Independent Reading Book ReflectionMr. Erwin

Choice G. Write a book review. A book review is an opportunity for you to present your opinion about a book. You will need to explain your opinion and support what you say. Be sure to include specific examples from the book.

Pre-writing:

As you think about what you might want to include in your book review, consider the following questions:

  1. Did you find the book engaging?
  2. Is the plot interesting? Would you have changed anything about the plot?
  3. Did the book make you think or raise questions?
  4. Are the characters believable?
  5. Is the protagonist likable?
  6. Is the central conflict (character vs. self, character vs. other character, character vs. society, character vs. nature) realistic and interesting?
  7. Are there other books that are similar?
  8. Is the author’s use of language interesting?
  9. Is this author’s writing style similar to other authors whom you have read?
  10. Generate you own questions.

Prewriting:

As you organize your ideas in your outline, consider how you might use the questions listed above.

Remember to break your outline down into sections, according to the main points you will discuss.

Writing:

Turn your outline into your book review.

OVER, PLEASE 

Excerpts from Three Different Book Reviews

“Charlotte's Web is about a girl named Fern, a pig named Wilbur and a spider called Charlotte. They live on a farm and Fern is horrified when she finds out that Wilbur as a piglet is to be slaughtered. She rescues Wilbur only then to have him sent away from her to her uncle's farm where he is friendless and snubbed by the other animals except Charlotte, a spider, and this is where Wilbur's adventures begin.”

“The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart is the story of a group of eccentric children who respond to a curious newspaper ad: ‘Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?’ Though dozens of children answer the ad, only a few pass the series of mind-bending tests about logic, history, and bravery. Those four children make up the Mysterious Benedict Society, named for the man who brings them all together to help stop an evil mastermind who wants to take over the world with a mind-control machine. It is easy to see why this book was a best-seller. This is a tale full of swashbuckling escapades and head-scratching conundrums. The characters careen from one adventure to the next as they face a series of baffling tests which tempt a reader to grab a pencil to mark up the pages and work out the puzzles and riddles by hand.”

“InThe Fault in Our Stars John Green builds a story out of darkness and despair. He takes the tragedy of cancer and immerses readers in the lives of characters that could very well be real. Many know of the heartaches in dealing with those who fight the fight, and many of those scars last a lifetime. Green brings his story in the form of a teen girl, Hazel Lancaster. Stricken with cancer from a young age, she believes she has come to terms with what her life has become. Then she meets a young man, Augustus Waters, a survivor of cancer….

Be prepared for a story of romance and anger, excitement and humor, and friendship and bravery… as Green develops the personality of a group of teens that have the courage to bring both laughter and tears….”

Independent Reading Book ReflectionMr. Erwin

Choice H. Create a soundtrack for at least one scene from your book

Imaginethat the book you read will be made into a movie. The movie producer has contacted you to contribute a song or two songs to complement a key movie scene. You may include additional scenes and songs if you wish.

Suggestion for how to proceed:

1. Introductory paragraph in which you introduce the novel and the scene you will explore. Explain why this scene is important to the overall plot of the book.

2. Select one or two school-appropriate songs to match thesceneyou have selected from your book. Then, in at least one complete paragraph,describe how each song relates to each scene.

  • You might also consider including anillustration or picture that links each song to each scene.

3. Concluding paragraph.

  • You might reflect on the idea of the book as a movie, or consider other songs and artists that could be connected with the book.

Pre-Writing:

  • You might consider organizing your outline as follows (this is just a sample to give you an idea):
  1. Introduction
  2. ~~~~~~~~~
  3. ~~~~~~
  4. ~~~~~~~~
  1. Scene and link to the song you picked
  2. ~~~~~
  3. ~~~~~~~
  4. ~~~~~~
  5. ~~~~~~~~
  1. 2nd scene and second song (maybe you want to do more than one)
  2. ~~~~~~~~~~
  3. ~~~~~
  4. ~~~~~~~
  1. Conclusion
  2. ~~~~~~~~~
  3. ~~~
  4. ~~~~~~~~~~~

Writing:

  • Write your soundtrack from your outline.

OVER, PLEASE 

A sample discussion of a scene and song for the novel Stargirl

Song #1: John Mayer, “No Such Thing”

In chapter 18 of Stargirl, Leo and Stargirl are completely enamored with one another. In fact, Leo feels like they are “…the only ones in school” (95). As they wander through the hallways conversing, Leo believes that, for the first time, he is truly living life. Music would be appropriate for this scene because it would highlight the attitude change Leo is experiencing. John Mayer’s song “No Such Thing” would be especially fitting because the mood of the song is motivating and inspiring, mostly due to the lyrics. In the chorus of the song, Mayer sings “I wanna run through the halls of my high school / I wanna scream at the top of my lungs / I just found out there’s no such thing as the real world / just a lie you got to rise above.” These particular lines relate to Leo’s emotions at this point in the novel. He has spent a lot of time with Stargirl, has learned much from her, and wants to share his new perspective with the rest of the school. Leo’s notion of the “real world” has been shattered by Stargirl, and he is ready to rise above the conformity of MicaHigh School.

Independent Reading Book ReflectionMr. Erwin

Choice J. Create a character’s scrapbook

Your goal is to reflect on your book through a character’s scrapbook entries. The entries should be presented in the same order that the scenes appear in the book.

Pre-writing:

  • It would make most sense to organize your outline according to the scenes you will include in your scrapbook. For example,
  1. 1st scene

1. ~~~~~

2. ~~~~~~~

3. ~~~~~~

4. ~~~~~~~~

  1. 2nd scene

1. ~~~~~~~~~~

2. ~~~~~

  1. 3rd scene

1. ~~~~

2. ~~~~~~~

3. ~~~~~~~

  1. 4th scene

1. ~~~~~~~~~

2. ~~~~~~~~

3. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Include the following on the front cover of the scrapbook:

  • The title of the book and the name of the character who owns the scrapbook.
  • Yourname.
  • You might also consider decorating the front cover appropriately.

OVER, PLEASE 

Suggestion for each scrapbook entry:

  1. A title for the scene.
  1. An illustration or memento from the scene. Examples of mementos might include a character’s old love letter, a handkerchief, a pressed flower, a candy wrapper or a ticket stub. Mementos may be two or three dimensional.
  1. A brief explanation describing the significance of the illustration or memento would be helpful.
  1. Atypedparagraph explaining the illustration or memento’s importance to the book’s plot.

Suggestion for making the Scrapbook

  1. Fold three sheets of 8 ½” by 11” paper in half horizontally.
  1. Staple them along the fold to create a book.

Scrapbook Option:

Consider writing your explanations and paragraphs from the point of view of the character who owns the scrapbook. Use first person point of view (I, me, my) in your writing, and consider how the character might view and react to each scene you are depicting.