Dear Students & Parents,
Here is the link to the pdf which has the information regarding the expectations of your novel project:
Independent Novel Project Info
The information is also listed below:
Independent Novel Project
May, 2013
Each student is to select a novel (chapter
book) to read between now & May 31. Students may finish the novel project
as quickly as they wish, as long as they have asked for my permission to use
the book for this project. Students are expected to be reading their novels
during silent reading time and using any free time in the school day to be
reading or working on their selected reading response (outlined below).
All novel projects are due on or before May 31.
Students are to complete a formal book
report as outlined on next page and also choose one of the following ways to follow-up their reading of
their novel. Students are encouraged to be referring to this outline as they
are reading so that they can be making notes, jotting ideas and deciding which
follow-up best suits their book.
Formal Book Report Format
Every written book report
will need to follow these guidelines:
1. You will need to have a title page with the title of the book, the
author of the book, the publisher's name, your name and the date.
2. You will need to describe the setting in detail. Describe how the
setting changes the mood of the story. This section needs to be labeled
"Setting" and should be about five lines in length.
3. Who are the main characters in your story? Describe at least three
people who make a difference in how the story evolves. This section needs to be
labeled "Main Characters" and should be at least six lines long.
4. What is the climax in the story? What event happened that changed the
way the story ended? Sometimes there are several climaxes. Choose the one that
is the most important to you. Describe what happened in detail. This section
needs to be labeled "Climax" and should be approximately 6-10 lines
long.
5. In every book there is a moral to the story, or a lesson that the
author wants you to learn. What is the lesson in this book? Think about this.
Sometimes it is very subtle. This section needs to be labeled "Moral of
the Story" and should be about five lines long.
6. What did you think of this book? Did you enjoy it or not? Why? Label
this section "My Opinion" and be specific in your reasons why you did
or did not like the book. This should be about four lines long.
7. Write a ½ page summary of the book, labeled “Summary”. Include
the problem, but not the ending. Example:
This magical adventure is about a boy struggling to learn all he
can while he solves life-changing mysteries. The main struggle is good
against evil, and the boy has his friends and some of his teachers to help, but
mainly is on his own. The setting, Hogwarts School, is extremely
important to the development and understanding of the story, while adding to
the sense of adventure and mystery. A lot of the events that happen here
are impossible in the ‘real’ world, but the bonds shared between the main
character and some of his friends, are very realistic. Read this book and
you will be routing for Harry to be victorious in his struggle against
Voldemort, to save himself as well as the world.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Novel Follow-up Project
Ideas: Choose one (1).
1) Write a poem about the book, one character in it, or some other
aspect of the book. The poem must be at least 16 lines long, but does
not have to rhyme. Orally present the poem to the class.
2) Make a poster that relates to the novel on poster size paper (11X17).
Share the poster with the class.
3) Write a 1+ page in-depth report on a character in the book. (What
traits does the character have? What motivates the character? Is he/she well
developed by the author? Do you agree /disagree with the way the character
handled events in the book? Why? Would you like to meet the character? Why?
Etc.) Orally present the character report to the class.
4) Write a 1+ page “review” of the book for a newspaper or magazine.
Orally present your review to the class.
5) Write a 1+ page biography on the author of the book. Include a
list of other works written by that author. Orally present the biography.
6) Write 3 new titles for the book. Write 1+ paragraphs (5-8
sentences) supporting each new title. Orally present your new titles paper to
the class.
7) Imagine that you are one of the main characters. Write a diary
account of daily thoughts and activities for 2+ weeks (14 days) in the life of
your character. Orally present your diary to the class.
8) Construct a pictorial time line that summarizes what happens in
the story. Orally present the time line to the class.
9) Select parts from the story that were the funniest, saddest,
happiest, most unbelievable, most frightening, etc. and write a 1+ page paper explaining
and supporting your choices. Pick at least three parts. Orally present
the “choices paper”.
10) Dress like a character in the book and read excerpts from the book
to portray that character or act out parts of the book as the character.
11) Locate phrases in the book that appeal to the 5 senses—hear,
smell, touch, taste, see. You must have 2 phrases for each sense. Be sure to
tell the page and paragraph of each example.
12) Find 10-15 vocabulary words in the book that are new to you.
Create a crossword puzzle using the words and their proper dictionary
definitions. Present the crossword puzzle to the class.
