15 Minutes Independent Reading

Your Mid-book Test Will not be a test You’ll have a quiz on the information you learned in the video as well as on the vocab words you will learn tomorrow and Thursday This will be either Thursday or Friday of next week You will be developing a thesis statement between today and tomorrow, and gathering quotes to support it (5) Using this thesis statement, you will create your own book from Liesel’s point of view

Making a Book You will focus the contents of this book around your thesis statement and the five quotes you choose It must be five to ten pages and: Include 5-10 relevant images (painted or drawn) Convey Liesel’s story Accurately express and prove your thesis statement

This project requires you to: Choose a topic of the book Write out a theme of the book based on that topic Create a thematic thesis statement Convey Liesel’s story through 5-10 pages of words and images in the style of a picture book Convey your thematic thesis statement through the way she tells her story Pick an audience for the story and craft the language around that audience Cite at least five pieces of textual evidence that back up your story and prove your thesis

Creating this story means you get to choose: Your topic Your theme The length of your book Who Liesel is telling the story to The art form you use to create the book (pencil, pen, colored pencils, markers, paint, etc.)

Here are the directions on how I would like your book laid out: A clear front cover with a relevant picture, a title, and Liesel’s name Your topic, theme, and thematic thesis statement on the back of the cover (please be sure to include all three so I can see how they come together to form the thesis) A dedication page should be the first page of your book. It should have the name of the person Liesel is writing the book for, why she chose that person, and what she hopes he/she will take away from the book. Please leave the back of the dedication page blank. For the rest of the book, you may choose from two options: Tell Liesel’s story in your pictures and words with no disruption, and then include the quotations you used at the end of the story. Tell Liesel’s story in your pictures and words, inserting quotations after or before the pages they are relevant to. On the back cover, include your name, date, and period, and the art form you chose.

Developing a thesis statement Developing a thesis statement is done in layers

Begin with a topic Here is the one I suggest (do what you want though, it’s your mid-book exam, after all): Language For my example, I’ll use Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie. Topic: Change

Then an arguable theme Theme: the main message an author is trying to send to the reader. It conveys a universal truth about life or human nature. What argument can you make about language (or your chosen topic), knowing you’ll have to use the book thief as evidence? An argument is not a fact, it’s something you have to prove, and that can be disproved My Arguable Theme: Change allows people to break and then reform as stronger, more able individuals.

Then add the author’s name and explain how he proves your argument right. This usually has something to do with how the characters act or react or certain situations in the book. After all, you’re making an assertion about life or human nature. Topic: Change Arguable Theme: Change allows people to break and then reform as stronger, more able individuals. Thesis Statement: Through the way Steven copes with his brother’s diagnosis, Sonnenblick shows that change allows people to break and then reform as stronger, more able individuals.

Before you go: Consider our lesson on connotation and denotation from yesterday—how are the Nazi party and The Book Thief both connected to this topic

Homework Identify five quotes from five separate scenes that support your thesis statement. You must cite page numbers with these quotes and a brief explanation on how each proves your thesis.