ORAL (June)
1. BOOK IN A BAG, AN ENVELOPE, A BOX …
After reading a book, each student selected a book report container. The container could be a plastic bag, a big envelope, a box, or anything else that might be appropriate for a book. Students decorated their containers to convey some of the major details, elements, or themes found in the books.
When the containers were complete, students went to work on the contents of their containers. They were instructed to include the following:
· Vocabulary: Create a ten-word glossary of unfamiliar words from the book.
· Things: Include five things that have a connection to the story.
· Do a collage/poster showing pictures or 3-d items that related to the book, and then write a sentence or two beside each one to show its significance.
· Use magazine photos to make a collage about the story
· Make a flow chart (mind-map) of all the events in the book.
The third and final part of the project was the student presentation. Each student presented a "Book in a…" project to the class. In the presentation, the student explained the connection of the container to the story, conducted a show and tell about the five things, and then shared information about three of the book's literary elements -- setting, characters, conflicts, climax, or resolution.
2. OTHER POSSIBLE PRESENTATIONS
1. Prepare an oral report of 5 minutes. Give a brief summary of the plot and describe the personality of one of the main characters. Be prepared for questions from the class/teacher.
2. Create a mini-comic book relating a chapter of the book.
3. Make three posters about the book using one or more of the following media: paint, crayons, chalk, paper, ink, real materials.
4. Make a time line of all the events in the book.
5. Make a poster advertising your book so someone else will want to read it.
6. Choose birthday gifts for one of the characters involved. Tell why you chose them
7. Choose five "artefacts" from the book that best illustrate the happenings and meanings of the story. Tell why you chose each one.
8. Sell It! Each student pretends to be a publicist for the book that's just been read. The student writes and then delivers a 60-second speech that will persuade other students that they should read the book. Writing and speaking persuasively will be especially difficult if the student didn't like the book. If that's the case, the student can share that fact after completing the speech.
9. Be a TV or radio reporter, and give a report of a scene from the book as if it is happening "live".
10. Interview a character. Write at least ten questions that will give the character the opportunity to discuss his/her thoughts and feelings about his/her role in the story. However you choose to present your interview is up to you.
11. Imagine that you are the author of the book you have just read. Suddenly the book becomes a best seller. Write a letter to a movie producer trying to get that person interested in making your book into a movie. Explain why the story, characters, conflicts, etc., would make a good film. Suggest a filming location and the actors to play the various roles. YOU MAY ONLY USE BOOKS WHICH HAVE NOT ALREADY BEEN MADE INTO MOVIES.
- Write a book review as it would be done for a newspaper. ( Be sure you read a few before writing your own.)
- Write a feature article (with a headline) that tells the story of the book as it might be found on the front page of a newspaper in the town where the story takes place.
- Write a letter (10-sentence minimum) to the main character of your book asking questions, protesting a situation, and/or making a complaint and/or a suggestion. This must be done in the correct letter format.
15. Read the same book as one of your friends. The two of you make a video or do a live performance of MASTERPIECE BOOK REVIEW, a program which reviews books and interviews authors. (You can even have audience participation!)
16. Write a letter to a character in the book.
- Write a letter to the author of the book.
18. Compare and contrast two characters in the story.
19. Choose a quote from a character. Write why it would or wouldn't be a good motto by which to live your life
20. Retell part of the story from a different point of view
21. Write about one of the character's life twenty years from now.
22. Write a letter from one of the characters to a beloved grandparent or friend
23. Stories are made up; on conflicts and solutions. Choose three conflicts that take place in the story and give the solutions. Is there one that you wish had been handled differently?
24. Make several sketches (drawings) of some of the scenes in the book (different from the illustrations already in the book) and label them.
25. Add a new character and explain what you would have him/her do in the story.
26. Write an obituary for one of the characters. Be sure to include life-time accomplishments.
You have read your book. At the written exam in December you will have to write a report. Your next step is to organize in advance what you are going to say about it in your report. Writing the basic elements down in an outline format will help you to organize your thoughts. What will you include in the outline? We'll start with a description of the book. The description should include such elements as:
1. The setting—where does the story take place? Is it a real place or an imaginary one? If the author does not tell you exactly where the story is set, what can you tell about it from the way it is described?
2. The time period—is the story set in the present day or in an earlier time period? Perhaps it is even set in the future! Let your reader know.
3. The main character(s)—who is the story mostly about? Give a brief description. Often, one character can be singled out as the main character, but some books will have more than one.
4. The plot—what happens to the main character? WARNING! Be careful here. Do not fall into the trap of reporting every single thing that happens in the story. Pick only the most important events. Here are some hints on how to do that. First, explain the situation of the main character as the story opens. Next, identify the basic plot element of the story--is the main character trying to achieve something or overcome a particular problem? Thirdly, describe a few of the more important things that happen to the main character as he/she works toward that goal or solution. Finally, you might hint at the story's conclusion without completely giving away the ending.
The four points above deal with the report aspect of your work. For the final section of your outline, give your reader a sense of the impression the book made upon you. Ask yourself what the author was trying to achieve and whether or not he achieved it with you. What larger idea does the story illustrate? How does it do that? How did you feel about the author's style of writing, the setting, or the mood of the novel. You do not have to limit yourself to these areas. Pick something which caught your attention, and let your reader know your personal response to whatever it was.
Write a Letter to the Author. After reading a book, each student shares reactions to the book in a letter written to its author. If a student writes to an author who is still alive, you might actually mail the letter.
Students might even rate the book using a teacher-created five-star rating system. Example: A five-star book is "highly recommended; a book you can't put down."
Interview a Character. Each student composes six to eight questions to ask a main character in a book just completed. The student also writes the character's response to each question. The questions and answers should provide information that shows the student read the book without giving away the most significant details.
Ten Facts. Each student creates a "Ten Facts About [book title]" sheet that lists ten facts he or she learned from reading the book. The facts, written in complete sentences, must include details the student didn't know before reading the book.
What Did You Learn? Each student writes a summary of what he or she learned from a book just completed. The summary might include factual information, something learned about people in general, or something the student learned about himself or herself.
Writing an Approach Paper:
An approach paper consists of several sections:
I. Proper heading with your name, date, class, novel/play title and author(s)
II. Summary Paragraph: A three or four sentence paragraph which explains the ENTIRE novel using as much description and detail as you can manage. To encourage your writing style, you may not use semi-colons or colons in this paragraph, and every sentence must start out in a different way. Prepositional phrases, gerund phrases, normal word order clauses, participial phrases, and infinitive phrases are some of the different ways you might choose to start these sentences. This helps make your writing more interesting to read. This is often the most difficult section of the approach paper to write. It will take some time to condense the happenings of the novel/play into these few sentences which all start in a different way.
III. Character Descriptions: Choose three or four main characters in your novel or play. By each of these character’s name, list four or five words which describe the character distinctly. This is a good time to think about vivid vocabulary words we have studied and to check the dictionary and thesaurus for ideas. If you use a particular word to describe one character, you may not use that same word to describe another character.
IV. Discussion/Essay Questions: Write three questions that a teacher might ask you about the novel or play either in class or for an essay. These questions should be thought-provoking and almost always take more than one line to type because they ask readers to combine more than one idea. Just writing these types of questions helps you to anticipate what questions might be asked of you in class discussion or on a test and encourages you to think more insightfully about the book or play.
V. Key Passage: Choose the most important passage in the novel/play (in your opinion). Type it up word-for-word in the approach paper. Make sure to identify the speakers.
VI. Key Passage Explanation: In a fully-developed paragraph, explain why your chosen passage is important to understanding the novel/play. In your explanation, make sure you integrate quotes (actual words or phrases) from the key passage to strengthen yourexplanation. Often, this selected passage will offer clues to the novel/play’s themes. Explain any mentioned or inferred themes connected to the key passage.