The first quarter's Independent Reading assignments are designed to let students' multiple intelligences shine. When students are excited about the books and stories they've just read, they can't wait to share them with you and their peers.
You'll need examples of student work and those can be difficult to provide, if you're a first-year teacher. Veteran teachers will often share the best they've got from years past, and that helps to set expectations for student work.
The beauty of IR is that once you allow students to choose a book they want to read, they will pour their hearts and souls into the work you ask them to create.
Here's an examples of 8th grade work. It's from a Quarter 1, comic book option that could easily be swapped out on the IR Assignment Sheet provided in an earlier post.
"Create a comic book, with at least 10 panels, representing a scene or episode in the story / book you read. You must include the title, author, and a cover for your comic book. The panels must include at least two different settings, two characters, and dialogue -- quotes -- directly from the book. At least two panels must paraphrase, or summarize, a scene in the book."
You can easily add requirements that address additional ELA writing standards, such as figurative language, etc.
