Burton ISD

Burton High School Book Study

Burton High School is launching a school wide Literacy Campaign to help students overcome reading and writing barriers that may be preventing students from reaching their potential. Reading and writing proficiency is a key to success in higher education and the workplace. The goal of Burton High School's Literacy Committee is to expose students to a wider range of materials and strive to foster, in students, a reading for pleasure.

The Literacy Committee has organized a school wide book study over October Sky by Homer Hickman. Every student and teacher will be provided with a copy of the novel. There are seven unique assignments, and students must complete four. Students should be prepared to turn in their responses to their English teacher upon their return to class in August. All assigmnents will be posted on the Burton High School website, and students may print them out for use.

ABOUT THIS BOOK
It was 1957, the year Sputnik raced across the Appalachian sky, and the small town of Coalwood, West Virginia, was slowly dying.

Faced with an uncertain future, Homer Hickman nurtured a dream: to send rockets into outer space. The introspective son of the mine's superintendent and a mother determined to get him outof Coalwood forever. Homer fell in with a group of misfits who learned not only how to turn scraps of metal into sophisticated rockets, but how to sustain their hope in a town that swallowed its men alive.

As the boys began to light up the tarry skies with their flaming projectiles and dreams of glory, Coalwood, and the Hickmans, would never be the same.

"All I've done is give you a book. You have to have the courage to learn what's inside it."

The assignments are listed below:

Option 1            Option 2

Option 3            Option 4

Option 5            Option 6

Option 7

Burton Junior High School Book Study

Burton Junior High, in conjunction with Burton High School, is launching a school-wide Literacy Campaign to help students overcome reading and writing barriers that may be preventing students from reaching their potential. Reading and writing proficiency is a key to success in higher education and the workplace. The goal of Burton Jr./High School’s Literacy Committee is to expose students to a wider range of materials and strive to foster, in students, a reading for pleasure.

The Literary Committee has organized a school-wide book study over The Giver by Lois Lowry. Every student and teacher will be provided with a copy of the novel. We have also provided a variety of assignments to reflect understanding of the novel. There are five unique assignments, and students must complete two. Students should be prepared to turn in their responses to their English teacher upon their return to class in August. All assignments will be posted on the Burton High School website, and students may print them out for use.

ABOUT THIS BOOK
Jonas’s world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community. When Jonas turns twelve he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now it’s time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

The assignments are listed below:

Choices for Jr. High Summer Reading assignments – complete two of the five listed. Bring them with you when you return to class in August.

The five assignments to choose from to reflect understanding of the novel are:

1. Create a book jacket for the novel. The book jacket must have a picture on the front cover that represents the novel. On the inside covers, write a review of Chapter 5, Chapter 10, Chapter 15, and Chapter 23. On the back cover, write why you enjoyed the book.
2. Create a map of the community. Use details from the novel to accurately create your map.
3. Create a poster or other visual display of technology that you believe would exist in the community. Be sure to include specific examples from the novel, such as technology used to decide weather patterns and eliminate colors.
4. Write a poem about the novel. The poem should have ten lines with every other line rhyming. The poem must relate to the novel.
5. Create a Top Six List. You will create a list of the top six moments in the book. List the moments in order, from one to six, with the best at the top, number-one position. For each moment you list, write a short paragraph (3 or 4 sentences) explaining why you found that moment especially compelling, heartwarming, funny, etc.