Monthly Reading Projects
Monthly reading projects are designed to encourage students to read well written books within a specific genre. Each month the students will be assigned a genre or category (Newberry Winners, Science Fiction, Mystery, etc.). Students will have the freedom to choose a book within that genre based on their reading level and areas of interest. Each month, the students will also be assigned a corresponding reading project to complete.
Projects are almost always due the last school day of that particular month unless the month ends in a scheduled break (Christmas break,Spring break, etc.), at which point they will be due the Friday after we return from break.
See the desciptions below for more information. If you have further questions, please contact Mr. Yund.
September
Genre:
Choose a Newberry Medal Winner or Honor Book
Project:
4th Grade:
Cereal Box Book Report (click link for detailed instructions--file will download)
I will give the students a hard copy of the project instructions too.
5th Grade:
Make a Google Slides presentation for your book. Describe the characters, plot, and setting of your books. Make sure to include pictures.
Newberry Medal Winners
The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.
Medal Winner:
Last Stop on Market Street, written by Matt de la Peña, illustrated by Christian Robinson and published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC.
Recent Honor Books
The War that Saved my Life, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley and published by Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC.
Roller Girl, written and illustrated by Victoria Jamieson and published by Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC.
Echo, by Pam Muñoz Ryan and published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.
October
Genre:
Mystery
Project:
4th Grade:
Create a newspaper for your book:
Summarize the story in one article by writing a story that details the crime and how it was solved. Cover the weather in another, and do a feature story on one of the more interesting characters in another. Include an editorial and a collection of ads that would be pertinent to the story. Your newspaper should include details that are accurate to the time period in which your stories are written.
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Many of your mysteries may be written as a collection of different mysteries (Sherlock Holmes, Encyclopedia Brown, etc.). In this case, please pick ONE of the stories and report on that mystery only. You do not have to report on every mystery in the book.
Newspaper Template (click to download PPT)
Newspaper Template (Google Doc - File - Make a Copy)
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The Google Doc will not let you edit. To use it, select "File" from top menu and then select "make a copy". You can then rename the file to whatever you want.
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The new document will now be located in your personal Google Drive.
5th Grade:
Make a crossword puzzle. Use the characters, settings, theme, and other information from your book to design a crossword puzzle.
Sherlock Holmes
Featured Mysteries: Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of twelve short stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, featuring his fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. It was first published on 14 October 1892, though the individual stories had been serialised in The Strand Magazine between June 1891 and July 1892.
The stories are not in chronological order, and the only characters common to all twelve are Holmes and Dr. Watson. As with all but four of the Sherlock Holmes stories, those contained within The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes are told by a first-person narrative from the point of view of Dr. Watson.
November
*PROJECTS WILL BE DUE THE FRIDAY AFTER WE RETURN FROM BREAK
Genre:
Fantasy
Project:
4th Grade:
Comic Book:
Create a mini-comic book relating a chapter of the book. Comic book must have color illustrations and text bubbles or captions.
5th Grade:
Make a bookmark. On the front of the bookmark, list the Title, author, characters, and setting. Draw illustrations that represent the book. On the back, write a one-paragraph summary of the book and include an illustration.
Featured Book: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
"If you care for journeys there and back, out of the comfortable Western world, over the edge of the Wild, and home again, and can take an interest in a humble hero (blessed with a little wisdom and a little courage and considerable good luck), here is a record of such a journey and such a traveler. The period is the ancient time between the age of Faerie and the dominion of men, when the famous forest of Mirkwood was still standing, and the mountains were full of danger. In following the path of this humble adventurer, you will learn by the way (as he did) -- if you do not already know all about these things -- much about trolls, goblins, dwarves, and elves, and get some glimpses into the history and politics of a neglected but important period. For Mr. Bilbo Baggins visited various notable persons; conversed with the dragon, Smaug the Magnificent; and was present, rather unwillingly, at the Battle of the Five Armies. This is all the more remarkable, since he was a hobbit. Hobbits have hitherto been passed over in history and legend, perhaps because they as a rule preferred comfort to excitement. But this account, based on his personal memoirs, of the one exciting year in the otherwise quiet life of Mr. Baggins will give you a fair idea of the estimable people now (it is said) becoming rather rare. They do not like noise." -J.R.R. Tolkien
December
*PROJECTS WILL BE DUE THE FRIDAY AFTER WE RETURN FROM BREAK
Genre:
Historical Fiction
Book Suggestions (Link)
Project
4th Grade:
Create a Diorama (Click the Link for Instructions)
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Diorama will display one scene of your choice from the book.
5th Grade:
Create a Magazine ad for your book. Imagine that you have been hired to promote your book in your favorite magazine. Create a one-page ad that will encourage others to read it.
Little Women
Featured Book: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Little Women is a novel by American author Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888), which was originally published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869. Alcott wrote the books rapidly over several months at the request of her publisher.
The novel follows the lives of four sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March—detailing their passage from childhood to womanhood, and is loosely based on the author and her three sisters
Dioramas
January
Genre:
Realistic Fiction
REALISTIC FICTION BOOK IDEAS (CLICK HERE)
Projects:
4th Grade:
Book Jacket:
Design a book jacket for the book. I STRONGLY suggest that you look at an actual book jacket before you attempt this.
5th Grade:
Write a letter. Write a letter to your best friend encouraging them to read the book. Share important details from the book. Include:
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Title
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Author
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Setting
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Themes
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Plot
However, don't spoil it for them.
Featured Book: My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
Fifteen-year-old Sam Gribley has decided to run away from his crowded apartment home, but unlike most kids who rarely get beyond their block, Sam goes from New York City all the way to the ruined farm of Great-grandfather Gribley in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York. There are no buildings or people on the old Gribley farm, so Sam sets up residence by hollowing out the trunk of an ancient Hemlock tree. He has brought only a few tools of survival with him: a penknife, a ball of cord, an ax, 40 dollars, and some flint and steel to help him make fire. Using these simple tools and his wits, Sam learns to live off the land, and in the course of a year, discovers just how much he values freedom, independence, and adventure when faced with the challenges of blizzards, loneliness and fear.
February
Genre:
Choose your own genre.
Project:
4th Grade:
Interview a character:
Write at least ten questions that will give the character the opportunity to discuss his/her thoughts and feelings about his/her role in the story. However you choose to present your interview is up to you.
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Make a video
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Act out a mock interview for the class.
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Write out your interview
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Make a Google Presentation to present the class.
5th Grade:
Write a formal book report. Use the information you've learned in class to write a formal book report.
March
Genre:
Science Fiction
Project:
4th Grade:
Travel Brochures--Students choose ONE interesting setting from their book and create a travel brochure that advertises this place.
Do you think tourists would enjoy visiting the setting of the book you read? What attractions would they find in this place? What could they do for entertainment? What could they see and learn about? Imagine that you work for a travel agency and you have been asked to design a brochure to advertise this place. (If your book has more than one setting, choose the most unusual and interesting one.)
5th Grade:
Music Video. Compose an original song based on the plot or theme of the book and perform it in a music video that pairs visuals with the music and lyrics.
Featured Book: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger.
"Wild nights are my glory," the unearthly stranger told them. "I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me sit down for a moment, and then I'll be on my way. Speaking of ways, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract."
A tesseract (in case the reader doesn't know) is a wrinkle in time. To tell more would rob the reader of the enjoyment of Miss L'Engle's unusual book. A Wrinkle in Time, winner of the Newbery Medal in 1963, is the story of the adventures in space and time of Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin O'Keefe (athlete, student, and one of the most popular boys in high school). They are in search of Meg's father, a scientist who disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government on the tesseract problem.
A Wrinkle in Time is the winner of the 1963 Newbery Medal.
April
Book:
Biography or Autobiography
Project:
4th Grade:
First Person Biography Speech:
Read a biography or autobiography. Dress up as your historical character (ie-Frederick Douglas, George Washington, etc.) and give a presentation to your classmates about the his or her life in the first person.
5th Grade:
Photo montage. Include at least 20 images showing key elements of the story with captions for each picture. May be displayed with Google Slides or other presentation software or compiled on poster board.
Escape from Slavery
Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, c. February 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an African-American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping fromslavery in Maryland, he became a national leader of the abolitionist movement from Massachusetts and New York, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writings.
He stood as a living counter-example to slaveholders' arguments that slaves lacked the intellectual capacity to function as independent American citizens. Even many Northerners at the time found it hard to believe that such a great orator had once been a slave
May
Genre:
Classic Literature
Project
4th Grade:
Diary entry. Create at least two journal/diary entries telling a true story from your life that is connected to your book’s plot, theme, or topic. All stories must be fully developed and can be presented as a journal, book, scrapbook, etc.
5th Grade:
Design a game:
After reading a book, design a game, based on that book as its theme. Will you decide on a board game, card game, concentration? The choices are only limited to YOUR CREATIVITY! Be sure to include clear directions and provide everything needed to play.
Old Yeller
Featured Book: Old Yeller by Fred Gipson
Old Yeller is a 1956 children's novel written by Fred Gipson and illustrated by Carl Burger, which received a retroactive Newbery Honor in 1969. The title is taken from the name of the yellow dog who is the center of the book's story.
In 1957 Walt Disney released a film adaptation starring Tommy Kirk, Fess Parker, Dorothy McGuire, Kevin Corcoran, Jeff York, and Beverly Washburn.