Big Question Overview and Resources

Overview

Reading can open your mind to new possibilities. When you read, you can imagine places that you've never been before. You can go on an adventure or solve a mystery without even leaving your room. Reading can entertain you or teach you something new.

Reading about other people's lives can teach you about new places, customs, and traditions. When a person writes about his or her own life, it is called an autobiography. When a person writes about someone else's life, it is called a biography.

When you read a biography or an autobiography, consider how you would respond to the situations in the book. Try to relate to the characters in the book, and think about how the setting of the story is similar to and/or different from the place where you live.

Web Resources

Need a good book?
www.education-world.com/summer_reading/8th_grade.shtml
This website provides short summaries of books for eighth graders to help you find a book you'll enjoy.

What makes a good short story?
www.learner.org/exhibits/literature/index.html
What makes a story really great ? This website will guide you through the short story and discuss the elements that make the story a good one. This website is a good resource to help you write your own stories.

Enter the Reading Ring
http://www.professorgarfield.org/pgf_ReadingRing.html
Tired of reading stories? Try putting scrambled up comic strip panels in the right order.

Step into the Book Zone
http://www.rif.org/readingplanet/bookzone/default.mspx
Browse booklists, listen to stories, and read about authors and illustrators at this website. Search your favorite book to see what other readers thought of it, and then write a review of your own.

American Biographies
http://www2.lhric.org/pocantico/presidents/presidents.htm
Ever wondered what it takes to be the president of the United States? Find out on this site. Click on the “Meet the Presidents” link for short biographies of all the American presidents.