Aug 5, 2008

Book Report & Novel Sharing Ideas

When planning lessons, there is no reason to reinvent the wheel to come up with interesting assignments for your students. Try these ideas that allow students to show what they know creatively.

Save yourself some time by directing students to decorate your bulletin boards to show what they know about a novel in the Student Created Bulletin Board lesson. Another way to decorate your walls with student art is by assigning the Sundae of the Week. Students create sundaes out of paper. Each part of the sundae represents part of the book's characters, plot and theme.

When students talk about the books they are reading, they will gain a a more in-depth understanding of the novel. Try this literature circle or group discussion technique called the Group Discussion of the First Half of the Novel lesson.

To teach the elements of plot, assign the Plot Element Lesson. Students will learn plot basics and apply them to the novel. Another lesson that deals with plot is the Top Five Scenes in a Novel. This lesson makes students describe, draw and write about their favorite five episodes in the story.

To teach literature terms, The Character Type Lesson helps students learn about the four types of characters: flat, round, dynamic and flat. While the Author Style of Influence Lesson, is an in-depth lesson that helps students understand the sometimes difficult idea of author’s style.

All novel assessments do not have to be book reports that take hours to grade. These ideas are fun for the students and allow the teacher to assess understanding quickly.