __ The books //Catching Fire// and //Mockingjay// mad me think of how lucky we are to live in a country with as much freedom as the United States. Although the books are fictional, the way Panem(their country) is run is almost like a dictatorship because the president, who was pretty much a dictator, kills citizens and bombed two districts of the country because he was frustrated with the residents. He says to Katniss, "We both know I'm not above killing children, but I'm not wasteful. I take life for very specific reasons," (Collins, 356). In reading these books, I realized even more how lucky we are to live in a country like America.
 * *Must be posted to the WIKI by midnight on Thursday, 8/25 **

Works Cited Collins, Susanne. //Mockingjay.// 2010.

__ Prompt for Paragraph Three - What to do With it... __ I chose to read the books // Catching Fire // and // Mockingjay //because I read the the first book in the series, //Hunger Games//, and I loved it so I read the other two thinking they would be just as good, and they were. Most boys and some girls would like these books because there is a love story embedded in the violence and strategic moves of the war going on. Katniss can't decide if she likes Petta or Gale more and some of the feelings she has have effects on her decisions during the fight against the capitol (Collins). The books //Catching Fire// and //Mockingjay// were equally as good as, if not better, //Hunger Games// and boys and girls would enjoy it as well as men and women.
 * *Must be posted to the WIKI by midnight on Sunday, 8/28 **

Works Cited Collins, Susanne. //Catching Fire//. 2009. Collins, Susanne. //Mockingjay.// 2010.


 * Scoring: Your three paragraphs will be given one overall grade, and the timeliness of your posts will be reflected in your "timeliness" grade. **

// An outstanding response to the prompts will include the following: //
 * A strong topic sentence that clearly establishes the focus on the prompt Good ideas in your topic sentences; can you make the wording stronger?
 * Evidence that clearly supports the topic sentence
 * Correct use of internal citations and a properly formatted MLA citation for your book (put this citation at the end of paragraph one) Watch MLA formatting, no comma between author's name and page number
 * Strict adherence to the Power Paragraph format
 * Mechanics are clean and do not detract from meaning Be sure to review and edit your work before the final post date