Monday, February 01, 2010

3rd quarter Reading Requirement


Required: Select a biography or autobiography from the media center that interests you. You must visit the library on your own time to do this. I would encourage you to use TEAM time for this endeavor. Read the book and be prepared to “become” the person you read about in front of your peers. Costumes or props are required for this presentation. You will also need to submit a one page typed review of the biography you selected. Things to include:

What are this persons accomplishments? What did they do to make their life worthwhile?

Write what you have learned about the person’s early years. How did these childhood experiences influence the person’s achievements as an adult?

What influence did this person have on the community, the country, or the world?

What did this individual struggle against?

Was this a "good book" or a '"good read" about an interesting person?

A good review is a snapshot of the novel and must contain quotes and concrete details from the book. Write your review with book in hand.

Optional: For other books read beyond this one, submit a quality blog entry and you will earn a ticket to a lottery prize, to be drawn at the end

of third quarter.

Due Date: March 12th 2010

Suggestions:

1) Read about someone you feel compelled to read about.

2) Take time to find a book you are interested in.

3) Award winners from YALSA:

Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith

By Deborah Heiligman.

After creating a list of the pros and cons of marriage, science-minded Charles Darwin chooses to marry his strictly religious first cousin. Little does he know that he is about to embark upon the most loving, creative, and intellectually important relationship of his life.

2010 Finalists

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream

By Tanya Lee Stone.

In the early 1960s, the doctor in charge of testing NASA’s astronauts decided to find out if female pilots were capable of passing the grueling qualification tests required of male pilots. Feasible? Yes. Allowed? No. All testing of women’s potential for the Mercury program was done outside NASA’s purview and without their permission. The reasons why will stun readers.

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice

By Phillip Hoose.

Hoose recounts the largely untold story of Claudette Colvin, who was arrested and jailed at the age of 15 after refusing to relinquish her seat on a bus to a white woman. Interviews with Colvin create a vivid picture not only of the Montgomery bus boycott but also the Browder v. Gayle case, in which she was a key defendant.

The Great and Only Barnum: The Tremendous, Stupendous Life of Showman P. T. Barnum

By Candace Fleming and illustrated by Ray Fenwick.

Thrill to the audacity! Gasp at the hucksterism! Come one, come all to the jaw-dropping, larger-than-life biography of expert humbugger, relentless curiosity seeker, and unparalleled showman P. T. Barnum.

Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland

By Sally M. Walker.

By presenting a detailed examination into the work of different types of forensic archaeology at excavations in both Jamestown, Virginia, and Colonial Maryland, readers are rewarded with both a picture of this fascinating work and an appreciation for what it contributes to our knowledge of history.