Independent Reading Project (Quarter One)

QUARTER ONE

INDEPENDENT READING PROJECT

(mystery genre)

You’ll create a “cereal box” that addresses literary elements in the mystery novel that you’ve chosen for your independent reading project. Literary elements must include theme, plot, setting, conflict, characters (protagonists, antagonists, flat, round), and figurative language.

You are expected to read your self-selected (and teacher-approved) book at home or during free-time at school or while hunting, fishing, polishing your toes, capturing iguanas, running marathons, or hiding in a tree fort. (Basically, you’re not going to be granted a lot of time in class—if any—to read the book. You must figure out how to get it done.) Once you have read the book, you’ll decorate a real cereal box with illustrations and information that is related to the book you read. (Miniature one-serving boxes are not allowed, nor are cereal bags; if you don’t have access to a cereal box, please let me know and I’m certain we can collect some in a timely manner so that you have a proper cereal box to use.) Also, please remove the cereal from the box prior to your presentation. I don’t want to lug around a pile of cereal.  

You must follow the instructions below. They are quite detailed, but if you have any questions, please ASK for clarification in plenty of time so that you can manage to finish your project.

CEREAL BOX BOOK REPORT

·         Front of box: [This is the front of the box when it is standing upright. It’s probably got the name of the cereal in large letters, making the front easy to identify. Fantastic! Now you can begin.] Use a piece of white or light colored paper (NOT lined notebook paper!) to cover the front of your cereal box. I suggest you create the cover in its entirety before gluing it to the box; it’ll be difficult and messy if it’s already attached while you try to work on it, especially if the glue is still gooey and the box is still intact. On the paper—which will be the front cover—you need to invent a name for the cereal that is related to the title of the book AND sounds like a cereal. Do NOT use the exact title of the book or simply change one or two words; be creative and figure out how to meld a cereal-like name with some elements of the book’s title. Choose a shape for the cereal as well as colors and ingredients that ALL RELATE TO THE BOOK. For example, if the book were Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, you might invent a cereal called Wizard Wands, a toasted oat cereal in the shape of miniature lightning bolts. Notice that I used the word “colors” in here. A nice colorful cereal box will earn a better grade than one that is simply slopped together with pencil and no color at all. That’s not exciting. We want our cereal boxes to be amazing and appealing and so exciting that kids on the school bus try to bum cereal from you! That’s how gorgeous your cereal box will be if it’s done correctly!

·         Right Side: [This is the narrow side on the right if the front of the box is upright and facing you. Again, use a piece of paper to cover this portion of the box. You may wish to measure the remaining three sides and use one piece of paper, or you may wish to create a separate piece for both sides and the back. It’s your call, but it must be done neatly, so don’t glue it on until you’ve finished each portion.] Make a list of ingredients that includes the story elements CHARACTERS and SETTING. Under the heading “Ingredients,” list the main characters and write a complete sentence about each one. Also note if they are a protagonist or antagonist or otherwise. Then describe the setting. Create a “Nutritional Facts” chart that rates the book by giving the percentage of the RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) in several categories (mystery, humor, drama, suspense, action, romance, education, vocabulary, etc). Make sure you include ALL of the categories listed here AND ADD AT LEAST ONE CATEGORY OF YOUR OWN. Look at how the cereal box itself has this information and use that as inspiration and a general guideline if you’ve never taken the time to look at the side of a box of cereal or any other packaged food you cram into your mouth.

·         Left Side: [This is the narrow side on the left if the front of the box is upright and facing you. Refresh your memory about paper and suggestions for application as noted in the instructions above.] Write a summary (this means writing in correct format, spelling, grammar, punctuation, and proper mechanics) that describes the main problem and the solution of the book. Use interesting “quality” words that function to grab the readers’ attention so that they’ll want to buy your cereal.

·         BACK OF BOX: [This is obviously the back of the box if the box is upright. It’s not the front. It’s not the sides. It’s the back of the cereal box.] Design a game that is based on the story. It can be a puzzle, a word search, a word scramble, a maze, a crossword puzzle, an illustration with hidden pictures, or any other fun activity that might be found on the back of a box of cereal. It is imperative that the game and all of the information on the back of the box actually corresponds to the novel and has information from the book. There should be instructions and it should all be pertinent to the story you read. Don’t just do something random here—it is, after all, a book report.

·         TOP OF BOX: [Seriously, I’m not going to explain where to find this.] Include the book’s actual title, author, number of pages, and also the number of stars you would give the book if you were a book critic. The rating scale is 1-5 with five being the highest, the best, the most stars possible. Your math skills should tell you that a one, therefore, is the lowest number of stars for your book rating. Zero stars won’t count. Even if you hate the book, simply give it one star. Get it? Got it? Good!

·         BOTTOM OF BOX: [If you really have to ask the location, there’s a problem. I’m not even going there.] Your first and last name should be written neatly on the bottom of the box. And yes, it should be covered with paper like the rest of the box, don’t just scrawl your name on there with a Sharpie or a pencil and expect it to be nice. That would be sloppy and you’ll lose points. This is not a lie.

·         PRIZE: [No, I didn’t make this up. Cereal companies used to lure children into begging for cereal because of some sort of prize. I eat Special K and there is no prize, but I imagine Fruity Pebbles or Captain Crunch with Crunch Berries are likely to have prizes jammed inside.] Regardless, cereal boxes often include a prize. Your prize MUST be something the MAIN CHARACTER could have used in the book OR something that REMINDS you of the MAIN CHARACTER. Please put the prize in a Ziploc-style bag and include a well-composed and neatly written description of what the prize has to do with the main character of the story. You might even want to include a picture and brief description of the prize on the front of your box to let the reader know what is inside the box (as incentive to buy your cereal, of course)!

YOU WILL PRESENT THE COMPLETED CEREAL BOX TO THE CLASS. THIS MEANS YOU’LL ACTUALLY STAND IN FRONT OF YOUR TEACHER AND YOUR CLASSMATES AND YOU’LL READ DETAILS FROM THE BOX AND SHOW US ALL FOUR SIDES, THE TOP, AND THE PRIZE. WHEN DOING THIS PROJECT, BE CREATIVE AND FOLLOW ALL OF THE DIRECTIONS CAREFULLY. IF YOU FORGET TO DO A SIDE OR YOU LEAVE OUT INFORMATION OR ANOTHER ELEMENT, YOU WILL EARN A POOR GRADE. THE ORDER OF PRESENTATIONS WILL BE RANDOM.

PROJECTS ARE DUE AND PRESENTATIONS WILL BEGIN

WHEN YOU ARRIVE TO CLASS ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15.