I, Q. Book One: Independence Hall

on

Author/Illustrator: Roland Smith

Plot Summary: Two teenagers, Quest and Angela, become step siblings when their professional musician parents marry and proceed to travel cross country in large RV. The story gets really interesting when they realize they are being followed by secret service agents and learn that Angela's mother had been a secret service agent, and was killed by terrorists.

Comments: Interesting, engaging and hip, this book(and series) will appeal to both males and females. Roland Smith's other books - fiction and non-fiction - are equally as good.

Extensions:
1. This teacher guide - http://www.gale.cengage.com/pdf/TeachersGuides/IQIndHall_Student.pdf is all you will need for a fascinating and engaging lesson based on this book. It not only includes language arts applications for analyzing plot and writing responses but also includes work on multiple intelligences and character traits.
2. Additional guides for this and other Roland Smith books can be found here.

Themes/keywords: Secret service, step sisters, step brothers, terrorists

Age/Reading Level: 5 - 8; ATOS - 4.5; Follett - 5.0; Lexile - 660

Standards:
(Similar standards for 5th through 8th grades)
ELA4LSV2 The student listens to and views various forms of text and media in
order to gather and share information, persuade others, and express and understand ideas.
ELA4LSV1 The student participates in student-to-teacher, student-to-student,
and group verbal interactions.
ELA4C1 The student demonstrates understanding and control of the rules of
the English language, realizing that usage involves the appropriate application
of conventions and grammar in both written and spoken formats.
22
ELA4R2 The student consistently reads at least twenty-five books or book equivalents (approximately 1,000,000 words) each year. The materials should include traditional and contemporary literature (both fiction and non-fiction) as well as magazines, newspapers, textbooks, and electronic material. Such reading should represent a diverse collection of material from at least three different literary forms and from at least five different writers.
ELA4R1 The student demonstrates comprehension and shows evidence of a
warranted and responsible explanation of a variety of literary and informational
texts.

Publisher's Info: Scholastic(by arrangement with Sleeping Bear Press,) New York. 2008

ISBN-13: 978-1-58536-468-8
ISBN-10: 1-58536-468-1

Awards/Review Sources:
School Library Journal 12/01/08
Booklist 10/15/08
Kirkus Review 07/01/08

Genre/Dewey: Fiction

Websites:
Independence hall website
Roland Smith's website


Notes for Booktalk: Card and magic tricks would be another, related activity for this book.
Look for Book Two called, The White House.

Vocabulary:

Comments

Unknown said…
The teacher guide for this book is especially innovative and creative, isn't it? A student dossier is a great alternative to a book report any day. I've added this one to my reading list. I really enjoyed the link to the video made by Kay Hawkins at the Texas Woman's University, though I believe the composers of the James Bond themes might have some copyright concerns.
December 13, 2009 at 8:51 AM
Post a Comment