Spark Writings

1
Spark Writings

• Strategic Reading

2
General Requirements

• Include a header
• First and last name
• Class Period
• Date
• Spark and book title
• Teacher name

3
General Requirements

• Divide your book into three sections. These
  sections should be approximately the same length.
• Write three sparks per book.
• Type or write neatly. Pay attention to spelling
  and grammar.

4
General Requirements

• Spark writings should be in paragraph format
• Indent paragraphs
• Include transitions
• Paragraphs should be approximately ½ page in
  length.

5
Summary Paragraph

• The first paragraph of your spark writing should
  summarize the chunk that you have just finished
  reading.
• Your summary should include the title of your
  book, appropriate references to setting, and
  important characters names.

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Summary Paragraph

• Spark 1 Spark 2 Spark 3
  ?Summary??Summary??Summary
• ? ? ?
  
• Spark Spark
  Spark
• Paragraph Paragraph
  Paragraph

• By the end of your book, you should have a
  complete summary of your book in three parts.
• Each summary should provide a reminder of where
  you last left off
• In my last spark, _______ was __________.

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Paragraph Summary

• Your summary paragraph should be at least ½ page
  but should be no longer than 1 full page.
• If your summary is too long, reread your summary
  to look for unimportant details that you can cut
  out.
• Reread your summary to see if it makes sense.

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Spark Paragraph

• Each spark paragraph should come from the section
  that you just summarized.
• Choose ONE idea off of the Sparks assignment.
• Provide lots of details from the story and, if
  necessary, personal experience.
• Be sure to explain your thought process.

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Spark Paragraph

• Spark 1 Spark 2 Spark 3
• ?Summary??Summary??Summary?
• ? ? ?
  
• Spark Spark
  Spark
• Paragraph Paragraph
  Paragraph

• Set the scene at the beginning of the paragraph
  In the scene where _____ is doing _____, I
  (insert spark idea here).

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Spark Paragraph

• Reread your spark paragraph to see if it makes
  sense. Do you explain your thought process? Do
  you explain why?

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Sample Spark Summary

• Martin Zellar
• 2/6/08
• Period 6
• Spark 1 Golden Compass
• Mrs. Latterell
• In The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman, a
  young girl named Lyra lived at Jordan College in
  England. One day, while on a snooping expedition
  to explore the masters retiring room, she
  becomes trapped and hides in the wardrobe. From
  this vantage point, she sees the master and his
  porter enter the room, hold a brief discussion
  about Lord Asriel (their visitor), and poison the
  wine that they set out for him. Asriel enters
  shortly after they leave, allowing no time for
  Lyra to escape the room. When Lord Asriel begins
  to pour himself a glass of wine, Lyra bursts from
  her hiding place in order to save him from the
  poison. After he overcomes his anger and
  surprise, he tells her to go back into hiding and
  asks her to spy on the master when next he enters
  the room. Lord Asriel then purposefully spills
  the wine when the porter re-enters and blames the
  porter for his carelessness in order to provide a
  cover for avoiding the poisoned wine. Finally,
  the master and his professors enter the room.
  The chapter ends with Lord Asriel telling the
  group that he has something important to show
  them. Lyra remains hidden in the wardrobe,
  spying on the master.

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Sample Spark Paragraph

• I predict . . .
• During this scene, the master of Jordan College
  makes a deliberate attempt to kill Lord Asriel.
  It seems strange to me that he would treat his
  guest kindly but attempt to poison him. Since
  Lord Asriel is planning to show all of the
  professors something important, I predict that
  the master is trying to silence him in order to
  keep the information under wraps. Since the
  master was unsuccessful at killing Asriel, I
  predict that Asriel will share his information,
  that it will stir up controversy, and that the
  storys conflict will revolve around this
  controversial information. I also predict that
  Lyra will become involved since she witnessed the
  attempted murder and will likely overhear the
  controversial information while in her hiding
  spot.

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Closing Information

• When you turn in your sparks at the end of the
  book, make sure
• Each spark assignment has a header
• Each spark assignment has both a summary
  paragraph and a reaction paragraph
• You have 6 paragraphs total (3 complete
  Sparks.).