1. Action/Adventure Literature Circles Trish McCoy Room 203 MMS

2. There are several elements of the action/adventure genre that make this sort of tale appealing. Let's take a look at the characteristics of an action/adventure tale. * A Likeable hero that is usually male. This character follows a moral code, even if it is sometimes outside the law and uses his skills and ingenuity to extricate himself and those with him from dangerous or volatile situations. * An unlikable antagonist, or villain if you prefer. This character has no moral code, and is almost always outside the law, using their skills and ingenuity to thwart everything the hero does. This character loves being bad. * There is always physical action. Characters are often placed in extreme situations. * Almost always fast paced. The tale may start slow, but the pacing always builds toward the middle and end. The action pulls the reader along and into the story building toward a culminating event * Violence of some kind is always an element of an action/adventure tale, no matter how large or small that violent act might be. The violence in an action/adventure tale is usually graphically described. An example of this would be a battle description. * The setting is usually changeable, moving from place to place as we follow the protagonist through his journey. The setting is important because it underlines the sense of danger and obstacles to be overcome.

3. A literature circle is a group of students reading the same book. All groups in the class will be reading the same genre. The groups will meet to read and understand sections, to review for presentations, to discuss the book, to encourage and motivate. Groups are NOT to enable a student to NOT read the book and just gather information from others in the group. This helps no one and will reflect in everyone’s grade! At the end of the section, groups will work together to prepare and present a PowerPoint on their book. The grades for the students will be recorded from the PowerPoint presentation, student participation in the group exercises, and various worksheets and assignments given by the teacher. You MUST read the book in order to achieve passing scores on these assignments. Once you choose a book, it is yours. There will be no switching groups! Only five students per group. Do NOT choose a group simply because your friends are in it. You will be stuck with this book for five to six weeks, and you will have to read it; choose a group by book. What is a literature circle?

4. Every time Martin opens his mouth, he gets in trouble. He's just been dumped at the last place that will take him; a school filled with freaks, misfits, and psychotic bullies. His roommate starts fires, his new friends are thieves and cheats, and his teachers hate him. Then things start to get really weird.

5. Twelve-year-old Becker Drane has definitely got the coolest job of any seventh grader in Highland Park, New Jersey. He works as a Fixer for The Seems. From the Department of Weather to the Department of Sleep, The Seems is a secret organization that makes sure our world keeps running—and more importantly, sticks to The Plan that’s been made for it. But The Plan, and The Seems for that matter, would be nothing without the people in it, and that’s where Becker Drane comes in. When a Glitch is reported in the Department of Sleep, Becker is dispatched to Fix it, but he’s not so sure this is a routine mission. Could the Bed Bugs, who are behind our Worst Nightmares, be responsible for the problems? Or maybe it’s The Tide, an underground organization bent on destroying The Seems? No matter what, Becker’s in for quite an adventure, and it’ll take all his training, a little luck, and the coolest Tools™ known in (or out of) the Seems to Fix the problem. Two new novels in series hopefully will be made available to group.

6. Littlest One is a tiny creature slowly learning her job of giving dreams to humans. Each night she and her teacher, Thin Elderly, visit an old woman’s home where she softly touches beloved objects, gathering happy memories, and drops of old scents and sounds. Littlest One pieces these bits together and presents them to her sleeping human in the form of pleasant dreams. But the dreaded Sinisteeds, dark fearsome creatures that plague their victims with nightmares, are always at work against the dreamgivers. When the old woman takes in John, an angry foster child with a troubled past, the Sinisteeds go after him with their horrifying nightmares. Can Littlest One, and her touch light as gossamer, protect John’s heart and soul from the nightmare of his dark past?

7. A fast-paced, impossible-to-put-down adventure awaits as the young orphan Peter and his mates are dispatched to an island ruled by the evil King Zarboff. They set sail aboard the Never Land, a ship carrying a precious and mysterious trunk in its cargo hold-and the journey quickly becomes fraught with excitement and danger. Discover richly developed characters in the sweet but sophisticated Molly, the scary but familiar Black Stache, and the fearless Peter. Treacherous battles with pirates, foreboding thunderstorms at sea, and evocative writing immerse the reader in a story that slowly and finally reveals the secrets and mysteries of the beloved Peter Pan.

8. For generations, the Beaumont family has harbored a magical secret. They each possess a "savvy" — a special supernatural power that strikes when they turn thirteen. Grandpa Bomba moves mountains, her older brothers create hurricanes and spark electricity... and now it's the eve of Mibs's big day. As if waiting weren't hard enough, the family gets scary news two days before Mibs's birthday: Poppa has been in a terrible accident. Mibs develops the singular mission to get to the hospital and prove that her new power can save her dad. So she sneaks onto a salesman's bus... only to find the bus heading in the opposite direction. Suddenly Mibs finds herself on an unforgettable odyssey that will force her to make sense of growing up — and of other people, who might also have a few secrets hidden just beneath the skin For generations, the Beaumont family has harbored a magical secret. They each possess a "savvy" — a special supernatural power that strikes when they turn thirteen. Grandpa Bomba moves mountains, her older brothers create hurricanes and spark electricity... and now it's the eve of Mibs's big day. As if waiting weren't hard enough, the family gets scary news two days before Mibs's birthday: Poppa has been in a terrible accident. Mibs develops the singular mission to get to the hospital and prove that her new power can save her dad. So she sneaks onto a salesman's bus... only to find the bus heading in the opposite direction. Suddenly Mibs finds herself on an unforgettable odyssey that will force her to make sense of growing up — and of other people, who might also have a few secrets hidden just beneath the skin Listen to Chapter One For generations, the Beaumont family has harbored a magical secret. They each possess a "savvy" — a special supernatural power that strikes when they turn thirteen. Grandpa Bomba moves mountains, her older brothers create hurricanes and spark electricity... and now it's the eve of Mibs's big day. As if waiting weren't hard enough, the family gets scary news two days before Mibs's birthday: Poppa has been in a terrible accident. Mibs develops the singular mission to get to the hospital and prove that her new power can save her dad. So she sneaks onto a salesman's bus... only to find the bus heading in the opposite direction. Suddenly Mibs finds herself on an unforgettable odyssey that will force her to make sense of growing up — and of other people, who might also have a few secrets hidden just beneath the skin Listen to Chapter One