1. The Forty Book Challenge “Failure is not an option, so why talk about it?” -Donalyn Miller, The Book Whisperer By Wendy Wardell

2.  You will read forty books this year. This includes books that we read together for class.  You will read from a variety of genres in order to explore books you might not ordinarily read and to develop an understanding of literary elements, text features, and text structures. You Want Me To What?

3. Poetry Anthologies / collections: 3 Mythology, Folktales, and Legends: 5 Realistic fiction: 2 Historical fiction: 5 Fantasy: 4 Science fiction / Dystopian Society: 2 Mystery / Action Adventure: 4 Informational: 4 Biography, Autobiography, Memoir: 2 Personal-choice chapter books: 9 The Expectation

4. Something really important to remember…  Any book you read that is over 300 pages will count for two books. 

5. Outline of Expectations POETRY Read 3 Anthologies or Novels  Shortened form of writing  Has figurative language (similes, metephors, personnification) The author’s expression of feelings and opinions  May follow a form or structure but does not have to Personification

6. Mythology, Folktales, or Legends: 5  Stories passed down for generations  Original stories usually passed down orally  Myths, legends, folk tales, fairy tales, nursery rhymes  Unknown origin

7. Realistic fiction: 2  Characters are every day people doing every day things.  Setting is a modern-day realistic place.  Plot consists of realistic events.  May highlight social issues.

8. Historical fiction: 5  Takes place in the past (forty years before now is considered historical)  Plot (storyline) contains historical events  Characters may be historical figures

9. Fantasy: 4  Contains unrealistic or unworldly elements  Characters may have magical powers in addition to human qualities  Theme is often focused on good versus evil

10. Science fiction / Dystopian Societies: 2  Fantasy that involves or is based on scientific principles  Often set in the future

11. Mystery / Action Adventure: 2  Involves something unknown  Centered around person investigating wrongdoing or obtaining secret information

12. Informational: 4  Provides information on a topic  Nonfiction  Organized into sections or categories  No characters or settings

13. Biography, Autobiography, Memoir: 2  Biography –Story of someone’s life written by someone else  Autobiography –Story of someone’s life written by his/herself  Memoir –a short account of the author’s experiences written by him/herself

14. Personal-choice chapter books: 9  Just read what you love!

15. How do I keep Track of all these books? Book Review Slip for bulletin board Reading Tracker Tracker

16. Congratulations!