FA II Activity Class IX and X: Book Review

Task:

Choose a best-seller book by some famous author and write a review of that book. Due date: September 9, 2014.

What kind of book should be chosen?

The book you choose should satisfy one of the criterion given below:

1.    It should be a best-seller

2.    It should be a fiction

3.    It should be a classic

4.    It shouldn’t be a graphic novel or graphic fiction

5.    It shouldn’t be an autobiography

Suggestion:

Students can also chose books of following authors:

·         R. K. Narayan

·         Chetan Bhagat

·         Anita Desai

·         Sudha Murthy

·         Paulo Coelho

·         Salman Rushdie

·         J.K. Rowling

·         Amish Tripathi

·         Yann Martin

How to write a book review?

·         Chose a book

·         Read the book

·         Write notes on story and the plot of the book

·         Write notes on setting of the story

·         Write notes on major characters of the story

·         Write summary of the story

·         Write your opinion about all the aspects given above

Format of Book Review:

First Page should be the cover page. Cover page should contain:

·         The title of the activity i.e. F.A. II Activity: Writing a Book Review

·         The name of the book you review

·         The name of the author of the book you review

·         Any picture related to the book or the story of the book you review

·         Your name, class and roll number

·         Don’t forget to border the page

·         You have to decorate the first page and make it look nice and attractive

Second page should be the Front Page. Front Page should contain:

·         No pictures or images

·         The name of the book you review

·         The name of the author of the book you review

·         Your name, class and roll number

·         Academic year i.e. 2014 – 2015

Third page should be the Index page. It should look as given below:

INDEX

Sr. No.	Content	Page Number
1
2
3
4

Fourth page should be ‘Introduction of the book’.

Introduction shouldn’t be more than 8 to 10 sentences. Introduction of the book should answer following questions:

·         Which book are you going to review?

·         Who is the writer of that book?

·         What about the previous books of the same author?

·         Why this book is worth reading?

·         Is there something very unique about this book? What?

·         What makes this book a best-seller?

Fifth page should be ‘About the Writer’

It should be of 8 to 10 lines. Don’t write down the entire biography of the writer. Be careful about the content you select about the writer. Also write about the writer’s achievement and names of other books to his credit. Don’t forget to include the picture of the author. Also, give your valuable comment about the author.

Sixth page should be of ‘Summary of the story of the book’

Write the story of the book you are going to review in a summarized way. The summary shouldn’t be more than a page or more than 250 words. Also mention about the central theme of the story, the central plot, the sub-plots, etc.

Seventh page should be of ‘Character Portrayal’

Select any two major characters from the story. Write down the character sketch of those characters. Why writing the character sketch, be careful about including following points:

·         Describe the physical features of the character

·         Name different characteristics of the characters

·         Give proofs in the form of a scene or a quote or a sentence from the book which helps the reader understand the nature of the character.

·         Write down the strong point about the character’s personality.

·         Also mention the weakness (if there is any) about the character

·         Write your opinion about the characters

Eighth page should be of ‘Setting’. Write a short paragraph of eight to ten lines about the settings of the story. Setting should include:

·         The geographical characteristics of the area in which the story takes place

·         Mention quotes, dialogues or some sentences from the book which proves your point about the setting

·         Describe the scene or the settings

·         Include your comments about the setting

·         You can also add some pictures of the setting (maximum two pictures)

Ninth page should be of ‘Conclusion’

·         Conclusion page should contain the answers of the following questions:

First Paragraph:

·         Is the story of the book good? Bad? Average?

·         Why do you think that the story of the book is good/bad/average?

·         What is so good about the story?

·         What is not so good about the story?

·         This story should have been better if …..

Second Paragraph:

·         Is the setting of the story complementing the story? Why or why not?

·         Why do you think that the setting of the story is appropriate?

·         What is so good about the setting of the story?

·         What is not so good about the setting of the story?

Third paragraph:

·         How many major characters are there?

·         Why do think that these are the major characters?

·         Are these characters’ portrayals complementing the story and its development?

·         Which character is portrayed beautifully? Why?

·         Which character should have been portrayed nicely? Why do you think so?

Fourth paragraph:

·         Do you like this book? Why or why not?

·         What part of this book you like the most? Why?

·         What part of this book you like the least? Why?

·         Will you recommend this book to anyone? Why or why not?

·         Why people should read this book or should not read this book?

Tenth page should be of ‘Acknowledgement’

In this page you should acknowledge or thank the people who have helped you in doing this assignment. Don’t forget to thank your English teacher …. J

Class IX: A Dog Named Duke

A Dog Named Duke

Introduction:

This is a story of a very happy, enthusiastic sales manager named Chuck Cooper who meets with an accident one night and gets his right side of the body paralyzed. His dog ‘Duke’ helps him gradually in walking and then setting up the targets everyday for the walking exercise and finally helps him in coming out of his paralytic body. In the end, Duke meets with an accident and dies leaving the Hooper family live in his memories. Chuck dedicates his success in work to his beloved dog ‘Duke’.

About Duke:

Duke was a rough-playing Doberman Pinscher, four year old, 23 kilos. His coat was red with a fawn vest. Chuck Hooper had doubts at first about buying him because his wife, Marcy, was not really a dog lover. She's a tiny blonde; Pomeranian was her idea of the right-size dog for a colonial house on a small plot. This Duke needed a hectare. Chuck visited Duke at the kennel several times before he made up his mind. After about three months, he decided he had to have the big Doberman. Duke's appeal for Chuck was his rambunctiousness. It took a long time before Marcy was more than polite to the dog.

Textbook Exercise:

1)    In 1953, Hooper was a favoured young man. Explain.

Ans: Chuck Hooper was a very enthusiastic and always smiling young man. He had a very nice personality, six-feet one inch tall. He used to play for the university foot ball team. On the top of that, he was a zone sales manager for a chemical company. All these aspects made Hooper a favoured young man.

2)    They said that they would create a desk job for Hooper at headquarters.

a)    Who are 'they'?

Ans: ‘They’ refer to the seniors of Hooper who were working for the same chemical company Hooper used to work for.

b)    Why did they decide to do this?

Ans: Hooper met with an accident. It wasn’t possible for him to go to the office as his right side of the body was paralyzed. Also, he was a very dedicated towards his work. The company wanted not to miss such an employee. So, they decided to create a desk job for him.

3)    Duke was an extraordinary dog. What special qualities did he exhibit to justify this? Discuss.

Ans: The very first time, when Chuck came to home from the hospital, Duke, in the excitement, jumped on Chuck, but later realized that something was wrong with his master. From that day onwards, he never did the same thing. On the other hand, he helped his master in getting up from the bed to break the monotonous of his life. Duke somewhere knew that his master needs him. So, he kept on boosting the spirit of his master. Thus, Duke was an extraordinary dog.

4)    What problems did Chuck present when he returned to the company headquarters?

Ans: Chuck wanted to work so hard for a comeback, but he wasn’t still in the condition to do his job i.e. sales manager which demands moving one place to other, and who can work only for an hour a day. So, Chuck presented problems when he returned to the company headquarters.

5)    Why do you think Charles Hooper's appointment as Assistant National Sales Manager is considered to be a tribute to Duke?

Ans: Charles Hooper’s appointment as an Assistant National Sales Manager is considered to be a tribute to Duke because Duke was the motivating force for Charles to break his monotonous life and to keep daily targets for his walk. With the help of Duke, Chuck could do a comeback in a record breaking time, and was appointed as a Assistant National Sales Manager looking at this hard work.

Writing Skills: Writing an article

When a person loses something, he is shocked and gets into a state of denial leading to anger. In such a situation coping well leads to acceptance and a changed way of living in view of the loss. Imagine yourself as Ms. Anna Bella. Taking cues from what happened or might have happened with Hooper, write your views in the form of an article about 'Coping with Loss' in 150-175 words.

COPING WITH LOSS

Ms. Anna Bella

The recently published news of a girl from Canada committing suicide because of depression she suffered from her failure in the elementary exam, has once again shaken the world, and has made everyone think of psychological problems teenagers face in their lives.

The story of Charles Hooper in England which became famous all over the world could be the best example for such teenager for learning how to cope up with loss. The way Chuck had dealt with his half-paralyzed body with the help of his dog Duke is an inspiration to all the people who want to give up. Chuck would have never been come back from his paralyzed state. Sometimes, when your body gets paralyzed, you come at a point where your mind feels the same paralyzed state, and it leads to anger, and further developing suicidal tendencies. Chuck knew that he wasn’t the guy who would sit idle at home and do nothing. Being a University football player and a very famous person in his locality, he wanted to go back again in the crowds of his dear ones though he was shocked from the accident and in the state of denial.

Today’s teenagers feel that even one minor loss in their life is the biggest loss which is exactly not true. They belong to the rush era of 21^st century where everyone wants quick fame and money. This very concept has affected their ideologies. For them, everything is related to either fame or money.

On the other hand, they should understand that Buddha’s philosophy that acceptance is the cure of all the problems. When one understands his strengths and weaknesses, he also understands the reasons for his success and accepts his loss wholeheartedly. Thus, instead of crying over the loss and trying suicide, today’s generation kids should understand that coping up with the situation and having a positive attitude towards life may lead to acceptance and a changed way of living in view of the loss.

Class X: Writing an Article

What is an article?

An article is a non-fiction prose forming an independent part of publication. An article is a written piece of work which focuses on recent issues in order to discuss them or in order to focus more points of view about the same.

Why is an article written?

An article is written for propagating the news, for discussing some research results or for sharing the views for a debate. Most of the time, an article is written for issues happening in recent times.

What are the different types of articles?

There are two different types of articles:

1.    Article for a newspaper

2.    Article for magazine

In the exam, they may ask to write newspaper article or an article for a magazine.

Important aspects of writing an article

·         Facts

·         Headline or the Title

·         Name of the author or the writer

·         Leading statement

·         Facts with additional information

·         Unbiased point of view

·         Conclusion

Facts:

An article is all about focusing on the topic or the issue. While focusing upon the issue, one should have some facts with him. So, it is very important to have facts ready with us while writing an article.

Headline:

Headline or the title of the article should be attractive and short. It should be easy to understand by the common crowd. It shouldn’t be symbolic in meaning.

Name of the author:

Name of the author should be mentioned exactly after writing the title of the article. If you are writing an article for the newspaper, you should mention the name of the author exactly after the title of the article followed by your post or designation. But, while writing an article for a magazine, the name of the author should be written in the end followed by his or her post or designation.

Leading Statement:

News articles begin with a leading sentence that is meant to grab a reader's attention and interest them. This is one of the most important parts of the piece, so start with the leading statement when writing a news article. Your lead should be one sentence and should simply, but completely, state the topic of the article.

Facts with additional information:

The next important step to writing news articles is including all the relevant facts and details that relate to your lead statement. Include the basics of what happened, where and when it took place, who is involved and why it's newsworthy. These details are important, because they are the focal point of the article that fully informs the reader.

After you've listed all the primary facts in your news article, include any additional information that might help the reader learn more, such as contact information, additional facts about the topic or people involved, or quotes from interviews. This additional information helps round out the article.

Unbiased point of view:

A news article is meant to convey direct facts, not the opinions of its writer. Keep your writing unbiased and objective. Avoid any language that is overly positive or negative or statements that could be construed as support or criticism.

Conclusion:

Make sure your news article is complete and finished by giving it a good concluding sentence. This is often a restatement of the leading statement or a statement indicating potential future developments relating to the article topic.

Sample 1:

Writing an article for school magazine:

The Union Ministry of Travel and Tourism has launched the Atithi Devo Bhava (Guest is God) Campaign to promote Foreign Tourism in India. As Ayush/Ayushi, write an article in 120 words for your school magazine, praising the initiative and suggesting practical steps to promote international tourism in India.

You can use the points given below:

-         Foreign tourists robbed, raped and murdered

-         Medical tourism steadily growing

-         In India, guest is considered as God

-         Taxi drivers and guides need to be educated

Atithi Devo Bhava and the Dark Reality

Ayush C.

The recent news of the Union Ministry of Travels and Tourism’s launching of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava Campain’ has caught everyone’s eyes in the country. At one side, where the country is defamed for its increased number of rapes even in metro cities, on the other side, the Government is keen to attract more number of foreign tourists to generate more revenues in terms of foreign currency. But the reality of implementation of this campaign is in complete contrast with the dream of the Union Ministry of Travels and Tourism.

It has been studied that Indian Government earns three percent of its revenues though tourism. But this number has gone down since 26/11 attack on Taj in Mumbai. The number of visitors in Goa and other hot destination has drastically decreased over the years. In addition to that the rape news foreign tourists getting robbed, raped and murdered have defamed India’s name in the international market.

The country where guests are considered as Gods is losing its charm for the foreign visitors who visit the country to explore, to see the vivid culture and to enjoy the cuisine. But, the reality of ill treatment these Gods, cheating and looting them, has affected the business.

To enjoy the high rise in the business, Government should take proper steps in educating everyone in the field of tours and travels, from rickshaw Walla to taxi driver, everyone should be trained. Government should launch a free Helpline for the tourists. The mobile app ‘WeCare’ should be made compulsory for all the visitors. Though the reality of tourism is a bit darker, the ‘Atithi Devo Bhava Campaign’ would bring back the glory if proper steps would be followed by the Government and by everyone.  

Class 9: Grammar: Use of Punctuation Marks

Punctuation is the use of standard marks and signs in writing to separate words into sentences, clauses, and phrases in order to clarify meaning. The marks or signs are called punctuation marks. Punctuation marks are signals to readers. When you speak, you can pause, stop, or change your tone of voice to make your meaning clear. You cannot do this when you write. When writing, you must use punctuation marks such as commas and question marks to make your meaning clear.

Period or Full stop

-        Used at the end of a declarative sentence

e.g. That was a wonderful movie.

-        Used to end an abbreviation

e.g. I think that Mr. Williams is a great teacher.

Question Mark (?)

-        Use a question mark at the end of an interrogative sentence (a sentence which asks a question).
e.g. Did you like that movie?

Comma (,)

- Use a comma to separate three or more items in a series.
"My history class meets each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday."

- Use a comma to separate independent clauses in a sentence.
"We wanted to go to the beach, but it rained that day."

- Use a comma after introductory words or phrases in a sentence.
"Certainly, I have my homework right here."

- Use a comma to set off dates and addresses.
"My friend Jane, who was born June 18, 1992, lives in Akron, Ohio."

Semicolon (;)

- Use a semicolon when two independent clauses in a sentence are not connected by a conjunction (such as "and").
"I like pizza; Carlos also likes pizza"

- Use a semicolon between independent clauses in a sentence that are connected by any of the following transitional words or phrases: accordingly, consequently, for example, for instance, furthermore, however, instead, moreover, nevertheless, otherwise, and therefore.
"I planned to study Saturday morning; however, the power in our house went out due to a storm."

- Use a semicolon when the items in a series of items contain commas.
"I have lived in Los Angeles, California; Boston, Massachusetts; Trenton, New Jersey; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania."

Colon (:)

- Use a colon before a list that is preceded by a complete independent clause. Some form of the word "follow" is often used in such a case.
"On our next vacation, we plan to visit the following countries: England, France, Italy, and Greece."

- Use a colon to divide hours from minutes.
"I have an appointment with the doctor at 10:30 tomorrow morning."

Exclamation Point (!) (sometimes called an Exclamation Mark)

- Use an exclamation mark at the end of a sentence to show strong emotion.
"I am very upset with him!"

- Use an exclamation mark at the end of a sentence for emphasis.
"I have to go home right now!"

- Use an exclamation mark after an interjection at the start of a sentence (an interjection is a word used to express strong feeling or sudden emotion).
"Wow! That test was harder than I expected."

Apostrophe (')

- Use an apostrophe to indicate a missing letter or letters in a contraction.
"I don't think she will win the election."

- Use an apostrophe plus the letter "s" to show possession.
"Please take good care of Brad's dog."

Use punctuation marks to make the meaning of what you write as clear as possible.