Name:Miss Collier: British Literature2011 Christmas Break Project

You have worked hard this semester deciphering unfamiliar language, analyzing new concepts and discussing complex topics. Since we are going on a long break, and research shows that “if you don’t use it, you lose it”, I present to you your 2011 Christmas Break Activities.

Your 2011 Christmas Break Activities will consist of 2 components:1. Brit Lit Book Club2. Brit Lit Book Club Book Review

Brit Lit Book ClubMany people find reading to be an enjoyable past time and find delight in discussing the characters, plots and themes of the books they read with other people, which is why book clubs are so popular. For your break project, you will be starting your own book club. We will discuss your book options in class; you and the other students who choose that book will be responsible for making sure that each of you has read the book in its entirety by Monday, January 9, 2012 and that you come to class prepared to discuss the book with your classmates. To ensure a rousing discussion of the book, you will be asked to prepare 5 Bloom’s Taxonomy questions that you will ask your fellow book club members. The span of these questions must cover all parts of the book – beginning, middle and end – and each question must be from a different level of comprehension. You will also be expected to prepare answers to those questions and include at least one example from the text in each question. Your participation in the book club will be graded as follows:

Quality of Bloom’s Questions: You use the words in the “Words to Use” column of your Bloom’s Taxonomy handout to write the questions. You have written 5 questions, at 5 different levels and the questions cover the book in its entirety. 1 2 3 4 5

Quality of Answers to Bloom’s Questions: Your answers to the question reflect that you have read the book. You include at least one example from the text per question. 1 2 3 4 5

Book Discussion: You actively participate in the discussion with your peers on Monday, January 9, 2012 and your contributions to the discussion reflect that you have read and understood the events in the book.1 2 3 4 5

Self-Evaluation: This is your chance to offer feedback on the effort you put into reading and understanding this book. Did you employ active reading strategies (i.e. asking questions, predicting what will happen next, using Post-its or taking notes)? Did you ask your group members for clarification if you didn’t understand something? Did you research the time period in which the story takes place? Did you gather information about the author?1 2 3 4 5

Peer Review: Who were your group members? How would you assess their preparation for and participation in your discussion? Please list your group members at in the space that follows and rate their performance from 1-5. Justify your answer.

Name:Miss Collier: British Literature2011 Christmas Break Project

Brit Lit Book Club: Book Review

Once you have completed your novel, you will write a book review. A book review is what it says: a review of a book you have read. In your review, you will give a summary of the book’s story line, discuss the theme(s) of the story and offer your opinion of the book. In other words, you are answering the question, “Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?” I have included 2 examples of quality book reviews in this packet so you have an idea of what I am looking for. Please use this rubric to make sure you earn as many points as possible. Also, staple it to your book review before you hand it in.

How you will be graded:

Conventions: Your review is typed and free of grammatical, spelling, punctuation and other careless mistakes. You write in 1st person, present tense. 1 2 3 4 5 6

Background information: You write a summary of the storyline but do not give away the ending. You also include the author’s name and any other information that might be important. (First paragraph)

1 2 3 4

Theme: You identify and discuss at least 1 theme (main idea) that you recognize throughout the story. For example, if you were writing a review on Paradise Lost, you might discuss the theme of bravery and courage as seen throughout the epic. In your discussion of the theme, you provide AT LEAST 2 examples from the book, cite where in the book you found the examples (page number), and how it proves that the theme is part of the book. Your discussion of this theme reflects that you have indeed read the book, understood its content and that you can effectively analyze what you have read. (Second paragraph) 1 2 3 4 5

Recommendation: You write one paragraph answering the questions, “Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?”. You clearly state your opinion about the book and give a thorough explanation of your reasons why. (Third paragraph) 1 2 3 4 5

Topic Sentences: You use quality topic sentences to set up each paragraph. Feel free to use your topic sentence handout as a resource. 1 2 3 4 5

Organized Paragraphs: Your review is at least 3 paragraphs long and follows a logical pattern of reasoning.

1 2 3 4 5

Dates to remember:

1. Friday, December 9: Sign up for a book 2. Thursday, December 15: Bring your book to class 3. Friday, December 16: Work with your group to decide reading due dates and submit them to Miss Collier

via e mail or on a sheet of paper. a. Ex: December 21: p.1-100 December 31: p.101-199 January 5: p. 200-299

4. Monday, January 9: Come to class prepared to discuss your book with your group members. Bloom’s Taxonomy questions and answers, and book review due (turnitin.com @ 12 am). Bring a snack/drink to share.

Name:Miss Collier: British Literature2011 Christmas Break Project

Review by: Sam G.Virginia, Grade 12 1984 By George Orwell

I am a political activist, and I saw many parallels within this book to contemporary and modern day governments. I have been to London before, but to see a bombed out and modernized city of poverty and grime would have me checking my map. London, 1984, is a sprawl of rich and poor. The era of antiquated buildings of old is not only gone, but erased. It might as well have never existed from Winston Smith’s point of view. George Orwell paints a portrait of the monotony of everyday life, where yesterday didn’t happen and where war, rationed food, and constant surveillance stretches toward a non-existent horizon, in his famous book, 1984. Oceania, Eastasia, and Eurasia are the three battling super states. Each has an identical government—one that uses the excuse of personal danger to legitimize an endless war in order to gain complete control over its citizens. Big Brother manipulates its citizens into convenient modes of thinking. However, instead of propaganda techniques, Big Brother uses Newspeak and telescreens. Newspeak is the official language of Oceania, a new language that has a limited vocabulary, destroying all words of deeper meaning that requires the use of a free mind to understand. Newspeak effectively achieves a level of brainwashing never seen in the worlds of Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini. The telescreens monitor each citizen that is allowed to be educated, at all times, watching for any action, word, or possible thought that could be unorthodox. Not one word, not one facial expression is missed by the Thought Police.Winston, an aging thirty-something, is a minor functionary who works at the Ministry of Truth, ironically built to alter the past by erasing all mention of people who either disappeared or spoke of anything outside of the Party lines. Winston himself oversees the destruction of the past. This experience gives him a burning desire for the truth of the past, present and future, beyond the fabrications. Winston’s curiosity gives way to an internal as well as external conflict. Internally, he doubts the Party’s truth that the general population is better off than before the Revolution. He feels alone in his doubts. This, however, does not last long. When Winston is secretly approached by a coworker, he learns that he is not alone in his belief that Big Brother is ‘ungood.’ (in Newspeak terms). Winston and Julia become lovers and eventually confess their feelings of rebelliousness to O’Brien, a fellow coworker who is believed to be a member of a rebel group, the Brotherhood.Winston’s external conflict is quite obvious and surprisingly simpler. He believes that all hope for an uprising lies in the masses of the working poor, the Proles. Winston discovers the true meaning of Ignorance is Strength, one of the Party’s three slogans. The poor masses, being uneducated and simplistic, have no understanding of the implications that the past has on the present. Thus, the Party is strengthened due to the ignorance of the people. The plot thickens, Orwell brings terror into the story when he shows the reader what is really behind Big Brother, as Oceania’s government sends a representative into the plot. A government, no different than those in present-day society, is in control of Oceania. The only true manipulative technique used by Big Brother is mental manipulation. The belief that there is existence beyond typical understanding, is represented by Big Brother when the reader learns about doublethink. Doublethink the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind at once and fully accepting both. This gives the meaning of the names of the Ministries. “The Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war, the Ministry of Truth with lies, the Ministry of Love with torture, and the Ministry of Plenty with starvation.” Doublethink is the main tool of mind control behind the three world governments.

*What did you like about this review? What would you change or add? Use your rubric to assess this assignment. If you were a teacher, what grade would you give this paper and why?

Name:Miss Collier: British Literature2011 Christmas Break Project

The Crucible (taken from http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/book-review-crucible)

The Crucible is like a 17th century Mean Girls. One queen bee can manipulate her friends into a pretty nasty witch hunt, which is why it's so appropriate that students read it in high schools nationwide.

What it's aboutArthur Miller's play takes us back to colonial Salem, Massachusetts, where Puritan colonists reign supreme. Apparently teenage rebellion is timeless, because the town's minister, Reverend Parris, catches some girls dancing around in the forest (a big deal back then). After being discovered, the reverend's daughter Betty mysteriously falls into a coma-like state, and suddenly people think a witch is running around casting spells on people like Betty.

The reverend plays bad cop and questions the girls, especially queen bee of the group Abigail Williams. But Abigail has a lot of power over her friends, and convinces them not to say anything. Then Abigail starts claiming that while dancing, the girls had contact with the devil. Betty, who has awakened from her coma in an altered state, confirms this.

The reader also learns that Abigail is especially sly - she had an affair with her boss, a married farmer named John Proctor. (Side note: The audience finds this out before the other characters, a tactic in literature called dramatic irony.) Anyway, the guy's wife Elizabeth found out about it and fired Abigail, but the girl still hits on her former employer. John, however, is now resisting her.

Sadly, Proctor shouldn't underestimate a teenage girl. Another minister, Reverend Hale, and a Judge Danforth, are brought into the story as Abigail and her friends start accusing various townspeople of being witches. Eventually one of the teens, Mary, admits that her peers are lying. Well Abigail just claims that Mary has bewitched her and her friends, and turns the tables on her. Suddenly, no one knows what to believe.

As the story continues, tables keep turning as various characters are accused back and forth, back and forth. People admit to being witches to save themselves from being executed, but then renounce in order to face the death penalty with dignity. It's all pretty upsetting considering a bunch of girls caused so many people to be put in a place of near life and death.

Your favorite part will beSpecifically, Elizabeth Proctor is pretty calm and collected considering the girl who her husband cheated

with is accusing her of being a witch. Instead of trying to beat any of the girls (like her husband does to Mary), she maintains herself pretty well.

Overall, Arthur Miller makes a great examination of the fact that without evidence, the tables can always be turned. Witnesses can lie, speculation is not solid, and ultimately people's emotions and motives can always alter the justice system if not checked by concrete proof and reasoning.

The cause-y anglesIntolerance - You're either with the town's view of religion or you are the enemy, as represented by people accusing so many people of witchcraft. Puritan Massachusetts was notorious for keeping people in line or throwing them out (Rhode Island and Connecticut were founded by people expelled by Massachusetts Puritans).

Women's rights - Girls have no equal rights here. Part of what motivates Abigail is that her power to accuse people raises her social status. Before, she was at the bottom of the social ladder, only above the slaves of the colony.

Political freedom - The entire play represents the US in the 1950's and how one little-known Senator named Joseph McCarthy caused a huge frenzy when he tried to hunt down and accuse "suspected communists" (including The Crucible playwright Arthur Miller).

*What did you like about this review? What would you change or add? Use your rubric to assess this assignment. If you were a teacher, what grade would you give this paper and why?

Name:Miss Collier: British Literature2011 Christmas Break Project