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SUMMER CHALLENGE 2021
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Summer Challenge 2021: Task Ideas
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The # 1 TV show in the 80's was Dallas. Read a book set in Texasor read a"who'dunit" mystery
Women made big advancements in the 80's: Sandra Day O'Conner was named to the Supreme Court, Sally Ride went into space-Read a book by a female author
80’s music had a lot of 1-hit wonders. Read a book by an author who has only written one book.
Read a book with 8 or more words in the Title and Subtitle combined.There was a wave over the past few years of tv shows and movies based around kids growing up in the 1980s. Read a book set at least 50% between the years 1980-1989 inclusive, where the main character is under the age of 18. Contemporary books first published in the 1980s can be assumed to take place during those years unless otherwise stated.
Homophones: This is a two book task. Read two books which each have a word in the title that is a homophone of the other word. Homophones are words that sound the same, but are spelt differently and have different meanings.
Examples:
New & Knew
I & Eye
Four & For
80s fashion had big hair and big shoulder pads. Read a big book, 500 pages or more.Live Aid occurred simultaneously in Philadelphia and London to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia. Read a book set in Ethiopia, Philadelphia, or London. Or, the same idea, read a book with a word in the title that matches a word in one of the songs played at the event.
1981 - prince Charles and Diana got married - read a book where a wedding features prominently or has royal characters1984 - seatbelts in cars became required - book with a car on the cover
Top Gun was released - read a book with military characters
MTV launched - read a book shelved as music; book with M T V in title/subtitle
E.T.: The blockbuster movie E.T. was released in 1982. Read a book with an acronym in the title.John Hughes: Director, producer and screen writer John Hughes released several teen coming-of-age movies in the 1980s, including The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles and Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Read a Young Adult book.
Blondie: The band Blondie's song "Call Me" was the #1 song of 1980. Read a book with a person on the cover who has blonde hair.
End of the cold war - read a book set in a country that was part of the USSRGeorge Orwell's 1984 predictions didn't come to pass - read a work of classic sci fi (e.g. published before 1980)
A book by an author born in the 1980s or an author currently in their 80s
8 is a lucky number in Chinese culture. Read a book that takes place in China, or was written by a Chinese author.
Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer in 1981. Their fairytale wedding was watched by 750 million people around the world. Read a book where a wedding is part of the story line.
John Lennon of The Beatles was shot and killed in 1980. Read a biography of someone who is no longer living.
In 1987 The Simpsons tv show debuted on the Tracy Ullman Show. Read a book with a 2 word title where the first word is The.
Celebrating availability of COVID-19 vaccines:Read a book where the author's initials are in one of the following: PFIZER, MODERNA, JOHNSON & JOHNSON, or ASTRAZENECA.
(Or a two book task, one with author initials in one of the names and one with initials of title words in a different vaccine name)
Let's read a book actually first published between 1980-1989Summer has always meant family vacations in our family, and that meant camping, in our case. Read a book about a family vacation or camping.
Read a book that won all round best in a genre
Summer Reading at the local library has been a high-point for many kids. Read a qualifying book that has an MPG of Childrens (but must fit AR guidelines)
TraceyL wrote: "Read a book with 8 or more words in the Title and Subtitle combined.There was a wave over the past few years of tv shows and movies based around kids growing up in the 1980s. Read a book set at l..."
didnt we have the 8 or more words in Spring?
"We Are the World" was recorded in 1985 and raised millions for humanitarian aid in Africa. Read a book by an author who shares a name with one of the performers of the song.
The 1980s saw the rise of the yuppie, a phrase coined to describe a young professional, generally aged 25-39 working in the city. Two book task:
Read a book with character aged between 25-39
Read a book with a character who works or lives in the city.
1987 saw the launch of the home games console Atari VCS 2600. which changed console gaming forever by creating the first popular console capable of accepting game cartridges. Before this, consoles (including Atari’s own Pong) only had self-contained games. The VCS 2600 let players use joysticks or paddle controllers to play several hit games like Pacman, Asteroids, and Frogger.Read a book where Atari VCS can be found in the title
Events in the 1980's- invention of the Rubik's cube: letters u and i in a single word in title
- first artifical heart: Heart on the cover or in title
- Titanic wreck found: set on/in the water
- first MLK day: MLK in a single word in title
- Challenger disaster: Author shares name part with one of the crew victims
- Summer olympics in Moscow (80), Los Angeles (84) and Seoul (1988): book set in one of those cities
- Fall of the Berlin wall -- book originally written in German
- Exxon Valdez and Chernobyl disasters: book F/NF on renewable energy
- Mount St. Helens erupts - volcano on cover
- Milestones for women: Sally Ride and Indira Gandhi: Femal author initials to be found in one of those names
- "The computer" named Time Magazine's "... of the year" - NF book on computer science/technology
The bonus theme is Decades: The 80s.
As in past challenges some tasks may revolve around the seasonal theme of summer. Others may reflect the bonus theme. Other tasks may have nothing to do with either of those themes, they’re just fun or unique ideas to stimulate your reading.
Feel free to post as many ideas as you can come up with. Don’t worry about repeating what someone else has might have already suggested. The more ideas, the better!
The moderators will draw from these ideas as well as their own to create the 5, 10 and 15 point tasks. This thread will be open for ideas until May 14. Summer tasks will begin to be posted on May 15. We look forward to seeing what you come up with!