6th Grade Independent Study Project - Cooper Blog



6th Grade Independent Study Project

Phoenix Rising

This nine weeks, you will read Phoenix Rising as an independent unit of study. You will compile a notebook that will be due no later than Monday, February 28. Notebooks will not be accepted late, although you may turn them in early.

Notebook Requirements

You will need to have a title page and a table of contents. You must create your own title for each activity. Please read the descriptions of each assignment. All assignments are to be completed on your own paper and compiled into your notebook. You may use the work sheets in your packet as a rough draft, but final drafts must be written on either notebook paper or unlined paper. You may create illustrations to go along with the assignments, if you choose. Creativity is a bonus! All assignments may be typed.

You will be graded on each assignment as well as the overall appearance of assignments, neatness of assignments, and neatness of your colored illustrations. Each assignment is to be completed on a separate sheet of paper, front side of the paper only! Your notebook should be in final draft form- neatly written, in dark blue or black ink, very few scratch-outs, and very few spelling, grammar, and mechanical errors.

Your title page is not the cover of your project! The cover of your project should have your name, the title of the book, the author of the book, a colored illustration, and the date. The title page should have the author’s name, the title of the book, and a colored illustration. The table of contents should have the activity’s title and page number. Don’t forget to number your pages! You must hand draw all illustrations that are required for this project, and they are required to be colored. Any extra illustrations may be either colored or in pencil (but still must be hand-drawn).

Finally, please make sure you read all the instructions for each activity; some activities have several parts to complete.

Order of activities:

1. Title Page

2. Table of Contents

3. Author Study

4. Four Characters

5. Nyle’s Diary

6. Ezra’s Eyes

7. Energy Debate

8. Death’s Questions

9. Cry for Help

10. Letter to Ezra

11. Discussion Questions

12. Be a Critic

Author Study

Directions: You are going to research the author of Phoenix Rising, Karen Hesse. You need to document at least three sources that you used for your research. Please make sure you follow the correct format for your documentation. You may not use Wikipedia as a source of information.

You need to take notes from each website that you use as a source of information. All information should be taken as notes and then put into your own words. Do not even think about plagiarizing!

In your author study, which should be at least four well-developed paragraphs, you need to include the following information:

▪ Date and place of birth

▪ Family background (youth and adult)

▪ Education

▪ Hopes/dreams

▪ Awards/ Honors

▪ Other novels

▪ Picture of author

Write the author study in paragraph format. You must include all the required information, but you may also include any other interesting facts about this author. Finally, do not use “I” or any other first person pronouns! You are writing about someone else, so you don’t need to reference yourself.

How to cite your sources:

Name of article. Name of website. Date accessed. http.

“Karen Hesse.” . 5 January 2009.< karen.asp>.

“Karen Hesse.” Children’s Literature Network. 5 January 2009. .

Four Characters

Directions: Figure out two qualities about each of the characters and then give two examples from the text that show how these qualities are represented in the novel. The qualities can be good or bad. For example, a quality of Nyle might be that she is sensitive. How do I know this? She is hurt by the deaths of her relatives and by her father’s departure.

|Character |Quality |Incident or Scene |

| |1. |1. |

|1. Nyle | |2. |

| | | |

| |2. |1. |

| | |2. |

| |1. |1. |

| | |2. |

|2. Muncie | | |

| |2. |1. |

| | |2. |

| |1. |1. |

| | |2. |

|3. Gran | | |

| |2. |1. |

| | |2. |

| |1. |1. |

| | |2. |

|4. Ripley | | |

| |2. |1. |

| | |2. |

Nyle’s Diary

Imagine that you are Nyle. Write three paragraphs in your diary, one explaining how you feel about Ezra being in your home, one describing your (sometimes troubled) relationship with Muncie, and the final one describing your relationship with your best friend.

About Ezra:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

About Muncie:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Describe the kind of relationship you have with your best friend. Does this friendship always run smoothly? What do you like about him or her? Can you draw any comparisons between your friendship with your best friend with Nyle and Muncie’s friendship? How are they similar? How are they different?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ezra’s Eyes

The story of Phoenix Rising is told from Nyle’s point of view. This means that the reader sees events only from Nyle’s perspective. Write a few sentences about each of the following topics from Ezra’s point of view. (You might want to skim over previous chapters for the necessary information. Then, write a letter to Ezra’s dad about each of the topics, explaining how Ezra feels about them. This letter should be written from Ezra’s point of view. Follow the format for a friendly letter, including addressing an envelope correctly. Write in paragraphs! You may make up an appropriate address for Ezra’s dad, and you may make up an appropriate address for Ezra. Don’t forget that an envelope must have a stamp in order for it to be mailed. You may create your own stamp instead of wasting a real one. I will review the correct style for writing a friendly letter and addressing an envelope in class. You will need to take notes on this!

1. Nyle_________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

2. sheep farming

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

3.the puppy

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. radiation poisoning

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. the future

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Energy Debate

Research the topic of nuclear energy. You must take notes from at least three reliable websites (no Wikipedia). Make sure that you cite your sources- refer back to the author study for reference citations.

You need to make a chart detailing at least four advantages of nuclear energy and give reason(s) for each advantage. Then, give at least three disadvantages of nuclear energy and give reason(s) for each disadvantage.

Your research must back up your advantages, disadvantages, and reasoning.

Nuclear Energy

|Advantage |Reasoning |Disadvantage |Reasoning |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

|Source |

|Source |

|Source |

Finally, based on your research, form an opinion about nuclear energy. Write a well-supported paragraph stating your position on nuclear energy and why.

Death’s Questions

Directions: Unfortunately, death looms close throughout this novel. Think about how death, or the thought of death, affects the characters in this novel. Then answer the following questions with complete sentences. You do not need to write the questions on your final draft.

1. Why does Ezra say he died the day of the explosion?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. During their conversation, Ezra and Nyle recall the deaths of three other people. Who are they?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

3. What contrast does Ezra draw between his life before the accident and his life now?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. What is the significance of the hawk?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Why does Ezra feel partly responsible for his father’s death?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. Why does Nyle say, “The hardest part is letting go”?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. What emotion brings Ezra and Nyle together in this scene?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Cry for Help

The government has told Uncle Lemmy that there is nothing wrong with his farm, and that he does not need any more financial aid. Imagine that you are Nyle. Write a letter to the president, describing what has happened to your uncle’s family and farm. Ask the government to assist your uncle. In your letter, make sure you justify how the assistance will be used.

You are writing a business letter to the president, so you need to make sure that your language and demeanor is very formal. You are not texting a message to your friend or writing an e-mail. Make sure that you follow the directions for writing a business letter, not a friendly letter. Also, you need to have a business envelope to address. Research the address for the president and address your letter correctly. See Miss Rothschild for the business envelopes.

Your letter should be about three to four paragraphs long.

Letter to Ezra

Directions: In his letter, Ezra tells Nyle exactly what she means to him and how important she has been in his life. Imagine that you are Nyle. On a separate sheet of paper, write Ezra a farewell letter, telling him what he has meant to you. Before you begin your letter, organize your thoughts. Jot down a few notes of what you want to say about each topic. Be sure to write this letter from Nyle’s point of view (you are Nyle!). Follow the directions for writing a friendly letter! Write in paragraphs. Make sure you include an appropriately addressed envelope to Ezra. You may make up an address that makes sense. Think about the setting of the story as you do this. Also, remember that an envelope requires a stamp; you may create your own instead of wasting a real stamp. Refer back to your notes to review the correct format for a friendly letter.

How you felt about his arrival at first and why:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How this changed and why:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How you were afraid of caring for someone and why:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How he opened your heart:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Discussion Questions

Answer on your own paper with complete sentences. Provide examples from the text and/or your own life whenever possible to support your ideas and opinions. Make sure that you answer all parts of each chapter questions.

These responses require more than a one-sentence response! Make sure you explain and support your answers with evidence from the text.

After Chapter 2

Nyle’s grandmother says, “it’s good to be with people…even if they aren’t going to be around for long. Especially if they’re not going to be around for long. Makes being on this earth worthwhile.” Do you agree? If not, what do you think makes life worthwhile? Have you ever been reluctant to make friends with someone because he or she was about to move far away?

After Chapter 9

After the accident, healthy people are afraid of those with radiation sickness. Muncie calls these sick people “mutants.” Is it fair to treat the sick in this way? Can you think of a disease or an illness that causes similar panic? Why do people react in this way?

After Chapter 14

Nyle always supports Muncie when people call her names. Why do kids seem to enjoy ganging up on one person? Have you ever teased or taunted someone when you were with a group of friends? Have you ever defended someone who was being abused? What would you do if you were the one being taunted?

After Chapter 23

Muncie is angry with Nyle for not telling her about Ezra. Have you ever kept things from friends for fear they wouldn’t understand? Should one always be honest with one’s friends, or are there times when one shouldn’t tell the whole truth? Give examples.

After Chapter 27

Do you think that Ripley’s pain over his dog’s death justified his behavior? Is violence ever justified? Why do some people take out their frustrations on others? Have you ever blamed someone for something he or she didn’t do?

Be a Critic

Good critics discuss the entertainment value of a book, but they also examine the deeper elements of literature. Using the following questions as a guide, create a book review for Phoenix Rising. You may use these questions as a guide, but you are not limited to these questions; you may include other ideas in your book review. Make certain that your final draft is written in paragraph form! Each paragraph should have a main idea and elaboration from the novel to support your ideas. Your book review should be approximately one page (300) words, not including a, an, the, and conjunctions.

1. What do you think was the author’s purpose for writing this book? Do you agree with the author’s message? Why or why not?

2. Which literary element do you think the author handled the best- writing style, setting, characters, plot, climax, or resolution? Why?

3. Who was the main character? Would you want this character as your friend? Why or why not?

4. In what ways do you think the book was “less than perfect”? If you were the writer, how would you fix those flaws?

5. For whom would you recommend this book? Overall, how would you rate this book? Why?

Parent Notification of Independent Project

Third Quarter

I have read and reviewed the 6th grade Independent Study Project with my child.

Student Name ___________________________________

Parent Signature _________________________________

Date ______________________

Questions/ Comments _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download