English 1 Fourth Quarter Silent Reading: Literature Circles

Assignment

For the final quarter of the school year you will be selecting a book from the approved reading list of

books at CVCHS for your grade level. There are some parameters in regard to book selection. Things to

keep in mind when selecting your book:

Your book must be a book you have never read before

All members of your group need to agree on the book (Groups must be between 3-5 people)

Make sure you select a book that you will be able to finish

Only two groups per class period may select the same book

Once you select your book you will have a one-week trial period. You will not be able to change your

book after Friday March 27th.

We will be checking out books Friday March 20th. You will have time in class to create a reading schedule

and timeline for this project so that you can manage your time accordingly.

Literature Circles

Due to the nature of this assignment our silent reading schedule will need to be adjusted. Instead of

reading every block period in class we will alternate the beginning of block days between reading and

designated time for Literature Circles. On reading days you will need your silent reading book and silent

reading will continue as normal. On Literature Circle days you will need the following:

Your silent reading book

Three discussion questions you would like to share with your group. More information on

discussion questions will follow

Reading Logs that contain your thoughts and opinions about the reading you’ve been doing

independently

Each week we have a Literature Circle you will receive points based on whether you are prepared for the

Literature Circle and the notes/assignments submitted after each meeting. Each member of your group

will have a role in the Literature Circle and you will use your time in class to discuss the questions you

have about the reading or an activity I have prepared for you.

Theme Triangle

Once your group completes your book you will be responsible for creating a Theme Triangle. For this

assignment you will need to compare your book to two other mediums that have a common theme with

your book. One of the mediums will be a film, the other can be a medium of your choosing. The film

cannot be a movie adaptation of your book. For the medium of your choice you may want to consider

songs, poems, other books, magazine or newspaper articles, etc.

Once you have studied each of the three mediums for this project you will be creating a presentation of

the universal truths, or common themes, that are present in all three texts. I am not going to give you

guidelines for your presentation, however I will encourage you to be creative and think outside of the

box. Your presentation should be 7-10 minutes, and you must be prepared to present Friday May 22nd.

English 1 Fourth Quarter Silent Reading: Literature Circles

Reading List

Anthem

Bless Me, Ultima

Cyrano de Bergerac

Fahrenheit 451

Farewell to Manzanar

The Help

The House on Mango Street

The Jungle

Monster

A Raisin in the Sun

The Red Pony

Twelve Angry Men

Water For Elephants

For Readers Who Want a Challenge

All Quiet on the Western Front Things Fall Apart

Crime and Punishment Their Eyes Were Watching God

Death of a Salesman The Turn of the Screw

East of Eden Wuthering Heights

Fight Club

The Glass Menagerie

The Grapes of Wrath

Gulliver’s Travels

Like Water for Chocolate

Moby Dick

My Antonia

The Scarlet Letter