Reading Assignments

Calling all Secondary Two Hong Kah Lites:

Your year-end school holiday is already here.Time to relax, reflect and to read.
This November / December school holiday, use the opportunity to read and practise writing as much as possible in order to:

• improve your vocabulary and language skills
• broaden your horizon
• expose yourself to an infinite range of human experience and thought
• develop your imagination and creativity and
• keep yourself from being bored.

Read not just fiction books but also newspapers, magazines and books on general knowledge and current affairs. You can watch a movie too and write about it. Or better still, you might want to read a book which has a movie adaptation. Read the book, then watch the movie adaptation and make the comparison.
You can do the assignments on your own or with a partner.
(Make sure you work with a good partner!)
Present your assignments in a suitable format (e.g. Digital Story, blog, webpage, videoclip).

Complete the assigned tasks and hand in your assignments to your English Language teacher on the first Monday when school reopens in 2009. Each task will be graded and the assignments will form part of your CA1 marks for 2009.

II Task One: Read a Storybook and choose one of the following tasks:

1. Web-page
If you are IT savvy, go ahead and design a web-page about the book. Include a book review and interesting pictures. All you need to do is print the home page. Remember to include the URL address.

2. Digital Story
Copy out a short paragraph from the story you have read which describes a memorable setting and underline the most vivid words or phrases. Take photographs or surf the web for images or pictures that best describe the setting. Create a digital story describing this setting using strong verbs and interesting adjectives. You may create sound effects and record your narration for an interesting presentation.

3. Blog
A book may leave you with more questions than answers. What questions would you like to ask? What are they? Direct your questions at a particular character through a series of letters to a story character which you post in your blog. If you already have a blog, post your response in the blog and provide the blog address.

4. Audio Recording / Videoclip
Identify two characters in the story and have the two characters talk to each other in an original dialogue. You may have two or more characters talk with another character from the same book or you may take a character from the book and have him/her talk to another character from another book. Be creative but make sure everyone stays in character. Do a dramatic reading and record your dialogue. Alternatively you may act out the scene and videotape your performance.

5. My Newspaper
Create a newspaper spread using details from the book. You can include articles about the various characters, plot, pictures of the setting etc. Refer to a real newspaper for ideas on layout and writing style.

II Task Two: Movie Review
Go to the cinema or borrow a DVD and watch a movie. Write a 300 - 500 word movie review on any movie of your choice. You may discuss:
• the plot
• the acting
• the set design
• the cinematography
• the costumes
• the moral of the movie etc

You may refer to other reviewers and what they say about the movie. You may cite entertainment magazines, newspapers or websites.
Write your movie review and present it in the form of a blog, a webpage or any other media you are comfortable in. If you already have a blog, post your assignement in your blog and provide the blog address. Refer to my earlier postings on My Favourite Movies and My Favourite Books.

Happy Reading, Be Creative and Have Fun!