Journal #1--For Sophs and Seniors--Summer Reading
What kind of guy waits until Labor Day to finish his summer reading?
In truth, this is a photo of summer "re-reading."
Let's put your summer thoughts away for now because you're officially back to school, and work, as verified by your first trip (at least this year) to Schoolsville, where the sun is always shining, no matter what the weather is like in Rehoboth or Ocean City.
Here's your first journal writing prompt:
In addition to a couple of "possible" upcoming "check" quizzes on summer reading, please answer these questions for BOTH of your summer reading books and turn in with your writing journal at the end of the marking period.
1. Did you like reading this book? Why? Did you not like it? Why not? Be specific. You can't say it was boooooooooring. Criticize characters, plot, writing style, language, etc. , you know, some of the elements of fiction that we'll be studying this year. Of course, if you liked it, point out the parts of the book that you enjoyed.
2. If you were teaching this book to a high school class, on what elements of the book would you focus? For instance, would you delve into the historical background of Gatsby or the religious nature of Siddhartha? Might you explain the importance of the title of A Raisin in the Sun as it relates to the drama?
Do not answer these questions on the blog. However, as you can see by the post's title, this is your first JOURNAL assignment for the first quarter. You will hand in these responses at the end of the quarter. Remember to write about both of your summer readings. Minimum of 200 words for each.
posted by JTF @ 9:44 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
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I enjoyed reading a Gracious Plenty over the summer. It was an interesting book and the writing style made it easy to follow and read. I understood it because it was written in modern language. The characters in the book were interesting and always had a story behind them, whether they are dead or alive. When you read the book and learn about Lucy, you wonder how this sweet little girl has this terrible rough past that she reveals throughout the book. You learn how just a regular cop that just tries to be nice to Finch all the time has a dead baby brother who was murdered by their mother. The plot kept on leading to something new that would happen or hint to an upcoming event. The author put twists throughout the book, which I liked, like Finch having the ability to talk to dead people, or how William Blott is the only one to quiet down the harsh cries of Baby Marcus. The dialogue between the characters was easy to understand and kept the story moving and the interest from the reader. The story started off in a good way, giving the main character, Finch, a little twist by getting burnt when she was little to change her physical appearance. A Gracious Plenty has a good story line and I would recommend that students who are taking Creative and Crit English read this book.
I am not a big fan of reading, especially required summer reading. If read a book, I rather it be something I can relate to, which is why I was not attached to “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald. One of the reasons why I was not in favor of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s work was because the plot development took a long time to take place. I felt Fitzgerald was spending too much time on the exposition and setting the mood of the story, which made it hard for me to get drawn in to the story. I also disliked this book because it was challenging to follow the story. To completely understand the events of “The Great Gatsby,” I read a chapter in the book and then read the summary of each chapter online. I constantly relied on sparknotes to give me a better understanding of what occurred throughout each chapter. This not allow me to enjoy the novel, it became an annoyance. I also did not like the lead character, Nick Carraway. I felt that Gatsby was trying to make him feel comfortable in his new environment and took him under his wing but Nick acted standoffish toward Gatsby during the last chapters, which made me realize his Nick’s selfishness. I was also not a fan of Tom Buchanan. Tom was Daisy’s husband who was also having an affair with Myrtle Wilson. I was upset at the fact that Tom would not allow Daisy to marry her true love, Gatsby, even though Tom was not loyal to her. Overall, this story was not one of my favorites because it did not live up to the expectation I had before reading the novel. Other readers explained what a wonderful book it was, however, I did not think the plot was as important as people claimed it to be.
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