Sandra+Bienka



Name Sandra Bienka 1. Book Title (1 pt.): Prom

2. Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction

3. Author (1 pt.): Laurie Halse Anderson

4. Date of Publication (1 pt.): March 3, 2005

5. Write a brief summary of the book you read without giving away the ending! (4 pts.)

It’s about a senior named Ashley. In this story she deals with many problems concerning high school, her boyfriend and her family. They find out, that her math teacher, Miss Crane stole all the prom money. The principal announces that prom could possibly be canceled. Nat, Ashley's friend, freaks out, but Ashley on the other hand, doesn't really care. To her it's just another boring school function. Nat and the rest of the prom committee disagree with Ashley and decide that prom must go on, but they can only do it with Ashley's help. Ashley helps Nat, not knowing what challenges are ahead.

6. What did you like about the book? What did you dislike? (4 pts.)

I liked that Ashley matures and her outlook on her own future proceeds positively. There isn’t anything I didn’t like about this book! To pick something I will say that not many boys would read this story!

7. Write three essential (higher level thinking) questions that you might use in a culminating discussion of this book. (6 pts)

1. Describe your first impression of Ashley at the beginning of Prom. Is she someone you would of wanted as a friend? Why or why not?

2. Do you think this novel is realistic in the sense that Ashley and Natalia were able to pull off so much in such a short amount of time?

3. Do you think it would have been possible for Ashley to sneak into prom and have so many faculty members hide her like they did?

Comprehension Activity: Create a “FakeBook: (not Facebook) page for the main character or one of the main characters from your Contemporary Realistic Fiction Book. Use the instructions provided in a separate attachment to help you. When you’ve finished your work online, copy and paste the URL for your Fakebook page below (15 points).

[|__http://www.classtools.net/fb/15/gGjAJb__]




 * Name** Sandra Bienka


 * 1. Book Title (1 pt.)** Girl, Stolen


 * 2. Genre: (Adventure-Survival or Mystery) (1 pt)** Adventure-Survival


 * 3. Author (1 pt.)** April Henry


 * 4. Date of Publication (1 pt)** September 28, 2010


 * 5. What did you like about the book? What did you dislike? (5 pts.)**

The book shifts between the points of view of Griffin and Cheyenne. I loved them both. Cheyenne is a realistic character. As a blind person, she uses her senses in ways that seemed entirely believable and fascinating. She is brave without having the bravado that a person probably wouldn't have in such a situation. Her terror, determination, and even her caring side is thoroughly described in the book. Griffin too is a fabulous character. He is technically the bad guy, but really he is just a petty criminal, a cog in his father's crime wheel. He has no desire to hurt Cheyenne - in fact, he wants to help her - but feels helpless. Through flashbacks, we learn more about his history and how he and his father came to have such an awful life. You just feel more sympathy for him as the book goes on. There really isn’t anything that I didn’t like about the book, but if I have to say something then it would be that it should have been longer! With more information at the end!


 * 6. Write three essential (higher level thinking) questions that you might use in a culminating discussion of this book. (6 pts)**
 * 1.** If you could continue the story, what events would you include? Why?


 * 2**. If you were in the situation like in the book, how would you have acted? Be sure to tell why you would act that way.


 * 3.** Did this book give you any new ideas about yourself? What are they? Why?


 * Comprehension Activity: (15 pts).**

Choose five artifacts that you believe represent the main character of your novel (or one of the main characters in your novel) and provide an explanation for choosing each. Avoid making all obvious choices, but instead, get creative and think outside the box!


 * Artifact #1** - Cadillac Escalade

I chose this because...Cheyenne was sleeping in the back seat when Griffin stole the vehicle. “Cheyenne felt like a mouse she had seen in the kitchen one time when she turned on the light before school. Caught in the middle of the floor, it had stood stock-still. Like maybe she wouldn’t notice it if it didn’t move.” Page 2.


 * Artifact #2** - Nike swoosh



I chose this because...Cheyenne’s dad was the president of Nike. Making Roy and his thugs see dollar signs with a big payday.


 * Artifact #3** - Wrench

I chose this because...Cheyenne used one to hit Griffin over the head. “Oh, god. Oh, god. She was pretty sure that she had just killed a man.” “ A kid, really. Someone her own age. And the only person in this house who had treated her with kindness.” Page 157.


 * Artifact #4** - Car cigarette lighter



I chose this because...It’s what Griffin used when he first kidnapped her, letting Cheyenne think he had a gun. When he found her in the woods, “Go ahead, do what you have to do.” Page 172. “You’re going to shoot me, right? Just get it over with.” “Why do you think I’m going to shoot you?” Page 172. “What about that gun you held to my head in the car?” “That was actually the cigarette lighter from the dash.” Page 174.


 * Artifact #5** – Dog



I chose this because...she has a seeing eye dog Phantom, and if he had been with her she wouldn’t of been kidnapped. Also, she met Duke the mixed breed “crazy” dog. Cheyenne tried to use Duke to help her in the woods.



Name Sandra Bienka

1. Book Title (1 pt.) Claim to Fame

2. Genre: Fantasy

3. Author (1 pt.) Margaret Peterson Haddix

4. Date of Publication (1 pt.) 2009

5. Write a brief summary of the book you read without giving away the ending! (3 pts.)

It was a talent that came out of no where. One day Lindsay Scott was on the top of the world, the star of a hit TV show. The next day her fame had turned into torture. Every time anyone said anything about her, she heard it. And everyone was talking about Lindsay: fans, friends, enemies. Lindsay had what looked like a nervous breakdown and vanished from the public eye. But now she's sixteen and back in the news: A tabloid newspaper claims that Lindsay is being held hostage by her father. The truth? Lindsay has been hiding out in a small Illinois town, living in a house that somehow provides relief from the stream of voices in her head. But when two local teenagers try to "rescue" Lindsay by kidnapping her, Lindsay is forced to confront everything she's hiding from. And that's when she discovers there may be others who share her strange power. Lindsay is desperate to learn more, but what is she willing to risk to find the truth?

6. What did you like about the book? What did you dislike? (3 pts.)

I found this an ok read, it kept me thinking! Was it a nervous breakdown or what? The book deals with issues teens can relate too such as death of a parent, peer pressure. And not to care **__too__** much about what other people think of you. I didn’t care for how it was tied to Transcendentalism - something that most children this age have never even heard of much less understand. I’m not sure I understand it!

7. Write three essential (higher level thinking) questions that you might use in a culminating discussion of this book. (6 pts)

1. If you could continue the story, what events would you include? Why? 2. How did Lindsey feel during the book? Give evidences of this. 3. What would you do if you could hear anything anyone had to say about you? Would you think that it was a great talent? Would you feel it was a burden? Why or why not?

Comprehension Activity: Write a newspaper article about someone or something that happened in the story. NOTE: this is NOT a book report! Review a few newspaper articles to get the "feel" of the format. What would the headline say? Was anyone interviewed for the story? Who are the sources of information? Are there quotes from characters? Be creative! (15 pts).

Did Lindsay Scott have a Nervous Breakdown or is it a SPECIAL TALENT?
By Sandra Bienka Lindsay Scott/ Daily Gazette
 * Daily Gazette**

She is asking **“are there other people out there who can also hear what people say about them? “** For the first time in five years, Lindsay stepped outside the protective quiet of her house.
===And she heard the one voice she never expected to hear; her mother's. Lindsay is willing to risk everything to find the truth about her past, what happened to her mother--and the source of her ability.===

If anyone can help, please contact Lindsay Scott.


Name __Sandra Bienka__

1. Book Title (1 pt.) Matched

2. Genre: Science Fiction

3. Author (1 pt.) Ally Condle

4. Date of Publication (1 pt.) 2010

5. Write a brief summary of the book you read without giving away the ending! (3 pts.)

Matched is a futuristic story. A new society that is 100% controlled. All is done to achieve optimal results. You eat what they send you, you work where they tell you to, you marry who they choose, you have kids when they tell you to, you die when they tell you to. In Matched, the Society Officials have determined optimal outcomes for all aspects of daily life, thereby removing the “burden” of choice. The book is full of tricks when the author tells you part of everything in each chapter, through Cassia’s head, the main character. Cassia is about to be matched to her life partner, her future husband, in a Match Banquet party, on her 17th birthday. When Cassia’s best friend is identified as her ideal marriage Match it confirms her belief that Society knows best, until she plugs in her Match microchip and a different boy’s face flashes on the screen. Cassia will be torn between both boys, her real match and the error. This mistake sets Cassia on a dangerous path to the unthinkable–rebelling against the predetermined life Society has in store for her.

6. What did you like about the book? What did you dislike? (3 pts.)

This genre is something that I never read! (I never read The Hunger Games!). I was fascinated by the detailed descriptions of this new society. The new rules, new places, politics, technology, all of it.

What I didn’t like was the entire novel was pointing to the characters gaining the courage to fight the system, but the fight never happens. She ends the story with barely a hint of the fight to come.

7. Write three essential (higher level thinking) questions that you might use in a culminating discussion of this book. (6 pts)

1. What details and events make the world Ally Condie created realistic and believable? What do you think the positive qualities of the world are? What do you think the negative qualities of the world are?

2. Cassia has an impossible choice. Would you make the same decision as Cassia? Why or why not?

3. What is the novel’s major theme, its message for you, the reader? How is this message important to our society today?

No comprehension assignment this week. You deserve a little bit of a break J

Name Sandra Bienka

1. Book Title (1 pt.) Chains

2. Genre: Historical Fiction

3. Author (1 pt.) Laurie Halse Anderson

4. Date of Publication (1 pt.) 2008

5. Write a brief summary of the book you read without giving away the ending! (4 pts.)

Having already suffered the loss of her mother a year earlier, Isabel finds herself, along with her little sister, Ruth, passed down as mere property when her owner passes away – despite the fact that there is a will that states that both girls are to be set free. The Spring of 1776 is an uncertain time in the colonies, and the lawyer who holds these vital papers is elsewhere, unreachable due to a military blockade. Isabel & Ruth are quickly sold by this new master to a Loyalist family with a home in New York. Isabel, renamed Sal by her new owners, is placed in the dangerous position of spying on her master and his friends in order to help the Patriots. She is pulled into this world by Curzon, the young slave of a Patriot. Through the course of the story, the relationship between these two young slaves in a country fighting for its freedom develops from one of distrust to one in which one must depend on the other for survival. Throughout the story, the reader feels for Isabel as she tries to protect Ruth, who is only five years old and suffers from seizures (epilepsy), is punished for being “insolent” and tries to find a way to free herself and her sister. Isabel also becomes a hero to others, helping keep prisoners of war fed and alive in deplorable conditions. I often felt that I was holding my breath along with Isabel, afraid that she would be caught in one of her many dangerous excursions.

6. What did you like about the book? What did you dislike? (4 pts).

I thought it was an honest, frank depiction of a plausible life of a slave girl during the Revolutionary War. Written with historical accuracy. Questions about what freedom and liberty really mean in this context and how friendship and loyalty complicate the political issues would make this discussible in any setting.

Nothing for me to dislike about the book! I can’t wait to read the sequel to it: Forge.

7. Write three essential (higher level thinking) questions that you might use in a culminating discussion of this book. (6 pts)

1. What does Isabel mean when she says, “I was chained between two nations”? There are several references to chains throughout the novel. How is the word “chain” used as an antonym to the word “freedom”? 2. Explain the following metaphor: “Melancholy held me hostage, and the bees built a hive of sadness in my soul.” What precipitates such sadness in Isabel? How does the hive grow bigger before Isabel learns to destroy it? 3. At the Tea Water Pump, Grandfather tells Isabel, “Everything that stands between you and freedom is the River Jordan.“ What did he mean by that? What was Isabel’s River Jordan? In our current day, what River Jordan exists for people seeking freedom?

Comprehension Activity:


 * Choose Your Own Activity** – Choose one of the four project ideas below (15 points). I chose to do an interactive timeline.

1. Go to [|__http://www.dipity.com__] and create your own interactive timeline. There are many tutorials online that go into detail on how to use the tool and they have an excellent “Help” section as well. You timeline should have a minimum of 15 events that occurred in the story. Make sure your text is detailed enough that your timeline tells a story. In the settings, make sure you include me as someone who can view your timeline. You should also be able to embed the timeline into your wiki.

  on Dipity.



Sandra Bienka


 * Book Talk video**


 * Girl, Stolen** **by April Henry**

pgs. 8, 9, 10 pgs. 155, 156, 157

YouTube:

@http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujL0pWifBSM

Name __Sandra Bienka__

1. Book Title (1 pt.) Chelsey

2. Genre: (1pt) Autobiography

3. Author (1 pt.) Chelsey Shannon

4. Date of Publication (1 pt.) 2009

5. Write a brief summary of the book you read without giving away the ending! (4 pts.)

When she was in first grade, her mother died from leukemia. When she was 14, her father was murdered by a burglar in a hotel room. Chelsey was forced to come to terms with a new home life, a new school, a new identity as an orphan. She has respect for all those who try to help her get through her terrible time, and it’s with hope and maturity rather than bitterness and resentment that she emerges.

6. What did you like about the book? What did you dislike? (4 pts).

I liked how she told her story honestly. How she made it through and is healthy and positive.

I disliked how the book made me cry! Several times throughout the story.

7. Write three essential (higher level thinking) questions that you might use in a culminating discussion of this book. **This week, I want you to write questions strictly //for discussion// here – not project ideas** (you’ll see why below). (6 pts)

1. What do you think motivated Chelsey to share her life story? How did you respond to Chelsey's "voice"?

2. What is Chelsey's most admirable quality? Is this someone you would want to know or have known? Why or why not?

3. What did you find to be the most interesting events in this book? What surprised you? Why did it surprise you?

Comprehension Activity: Create your own project that you could assign for the book you read. Your project should be appropriate for middle or high school students. Make sure that you give specific instructions and provide whatever they might need in terms of graphic organizers, etc. Give me an idea of what you would expect from kids. You can do this by providing an example or writing a paragraph that describes what you would be looking for. I do not intend for you to spend a ton of time creating an example. If it is simple to do, provide one. If not, do the explanation.

INTERVIEW Pretend you are a reporter for a magazine like Time or Entertainment. Interview Chelsey Shannon. Look over interviews in magazines as models for how to format your interview. Use the details of characterization to give an accurate portrayal of Chelsey in the intro paragraph and her responses to questions: 1) The character’s appearance 2) The character’s actions/behavior 3) The character’s words, thoughts and feelings 4) The reactions of other characters • Write one introductory paragraph, describing the appearance and mood of Chelsey and the setting of the interview (italicized). • Ask Chelsey at least 10 questions with at least 5 “feed-off” questions (labeled “Q”). Do not number your questions. • Be sure Chelsey's answers are thorough and detailed (labeled “A”). • Within the questions and answers, the following topics are addressed: 1) Chelsey's background/past. 2) How she feels about events and other characters from the book. 3) What the Chelsey thinks about her future and why. • As she answers your questions, describe her movements, gestures, facial expressions, body language to give the answers richer depth (italicized). • Interview is typed (one-inch margins, 12 point font, Times or Times New Roman font). • Each question and its answer is single-spaced; double space between questions. • No spelling, mechanical, and grammatical errors are present



Name __Sandra Bienka__

1. Book Title (1 pt.) Partly Cloudy Poems of Love and Longing

2. Genre: (1pt) Poetry

3. Author (1 pt.) Gary Soto

4. Date of Publication (1 pt.) 1/17/2012

5. Write a brief summary of the book you read without giving away the ending! If you are writing about a collection of stories or poems, you need to talk specifically about 2-3 of the selections in the book. (4 pts.)

A book of poetry about love in the adolescent life. Divided into two parts, the first segment of the collection is written from the perspective of a teenage girls, while the second half is the voice of a boys. The varying opinions towards love are hilarious. For example, "First Kiss" talks of a girl spending hours telling her best friend about a moment that took seconds to occur: her first kiss (28). And then, a boy talks about falling in love with multiple girls and not knowing how to tell his girlfriend. He says, " by fifth period--I don't know how this happened--I fell in love with this other girl." (69-70). Men and women think differently in so many ways, especially about love; and adolescence is no exception!

6. What did you like about the book? What did you dislike? (4 pts.). I liked the fact that it was made up from females and males. I liked that they were SHORT!! I have nothing against the book or author, I am just not a “poem” type of person! There is nothing that I didn’t like about it.

7. Write three essential (higher level thinking) questions that you might use in a culminating discussion of this book. **This week, I want you to write questions strictly //for discussion// here – not project ideas** (you’ll see why below). (6 pts) 1. What one poem do you most relate to? How do you relate to it? Why? 2. What was your favorite poem in the book? Explain why you chose that poem. 3. What makes poems such as these memorable despite their thematic simplicity?

8. How can you see this book being used in the curriculum? For what grade level would it be most appropriate? Give a
 * specific** example of how you as a teacher might use the book as part of the taught curriculum. What **specifically** would you use it to teach and what would you have students do with it? (7 pts.)

Literature Classroom Grades 6-12 Classroom Poetry Composition:

Step One: You come up with a topic based on literature. Give the class a 7 minute writing time, ask them to write four to five lines about the topic/theme.

Step Two: The teacher has to use his/her creativity. The teacher goes home and takes the best line out of each piece and puts it into a free verse style poem. Repetitive lines become those that repeat themselves in the poem( if several students say the same thing in their individual writings).

Step Three: The teacher reads the "Classroom Composition" to the students, making eye contact with each student as she/he reads them their line. A classroom discussion follows the piece addressing: theme, literary components, purpose, meaning, etc.

Step Four: The composition is used for analysis on the next classroom test.

RESULTS: The students begin to believe that they have a voice. Their work has been put into print, discussed as a viable piece of writing, and placed on an exam. It has been based on the work of a viable author. Thus, they begin to see themselves as an author. Following the composition, students are to write their own piece as a reader's response to the next piece of literature they study.

Here is an example: Adolescent Literature's classroom composition:

They have taken something away from us, Even after we trusted them. We called them FRIENDS- They think they are better than us. They judged us. They picked on us. They got us in trouble. They think they are better than us. They talk badly about us behind our backs. They don't say things to our faces. Then they stab us in our backs. They think they are better than us. They yelled at us. They made smart remarks. Then they sucked up to us. They think they are better than us. They were our best friends. But they abused the situation. Now they look at us in the halls. They think they are better than us. Sometimes we are afraid we'll say something. Sometimes we are afraid we'll do something we shouldn't. Sometimes it makes us so mad. They think they are better than us.
 * REVENGE**
 * PAIN IS THE ROOT OF THE EMOTION**
 * by Ad Lit II**