Year 8 English Wider Reading Tasks This year, you will be expected to read at least two or three books per semester in addition to our set texts. These may be novels, collections of short stories, biographies or other works of non-fiction. At least one novel per semester should come from the Year 8 suggested reading lists in the library. Your chosen novels must be published works. E-books are acceptable but unpublished works such as those found on apps like Wattpad are not. Each semester, you will need to complete two tasks based on your wider reading. Each task should be based on a different book. TASK 1 : a review of your novel, which is to be published on the ‘Inside a Dog’, State Library of Victoria website. A screen shot of this review, once you have published it, is to be submitted to your teacher. TASK 2 : a book trailer of your novel is to be created - length of 1minute. These two tasks will be shown on your report. DUE DATES: TASK 1: ______________________________________ TASK 2: ______________________________________
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Year 8 English
Wider Reading Tasks
This year, you will be expected to read at least two or three books per semester in addition to our set texts. These may be novels, collections of short stories, biographies or other works of non-fiction.
At least one novel per semester should come from the Year 8 suggested reading lists in the library.
Your chosen novels must be published works. E-books are acceptable but unpublished works such as those found on apps like Wattpad are not.
Each semester, you will need to complete two tasks based on your wider reading. Each task should be based on a different book.
TASK 1: a review of your novel, which is to be published on the ‘Inside a Dog’, State Library of Victoria website. A screen shot of this review, once you have published it, is to be submitted to your teacher.
TASK 2: a book trailer of your novel is to be created - length of 1minute.
These two tasks will be shown on your report.
DUE DATES:
TASK 1: ______________________________________
TASK 2: ______________________________________
Further instructionsTASK 1: Book Review
A book review is not just a summary of the novel! Refer to sites such as www.goodreads.com or http://www.insideadog.com.au/, or ones written by Avila students at http://9redenglish.weebly.com/reviews.html for some examples of good reviews.
Aim to include: some information about the author, some discussion of the writing style, enough information about the plot and characters to “hook” in potential readers, and discussion of why you enjoyed it (or didn’t!)
You need to publish this review on the http://www.insideadog.com.au/ website. A screen shot of the published piece will then be submitted to your teacher for assessment
Your review should be 200-300 words in length.
TASK 2: Book Trailer
Create a book trailer teaser of the novel you have read. The trailer should sell your novel, like the way a movie trailer does.
It is a visual story, so try to engage your audience through quotes, pictures and also explain a bit about the plot and characters. You could use keynote and export it to a quicktime movie, or use imovie to create this (they even have trailer templates you can use!)
A detailed explanation of how to make a book trailer can be found here:http://goo.gl/sqDT2q or http://www.booktrailersforreaders.com/How+to+make+a+book+trailer
and some example book trailers can be found here (all made by Avila students!) http://9redenglish.weebly.com/book-trailers.html
Your trailer must be 1 minute long.
It must include an end slide / clip which details the bibliography of the sources you used.
What makes a trailer great?
1. Good musicTrailers are short films and they have a definite linear progression like any other film. Because they are so short, the potential for good sound design to influence the audience is much larger than for a feature length film. Since songs also have their beginnings, middles and ends, they are particularly well-suited, as most popular songs are not much longer than the trailer itself and can be easily edited down (removing refrains, etc.) A good song can really pull all the disparate snippets of scenes together into one cohesive whole.
2. Good pacingAs with films, a trailer should also carry a start, middle and an end. Trailers – even trailers without good music – are better for being designed like little films, building to one or more “beats”. Often these can lead to a climax, but the individual beats are more important. Particularly for action or adventure movies (but also for comedies), the trailer should quickly get us up to speed/level of excitement about the film, and then can spend the rest of the trailer maintaining that excitement. The trailer needs to clearly tell us the title and author of the book (if not at the beginning, at least at the end of the trailer), where it is available, as well as give credit for the music and images.
3. Keeps secrets!This one cannot be stressed enough – a trailer should get you interested in reading the book without telling you the whole story. Bad trailers tell you most of the story so that there is no surprise and nothing to look forward to when/if you actually read the book. Great trailers make the audience curious about a story without giving anything away.
4. A clear visionGood trailers must clearly communicate some essence of the book they advertise. Trailers are made to highlight what is good from the book and to downplay its flaws. It should be properly set up, giving viewers a peak of the story’s promise, but at the same time keeping them anticipating what they should expect, should they read the novel. A bad trailer will be “all over the place”: trying to do too much, or by cramming simply too many characters/too much information into the trailer. Like a good music video, a trailer should have one primary concept/idea it is trying to convey.
The ideal trailer has all of these: good music, a clear vision, good pacing, and doesn’t tell us the whole story. It’s a teaser that makes us want to race out and read the book.
Adapted from: Harold 2007, What Makes a Trailer Great, Fanpop, Accessed 24 October 2012, http://www.fanpop.com/spots/upcoming-movies/articles/271/title/what-makes-trailer-great
TASK CRITERIA 4 3 2 1 TOTAL
TASK 2Book Trailer
Understanding of the plot shown and evidence used from text (quotations): Key scenes or themes from the book have been creatively presented. These make the content of the book clear to the viewer.
/15
TASK 2Book Trailer
Evidence of editing - correct spelling, punctuation and grammar
/15
TASK 2Book Trailer
Originality of Presentation - Use of visual images, soundtrack or spoken word to enhance the visual representation of the story and the suits the mood of the novel.
/15
TASK 2Book Trailer
Audience engagement (does it sell your novel to your audience) The trailer flows very smoothly and captivates the attention of the target audience. It compels the viewer to read the book.
/15
TASK 2Book Trailer
Response met required length of 1 minute Yes 1
Yes 1
No 0
No 0
/15
TASK 2Book Trailer
Bibliography slide included Yes1
Yes1
No0
No0
TASK CRITERIA 4 3 2 1 TOTAL
TASK 3Book review
Depth of discussion and analysis
/12
TASK 3Book review
Adherence to suggested review styleAdherence to suggested review styleAdherence to suggested review style
/12
TASK 3Book review
Evidence of editing - correct spelling, punctuation and grammar; effective use of descriptive and analytical language
Evidence of editing - correct spelling, punctuation and grammar; effective use of descriptive and analytical language
Evidence of editing - correct spelling, punctuation and grammar; effective use of descriptive and analytical language
/12
TASK 3Book review
Response met required length Yes 2 mark
s
Yes 2 mark
s
No 0
marks
No 0
marks
/12
Response published on the insideadog.com.au website
Yes 2 mark
s
Yes 2 mark
s
No 0
marks
No 0
marks
TOTAL
A+ A B+ B C+ C D+ D E+ E
100-95 94-86 85-80 79-70 69-65 64-55 54-50 49-45 44-40 <40
30-29 28-26 25-24 23-21 20 19-17 16-15 14 13-12 <11
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