O.S.C.A.R. Info

O.S.C.A.R.

Our School Cares About Reading

“The man who does not read good books has no

advantage over the man who cannot read them.” – Mark Twain

1. During in-class reading time, you may read any novel or article that you haven’t read before. Your literature textbook may not be used as an O.S.C.A.R. book.

2. I expect your choice to be appropriate for your age and reading ability. If I question your choice, I may ask for a note from your parents.

3. Get your material from any source – our library, the public library, your home, or borrowed from a friend. Some people actually go to book stores and buy their books! No, really. Talk to me about your e-reader (Kindles, Nooks, etc.) and we’ll come to an agreement. Other devices, such as iPods, iPads, and cell phones, are not allowed to be used as your e-reader.

4. Trimester conferences on your O.S.C.A.R. reading will count for the equivalent of a Test Grade (25%). To receive the full 100 points, you must successfully discuss 250 pages per trimester. It is the total number of pages you read that will determine your grade, not the number of books. If you read more than the required number of pages in the trimester, the extra will carry over to the next trimester. You will also be graded on your cooperation and preparedness during O.S.C.A.R. time, which will count for your Participation grade (15%).

5. Books with pictures will count less (sorry). Come see me to discuss a reasonable page count.

6. Reading will take place in class, but some students may need to read outside of class time to meet the 250- page goal.

7. The book report is an informal conference, or “book talk,” with me. Your job is to convince me that you read the book. Be prepared to answer specific, detailed questions about quotations, plot and characters in your book.

8. Your final book talk will be scheduled toward the end of the trimester. I will announce deadlines in class.

9. Feel free to complete your conferences early. As soon as you finish your pages, come see me to get the report done. If you delay and wait until the deadline, you’ll likely forget details.

10. You may report on your pages to me a maximum of 3 times. For example, you may want to report on pages 1-100 first, pages 101-205 second, and pages 206-250 third. Again, please report to me as soon as you finish. Don’t allow your pages to pile up and then try to do report on all of them the day of the deadline.

11. If you try to report on a book and are not able to convince me that you read it, I will record this on your book log and you will not receive credit.

12. You may “abandon” a book that you don’t like anywhere within the window of 25-to-50 pages. This means that you must read as least 25 pages before you ditch the book, but you won’t get credit for anything beyond 50 pages that you read. See me to complete a report on the pages you read before you abandon a book.

13. You should take notes while you read and use those notes during conference. Post-It notes work especially well.

14. You must have the book with you to do a book report. No book = no report.

15. I will keep track of your pages.

*Note about books connected to a movie or TV show: You may report on ONE movie/TV-related book each SEMESTER, to a maximum of 150 pages total. This means that even if you read a movie/ TV-related book that is, for example, 250 pages long, you will not receive credit for all the pages. Make sure you understand this rule.

Grading Scale = Page Count

A+ 235-250

A    224-234

B+ 216-223

B    210-215

B-   197-209

C+ 189-196

C   183-188

C- 170-182

D+ 162-169

D    156-161

D-   143-155

F     142 and below