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The main genres we study in Grade 7 ALA are below. Please do your best to read books from these to make more connections for more meaningful book club discussions and to build your schema. These fiction and nonfiction genres encourage critical thinking and inspire conversations about complex issues.GENRE STUDY: In order to broaden your interests and knowledge, you are required to read from a variety of genres and authors. To help with book ideas, there are book shares, book passing activities, reading lists, a school librarian to assist you, online resources such as Teen Zone through KCLS, etc. Each trimester, read at least one book from each of the required genres. The assigned genres that we will study are: 1st trimester ___realistic fiction/mystery OR realistic fiction/horror___realistic fiction RW: Courage to be an IndividualWW: Narrative – Realistic Fiction due:__________2nd trimester___non-fiction, informational ___biography/autobiography/memoir/diary (non-fiction) RW: Non-fiction/InformationalWW: Informational-Explanatory Research ReportWW: Poetry is Powerful Part I due:__________3rd trimester___science fiction OR fantasy___historical fictionRW: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and SweetWW: Poetry is Powerful Part IIWW: The Art of Argument Research Report due:__________1 book = 200 pages or at least the sum of 200 pages (If you read a 400 page book, I view that as 2 books for this requirement. If you read a 600 page book, 3 books….and so on.) No, this does not mean if you read the first 200 pages of a 300 page book, you have met the requirement. Read a book from cover-to-cover, for the first time. Furthermore, if you read 1,058 pages (divide by 200) that calculates out to be 5.29 books read.I encourage you to read a book that interests you and challenges you a bit; however, the book should not be too difficult, nor too easy. Give a book a chance – at least read through the exposition, assuming you’re reading a typically-laid out fictional book that follows a plotline. !!! Some books could be controversial in your home. Please be sure to keep your parents / guardians informed of your reading choices. I will help monitor this, but I need your help to communicate openly with your parents about your book decisions. I am open to you reading any book; however, I want to completely respect your family’s values and norms.At the beginning of each trimester, you will set your personal reading goal with my guidance and modeling. I will supply you with specific green goal setting and tracking documents (contract, list, & guidelines), as well as trimester dates. The average seventh grade reader usually sets his/her personal reading goal at 4+ books (or 800 pages) per trimester. Throughout the trimester, I will monitor your goal with you. Periodically, I will check your green contract & book list when we confer together to reflect on your personal reading goal progress. All green Genre & Goal Challenge paperwork is due at the end of each trimester. (Tri 1 = Work Habits score; Tri 2 = Assignment score; Tri 3 = Assessment score) At the end of each trimester and / or Reader’s Workshop, you might be assessed on one of the books you read and truly enjoyed, perhaps your favorite read. This assessment piece will be entered in the grade book at 90% of your grade. There may be up to three of these types of tests – one per trimester – similar to a verbal book report.VOCABULARY tracking requirements will be a part of all Reader’s Workshops. Vocabulary will be taught in context. Meaning, anytime we are in a Reader’s Workshop unit, you will be required to log terms, etc. At least one vocab. assessment will be in the form of a skit. More information will follow. AUDIO BOOKS: If you listen to a book, please follow along on an e-reader or paper copy of the book. When a reader ‘sees’ the words and sentence structures on a page, his/her writing, including spelling and grammar, improve. GRAPHICA (comic books, comic strips, graphic novels, & manga): Yes, some graphica reads like a novel; however, many studies have proved the reading process differs when reading graphica compared to a traditional novel. While graphic novels have numerous benefits for readers, graphic novels do not encourage a variety of reading strategies like traditional novels. If you are the type of reader who LOVES graphica, the point here is to broaden your interests and strengthen your brain; step out of your comfort zone. Practice a variety of effective reading strategies to exercise your brain! Chapter books, or traditional novels, are being encouraged over any type of graphica for this genre challenge and your personal reading goal. MOVIES: Please read the book BEFORE viewing the movie!! This does not mean retrieve a copy of the book, skim it, then fill in the blanks by watching the movie. To do this would be a disservice to you. Mrs. T.’s advice: Envision and piece together the various elements of literature and analyze the book before a screenwriter and producer does it for you.POSSIBLE RESOURCES:Booklist’s 50 Best YA Books of All TimeMaywood Library Catalog View ‘Resource Lists’ by genre.Maywood Library CatalogCheck out ‘Top 25 Series’ and ‘Mr. Dahlin’s Top 100’.King County Library System (KCLS) books by genre Novels considered ‘The Greatest Book Ever Written’ Reads by Genre/Lists and Noble’s 100 Best YA Books Reader’s Workshop Tubs Mrs. T. will provide multiple copies/titles of RW books per trimester.Mrs. Tolonen’s Classroom Library BinsMrs. T. will provide multiple copies/titles of her personal chapter books. ................
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