Outside Reading Project Quarter 2

Books made into movies

Directions: For this semester’s outside reading project, your job is to choose a novel that has been made into a movie. The novel you choose needs to be a grade appropriate novel. Once you have read the novel you will need to watch the movie. As you watch, take notes about the similarities and differences in each one. Then, write a 1 ½- 2 page paper comparing the two stories. Your analysis of the two stories should be well thought out and organized into paragraphs. You need to use the essay format on the back of this paper to help you develop your thoughts. It might be a good idea to plan out your essay before you begin. Use the rubric on the back to be sure all your information is included.

You will need to make comparisons based on the following criteria:

-Was the main character how you pictured them? What about the other characters?

-Do you think the director did a good job capturing the essence of the story?

-Think about the setting of the book. Did the setting in the movie look like you had imagined it? If not, how was it different?

-Were there any changes in characters between the book and the movie? Why do you think the people who made the movie would leave out or add a character?

-What parts were in the book but were not in the movie? Why do you think the people who made the movie left those parts out?

-Were there any parts that were in the movie that were not in the book? Why do you think the people that made the movie added those parts?

-Do you think the people who made the movie did a good job of portraying the book? Why or why not?

-Which did you enjoy more, the book or the movie? Why?

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You MAY NOT read the following:

The Harry Potter Series

The Twilight Series

The Hunger Games series

Some suggestions of books made into movies

A Walk to Remember
The Notebook
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Percy Jackson
White Fang
The Call of the Wild
The Adventures of Huck Finn
The Secret Garden
Precious
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging
The Chronicles of Narnia
Water for Elephants / Pride and Prejudice
The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas
The Lucky One
Extremely Loud and Dangerously Close
The Freedom Writers Diary
I Am Number Four
Beastly
Girl Interrupted
Life of Pi
The Davinci Code
The City of Ember
Dear John
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Outside Reading Quarter 2 Rubric

Criteria / Points Awarded / Points possible
Notes taken on the similarities and difference in the novel and the movie (list or Venn diagram style) / 10
Paper is 1 ½- 2 pages in length / 5
Paper is organized into specific paragraphs. Each paragraph includes a topic sentence / 5
Paper includes an introduction which introduces the novel and movie and provides a brief summary of the plot / 15
In-depth comparisons are made between the novel and the movie / 25
A brief analysis is given as to why the changes were made or whether or not the changes were a good idea (Use the questions for help with this area) / 30
Grammatical errors are minimal and a variety of sentence type are used / 10
Total / 100