Introduction to the Guerrilla Season Book Blog Project

Hello and welcome to the Guerrilla Season book blog project. In this post I will try to address some of the frequently asked questions about the project. If your question is not answered here please feel free to send us an e-mail at bookblogproject@gmail.com

We invite anyone - teachers, students, community members, parents, etc to join us in this exciting project. It should be a very exciting opportunity to share an experience in reading a great novel and hearing comments from other readers and the author.

We were able to secure a Sprint Achievement Grant for $5000 to purchase a copy of Guerrilla Season for each student at South Valley Jr High as well as several parents and members of the community.

When does the Guerrilla Season book blog project take place?

• The project officially starts on October 23, 2006 and will conclude on November 19, 2006. The blog can still be accessed after this time period but some of the discussions will not be active.

Who is moderating this book blog project?

• Eric Langhorst, an 8th grade American History teacher at South Valley Jr High in Liberty, Missouri will be moderating this blog with the help of author Pat Hughes and fellow SVJH 8th grade American History teacher Erin Garvey.

How do we know what pages to read over a certain time period?

• Each week on Sunday night there will be a suggested number of pages to read for the week. Typically it will be around 80 pages a week.

What discussion questions will be included with the project?

• Each week there will be several different discussion questions posted on the blog. Readers can add their reaction to the discussion questions through posting a comment on the blog entry. Readers will be able to each others comments and can discuss the questions through the use of comments.

Is posting comments on the blog safe for students and member of the general public?

• When you add a comment and hit submit your comment is first sent via e-mail to Eric Langhorst and Pat Hughes. We will read the comment and then decide if it should be posted to the Internet for everyone to see. Everyone commenting should either comment as "anonymous" or using a first name only. Any comment that contains a first and last name, inapproriate comments or a vast number of errors will not be posted to the Internet.

Will the author be involved in the discussion?

• Yes, that is one of the best things about this project. Pat is very excited about participating in this project and will be commenting on reader questions and providing feedback on the themes of the novel.

What other items will be included in the blog with the discussion questions?

• The blog will also contain pictures, links to sites that relate to the novel, audio from author Pat Hughes about the novel and projects the students will be working on at South Valley Jr High.

What will students be doing with this project in addition to reading this novel?

• Everyone 8th grade student at South Valley Jr High - about 300 in total - will be reading Guerrilla Season during the project. Students at SVJH will be reading the novel as part of a graded activity. SVJH students will be required to post at least two blog comments during the duration of the project and complete one project based on the novel. (Details of the possible student projects will be added in a later blog entry.) Students around the country participating in this project can follow the lead of SVJH or their teacher can adjust the project to their situation.

What is Guerrilla Season about?

• I don't want to give away too much about this book but it is a historical novel about Missouri in 1863 as the Civil War is brewing. Two teenage boys, Matt and Jesse, belong to families caught in the middle of the turmoil. It tells the story of the Civil War in Missouri, which is most likely very different than the Civil War you studied in school. Here in Missouri it was much harder to know who the enemy was and the terror of uncertainly was a way of life.

If you have any questions about this project that were not answered above or you would like to join us please send us an e-mail at bookblogproject@gmail.com