Teaching Literature

american literature

british literature

multicultural/women's/world literature

lesson plans/course syllabi

drama/speech

shakespeare

young adult literature

literary genres/mythology

nonfiction

poetry

critical lenses

story response/writing

assessment

censorship

professional development

media/technology

chapter activities    further reading    web links    home

How to use this site

CHAPTERS

1

Goals for teaching literature: What does it mean to teach literature?

2

Understanding students’ individual differences: Who are our kids?

3

Planning and Organizing Literature Instruction: How Do I Decide What to Teach?

4

Using Drama to Foster Interpretation: How Can I Help Students Read Better?

5

Leading Classroom Discussions of Literature: How Do I Get Them to Talk about Literature?

6

Writing about literature: How do I get them to write about literature?

7

Using narratives in the classroom: What’s the use of story?

8

Teaching text and task-specific strategies: How does the shape of a text change the shape of my teaching?

9

Teaching the Classics: Do I Have To Teach the Canon, And If So, How Do I Do It?

10

Multiple Perspectives to Engage Students with Literature: What are Different Ways of Seeing?

11

Teaching Media Literacy: What else is a text and how do I teach it?

12

Assessing and Evaluating Students’ Learning: How do I know what they’ve learned?

13

Text Selection, Censorship, Creating an Ethical Classroom Environment. and Teacher Professionalism: How do I Stay in Control, Out of Trouble, and Continue to Develop as A Teacher?

home

activities

1. Analyze teacher-student discussions. Observe and or record (with the teacher’s permission) one classroom discussion of literature in a high school or college. Make a list of all the questions the teacher asks during the discussion, as well as the sequence of the interactions between teacher and student by labeling the teacher question as a “T” and a student response as an “S.” How would you characterize those questions? To what degree are these questions “open” or “closed?” What was the “uptake” in response to questions—students’ response to the questions? What levels or kinds of interpretations are involved in answering these questions? To whom are the questions addressed? How many students participate in the discussion and how often? Are their instances of a string of “S’s” in which students are interacting with each other? What prompt elicited that string of “S’s?” What does the teacher seem to want students to know or learn from the discussion? What was the teacher’s awareness of the students’ “zone of proximal development” in formulating questions? What were some factors that influenced the level of student involvement in the discussion? Repeat this same process with small-group and individual students’ discussions with the teacher. By using pre-determined criteria, an observer/teacher can evaluate which type of discussion is most effective for certain students and classes in eliciting meaningful discussion responses.

2.  Create pre-discussion activities.  Select a text and develop some pre-discussion freewriting, questions, listing, journal writing and/or mapping activities designed to prepare pupils for a discussion of that text based on the learning objections for that discussion.  Determine how students will share their writing as a discussion-starter or how you will use their writing to organize the discussion, for example, by listing questions or quotes and sharing those questions or quotes with the students.

3.  Compare student-versus teacher-led discussions.  Compare two different discussions in which students prepare their own questions for the discussion and use those questions to lead the discussion versus a teacher-led discussion.  Compare differences in the level of student engagement, interest, participation, “uptake,” and level of interpretation.  What are some reasons for these differences, if any?

4.  Conduct think-aloud responses.  Working in pairs or small groups, go through a poem or the beginning of a short story or novel and use a “think-aloud” technique to articulate responses.  In doing so, describe thoughts evoked by the text, as opposed to reflections on those thoughts.  Note instances of difficulties in interpreting the text and reasons for those difficulties.  Note certain patterns in the responses and how the text, audience, or think-aloud technique itself influences those patterns.  Compare the differences between an oral think-aloud response and written freewriting or journal responses.

5.  Employ facilitative techniques.  In everyday conversation with others, adopt the role of discussion facilitator using various kinds of facilitation techniques—asking others to expand on or clarify their ideas, repeating what was said to check interpretations—“you seem to me saying X, is that correct,” involving others in the conversation, bouncing questions asked back to the asker, summarizing the direction or flow of the conversation, using nonverbal cues to signal engagement or involvement, modeling or scaffolding certain ways of thinking, or eliciting further thoughts from participants.  Reflect on the success of these facilitation moves and the level of comfort in being a facilitator.

6.  Conduct a micro-teaching discussion activity.  Working in groups of four in a methods course, each member of the group develops some discussion questions for a text for a 10-minute audio or video-taped micro-teaching discussion.  After each member of the group completes their turn leading the discussion, provide descriptive (versus judgmental) feedback regarding each member’s level of engagement in the discussion, the kinds of questions asked, facilitation techniques, and the degree of mutual interpretation of the text.  If using a video-tape, review the discussion in terms of nonverbal cues employed in facilitating the discussion.

7.  Reflect on the micro-teaching discussion.  Based on the micro-teaching activity in #5, transcribe some or all of the tape and create a narrative description of the discussion. Set the scene for the narrative by describing purposes, agenda, role, and the students in the discussion.  Then, describe specific moments in the discussion — questions and answers, as well as students’ level of engagement and involvement in their answers, their willingness to pursue the same topic, and dialogic tensions between students that created further exploration of a topic. Reflect on the following aspects of the teacher’s role:

- the teacher’s thinking in posing questions and/or modeling certain interpretive processes.
- the knowledge drawn by the teacher about the text, critical lenses, personal experiences, related to the students’ own prior knowledge and “zone of proximal development.”
- the nature and level of questions (open-ended versus closed; high-level versus low-level).
- the students’ response or “uptake” to questions.
- the degree or percentage of student versus teacher talk.
- use of facilitation or modeling techniques.
- use of nonverbal cues.
- instances of a string of student-to-student talk and reasons for students interacting with each other.
        
Share reflections with peers and identify questions or issues related to leading discussions, for example, “What do I do with resistant students,” “What if students go off on tangents,” or “What is the larger purpose of discussion.” 

A preservice narrative teacher’s reflection.   For an example of narrative reflection of a preservice teacher, Sarah McArdell Moore, on leading a classroom discussion of a chapter in Jonathan Kozol’s Savage Inequalities on high school drop-outs, go to Web site, and click on Sarah McArdell’s reflection.   In this reflection, she recognize instances in which she didn’t to adjust her plans to adopt to students’ difficulty in completing a writing assignment about the chapter, leading her to recognize the value of switching to a hypothetical drama mode to discuss the drop-out issue.

As part of a civic engagement curriculum, the class of 11th & 12th graders was assigned Chapter 2 of Jonathan Kozol’s Savage Inequalities. The class is diverse economically and ethnically.  Many students are the children of new immigrants or immigrants themselves.  We had been looking at issues related to school funding and this text compares the funding and support structures of urban and suburban schools in Chicago.  Each student was given a copy of the text to keep.

“This is your copy. I expect you to mark it up.  Take notes on it, circle things you want to talk about in class, highlight it and keep track of what you have questions about. You have until a week from today to prepare for our discussion.  You will need to read closely, expect to spend more time on this chapter than you might normally do on your other readings.”

I handed out the following Reading/Discussion form with the text:

Name_____________________________________

Article Name, Author:

Main Ideas:

Questions, Likes, or Dislikes:

 

“I need you to fill this sheet out as you read.  I want everyone to be able to participate in the discussion Thursday and these sheets will help. If you have questions or are having any trouble with the reading I want to know before Thursday.” “While you are reading think about this quote from the text: ‘Equal funding for unequal needs is not equality.’ (Kozol 54) What does this sentence mean?  What is Kozol talking about?”

The Reading/Discussion form serves several functions.  First, it lets them know I really do expect them to read the article.  Second, it gives a structure to the discussion. We can talk through the main ideas first and then move into our opinions about the article or the issues raised by the article. In this way, students who didn’t read or had a difficult time can participate in a discussion of the issues in the text.  Third, it connects reading to both written and verbal communication.  Students need to synthesize the information, form an opinion about it and be able to communicate it on paper and then to their classmates.
The day before the assigned reading is due, I preview the discussion using the previous equality prompt.

“Ok, tomorrow we are talking about Savage Inequalities.  Who’s read it?”

Several students chime in:

“I read it twice but I didn’t highlight it”  “It’s not due until tomorrow right?”
“I started it but it seems like it’s just the same thing over and over again.”

Several students had lost their copies and needed new ones.

“You should have been working on this all week.  You are going to have to do a lot of work tonight to get ready for tomorrow.  Don’t forget your discussion sheets.”

Students lose and forget thing; always have extras.  It can be frustrating, especially on limited budgets, but it takes away a common excuse students have for disengaging from the class.

“Even if you haven’t finished your reading let’s talk about the quote I put on the board last week. ‘Equal funding for unequal needs is not equality.’  What’s that all about?”

We are seated together in a circle on the floor.  A few are sprawled out on their backs or stomachs.  They lean on each other and mostly enjoy a chance to be out of their desks.  To start edging into a good discussion, we need to be comfortable together.  Students need to see each other to be able to talk to each other.  At first, students complain about sitting on the floor or they wrestle around and play with each other’s hair, but it quickly becomes a routine that signals our casual discussion time.  In the circle we touch base about readings, homework, and issues in the class. The class is silent for a little while.  One student ventures a guess.

“It means that everybody should get the same amount, like if one gets 51% and one gets 49% that’s not fair.” 
I draw 2 stick figures on the board.  “Let me say this back to you—If this person is gets 49% and this other person gets 51% its unfair because no matter what they should both get 50%”?
“Yes”
Another student, interrupts, “No, I think its about wants and needs.” 
“Say more about that.” 
“I don’t know, just some people get everything they want and some people don’t even get stuff they need.” 
“I like that idea, I think it definitely relates. Janie it looked like you were going to say something.” 
“I think it means if you have something really nice you don’t need as much help as somebody that has something real crappy.  Like if your school is all rundown and another school is nice why do they both get the same amount of money.”
“I think you are on the right track, what do the rest of you think?”
Students nod in agreement and we talk briefly about facilities at suburban schools versus the facilities at their urban school. 
“I still think everyone should get the same amount so it’s fair.” 
“Let’s talk about that.  Does equal mean same?”

I draw two schools on the board; even though my drawing skills are severely limited, visual reinforcement of the ideas is very helpful to many students. 

“Now, this school is brand new, it’s beautiful, everything about it is perfect.”

Incorporating our previous discussion about the condition of their school, I move to the next drawing. 

“Now this school was built 30 years ago, and the principal drove a bus through one wall, and it caught on fire because of all the kids smoking in the bathroom.”  Should these two schools get the same amount of money to take care of their buildings?

We talk about these two pictures until the end of class.

“Finish your reading and come prepared tomorrow, ok, have a good night.”

As a final comment on my artistic skills:

“Hey, next time if you draw on the board, I can do it for you because I couldn’t even tell that was a school.” 

Every bit of support helps.

The Discussion or Time for Plan B

I, of course, had high hopes for this discussion.  I felt like I had prepped the students really well and the issues were important to them and we would have a really good discussion. I arranged the desks into a circle.  This is our position for formal discussion.  I want students to think about how they communicate in various settings.  In this formation we can still see each other but the discussion takes on a more official or academic tone.  Changing the composition of the room changes they way students compose and express their thoughts.

Still, I wanted a back up plan, because nothing is worse than walking through a list of discussion prompts with a class where only a few students have done the reading. First, I asked students to break into small groups and go over their Reading/Discussion forms together. 

“Let’s get into small groups and prep for the large group discussion. Go over your reading sheets and see how they compare.  I will come around to answer questions.”  Panicked looks dart through the class.

Several students dig into their backpacks and try to quickly fill in the form.

“I didn’t get one of those sheets.”  “I forgot to do that.”

A few have filled them out very completely and many have at least something down. 

 

Name_____________________________________

Article Name, Author:
Savage Inequalities by Jonathan Kozol

Main Ideas:
-gets peoples attention of different levels of education
-poverty
-low income children have less opportunity
-suburb schools have more advantages.

Questions, Likes, or Dislikes:
-I dislike the fact that it repeats itself over and over again about lower income schools (cities) and schools in the suburbs.
-I like how Mrs. Hawkins pushes her students to succeed.
-P.52 teachers don’t care
-Why don’t the city pay their teachers more to increase the rate of education?   

“Is this one of those times that I should lead the discussion a bit more or do you want to break into groups.” 

A few students admit to not doing the reading, several complain about the length. 

“I read and fell asleep, read and fell asleep.  It was good information but it was booooring.” 

The class votes to stay in the large group.  I put aside my discussion prompts and switch to Plan B.

“Ok, everyone stand up.  This article talks about what happens to students in inner city Chicago schools. Let’s go through the statistics on page 45.  You are all starting out in the same kindergarten class.  Starting in the 6th grade I am going to tell you if you drop out or stay in school and we are going to figure out together how it happened.  It can be based on the article or our own experience.  Remember, you are someone else. This isn’t what has happened or will happen to you.” 

I choose the two most outspoken students to drop out in the 6th grade.  With any interactive activity the first step is the hardest and choose students who like to participate sets a good tone for the rest of the class.

“Why did you drop out?”
“I don’t get it?”
“Everybody, what are some reasons that somebody might leave school in the 6th grade?  Maybe they are 14 because they were held back and don’t want to hang out with a bunch of babies?  Think about the reading or someone you know who dropped out.”

Um, they have a bad family.
They missed nap time?

We proceed through each grade, and with each round student’s participation increases. 

“Ok, 8th grade, this is when we lose the most students.  All six of you just dropped out of school, how come?”

I made more money on the street.
My dad got sick and I had to take care of him.
Nobody cared if I went anyway.
We didn’t have a teacher, we had a sub everyday.

Some of the responses come directly from text, but students who haven’t done the reading participate as well. I continue through the statistics, some students are sent to jail, by graduation 10 of 23 are left.  During this exercise, I had to be aware of constantly reinforcing the importance of having choices and access to education instead of college as the ultimate goal for every student.  Too often in an effort promote post secondary work, educators send the message that families and communities with high drop out rates, or without a glut of college degrees are worth less. 

“You graduated from high school but didn’t go on to college or other training.  What are you doing?”

I’m a teller at a bank.I couldn’t afford school but I still have a pretty good job.
I work at a gas station.
I live at home because I can’t get anything decent.
“You went to college for a year but dropped out, why?”
I decided to get married and had kids to take care of. I ran out of money. “

You completed high school and college, how did you do it?”

I ask the students to discuss this last question together. It is very successful.  Students are animated and have a lot of opinions.  I referred them to the text, when appropriate and moderate rather than lead the discussion. At the end of class I asked the students to take another look at the text, finish their forms and be prepared to continue the discussion tomorrow.

Sometimes students are ready to immediately engage verbally with a text, but many times they need other ways into the interaction.  Saying 50% of students drop out and reading statistics is entirely different than seeing what that looks like and talking about the person behind the number.  Theatre base activities can stimulate youth to access information in a different way and also provide opportunities for greater participation.

7.  Reflect on changes in leading discussions over time.  For your teaching portfolio, include evidence of leading discussions and compare experiences leading discussions across time based on the criteria in #6. Reflect on changes across time in the:

- degree of teacher versus student talk
- nature and quality of questions
- use of modeling or scaffolding
- use of nonverbal cues
- self-confidence in leading discussions
- influence of pre-discussion writing activities
- quality and depth of interpretations

Further Discussion Reflection Activities: The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Portfolio Reflection on Large-group Discussions
           
For teachers who undergo the NBPTS certification process as “accomplished teachers,” they are required to complete a similar portfolio reflection task:

For the Early Adolescent Language Arts large group discussion task:

http://www.nbpts.org/candidates/guide/04port/04_ea_ela.html

For the Adolescence and Young Adulthood/English larger group discussion task:

http://www.nbpts.org/candidates/guide/
04port/04_aya_ela.html

8.  Evaluate students’ discussion practices.  Devise some criteria for evaluating students’ participation in small or large group discussions based on their level or degree of participation.  Use these criteria to devise a recording system for keeping track of students’ participation in discussions.  Use this system in a discussion and garner feedback from students on it’s effectiveness as an evaluation tool.

9.  Create some book-club discussions in a classroom.  Provide students with specific instructions for creating a book-club discussion (for an illustrative example, see below), including their roles and tasks.  Observe students’ participation in their discussions, noting successful versus less successful instances of involvement in their discussions.  Note changes in students’ participation in their book clubs overtime and reasons for these changes.  Note differences in their participation in terms of their interest in or understanding of different texts.  Develop some criteria for evaluating students’ participation in the book clubs.

Setting Up a Book Club Discussion for 12th Grade
Rachel Malchow, Champlin Park High School, Champlin, Minnesota

STEP ONE:  Choose a book from the book list. 

Term 1:
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
When Heaven and Earth Changed Places by Le Ly Hayslip
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
A Place Where the Sea Remembers by Sandra Benitez
Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
In Country by Bobbie Ann Mason
Mama Day by Gloria Naylor
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Term 2:
Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo

*Please note that because literature is a mirror of human experience, some of the texts on the list may portray particular situations or contain language that some parents and students might find objectionable.  Please know that your comfort and feelings of safety are of utmost concern to us and that we would be happy to provide you with more information about your choices if you would like.

STEP TWO:  Meet with your group to set up reading schedule. 

Meeting #1       Date:______    Chapters due:____________

Meeting #2       Date:______    Chapters due:____________

Meeting #3       Date:______    Chapters due:____________

Meeting #4       Date:______    Chapters due:____________

STEP THREE:  Each week, read your assigned chapters, write a response journal for those chapters and prepare for the discussion.

A) Read:  On your own.  Be sure to meet the deadlines your group has set!

 

B) Response journal:  Keep a response journal as you read each week’s chapters.  Have a conversation with the text.  Here are some prompts to get you started:

 

*  What is your reaction to what’s happening?

*  What do you notice if you look through the different “lenses” we talked

about in class (archetypal lens, gender lens, cultural lens, socio-

economic lens, etc.)? 

*  What personal or real world connections can you make with the story?

*  What don’t you understand? 

*  What would you like to discuss or know more about? 

 

Some people like to write as they read; others like to write a bit after each chapter.  Be specific and thoughtful; this response will show that you have carefully read and thought about your assigned chapters. 

 

Each response journal should be at LEAST the equivalent of one typed page and will be due at the time of your group meeting.

 

C) Prepare for discussion:  You’ll also need to prepare for your particular role during discussion.  You will switch roles each meeting.  See your “Role Card” for specific instructions.

Roles:
**  Discussion Director *Investigator
**  Multiple Perspective Taker *Travel Tracer
**  Literary Luminary/Cool Quote Finder *Vocabulary Enricher
*  Connector *Summarizer
*  Illustrator

** Role must be covered for every group meeting.
*   Role selected based on needs of the book group and talents of the
members. 

STEP FOUR:  Participate in four weekly book club meetings.
The goal of your meeting is to have a thoughtful 30 minute conversation about your book in which all members participate equally.  During this discussion, you should take on your assigned role in the group, but remember that this is a conversation, not just report sharing.  Please note, if you are absent on the day of your meeting, you cannot earn credit for it.

STEP FIVE:  Final group presentation.

Your group will plan a presentation about your book.  This presentation will utilize the work your group has done through the term.  More specific information to follow. 

EVALUATION:
4 book discussions x 10 pts. each =                              40 pts.
4 reader response journals x 10 pts. each =                  40 pts. 
Group presentation  =                                                 20 pts.

TOTAL                                                                      100 pts.

*This novel project is worth 15% of your final grade in English 12 this term.
                                                                                               

Roles for Book Club Discussions

Your book club will be composed of three to five participants who gather to discuss once a week over the next month.  The goal of the book clubs’ discussions is to participate in free-flowing, uninhibited conversation about the literature.  To help facilitate such conversation, it is useful to take on a particular role and prepare that role for the discussion.  But remember, the goal is a natural conversation not a series of individual presentations. 

The first three roles should be prepared for each discussion.

Discussion Director:

The discussion director prepares a list of questions over the reading.  No nit-picking! Devise questions that help participants talk about the big ideas of the book.  In developing questions, pay attention to your own thoughts, feelings, and puzzlement as you read.  Sample questions might include: “What surprised you in this section?”; “What are one or two of the most important ideas?”; or “What was going through your mind when you read?”  The better the question the fewer you will need to continue the conversation, but 5-10 good discussion questions should be sufficient.  If the discussion is working, the discussion director might not be needed much. 

Cool Quote Finder:

This person locates 4-7 specific quotations from the text to read aloud.  The quote might be a line or an entire passage.  Quotes might be funny, puzzling, compelling, interesting, or simply crucial to understanding meaning.  It is important to read the quotes out loud and identify their page numbers, as this will let the group hear the language and remember exactly parts of the book.

Multiple Perspective Taker: 

This person will take another look at the reading selection through use of at least two additional literary theories.  This may include the archetypal lenses we have been learning about in detail in class, as well as the gender, multicultural,  psychological, or socio-economic lenses.  The re-reading may wish to examine a particular event or quote in the text, or comment on the development of the story so far as a whole.  A short paragraph for each lens would be appropriate. 

These additional roles should be selected based on the needs and talents of the group, and the nature of the book.

Summarizer: 

The summarizer prepares a brief summary of the day’s reading.  A good summary identifies setting, the characters and their development, as well as the key conflicts and major plot events.  This should be one or two paragraphs in length.  This is a particularly useful way to begin a discussion, as it allows the group to clarify their understanding of what happened before moving into interpretations. 

Connector:

The connector uses the reader response lens to find connections between the book and the world outside.  You might connect parts of the book to your own life, to happenings in the school or community, to other times and places, to other people, to other literature, or to writings by the same author.  The key is to connect, the connection can’t be wrong.  One well developed example, or a two shorter ones should be sufficient.

Investigator:

The investigator finds background information on any topic related to the book.  The idea is to find information that helps the group understand the book better, and that is of interest to you.  This might include the following: cultural, historical, or geographical information about the book’s setting; information about the author; pictures, objects, or materials that illustrate elements of the book; the history of words or names used in the book; music that reflects the time of the book. 

Illustrator: 

This job requires you to draw, paint, sculpt, or otherwise create a visual representation related to the reading.  It can be a sketch, cartoon, flow chart, diagram, stick figure scene, realistic or abstract representation.  You can draw a scene from the book, or something that the book reminded you of.  What you draw can convey any feeling or idea you got from the book.  During your discussion, allow each group member to respond to the piece first, before you offer any explanation about its meaning. 

Vocabulary Enricher: 

This person finds a few important words in the reading.  The words might be important because they are key to meaning, unfamiliar, repeated, or used in an unfamiliar ways.  While you are reading, mark the words as you come to them, then look them up in a dictionary or other resource.  Show group members where the words are and discuss them. 

Travel Tracer:

This role might be useful when the scenes are changing and characters are moving around a lot.  The travel tracer tracks where the action takes place, describes the setting in detail, either in words or in a map or diagram.  Give pages numbers for the scenes you describe. 

 

Book Club Discussion: Self and Group Assessment

Name: _______________                   Date: ______________

 

Title: _______________                      Author: ____________

1.  How much did you participate in the discussion about this section? Circle one.

about the right amount

too much         

not at all          

too little

2.  How much of the reading section did you complete before the discussion?

all         most     some    none

3.  How much of your discussion role preparation did you complete?

all         most     some    none

4.  What was an important contribution you made to this discussion?

 

 

5.  What was an important idea or explanation expressed by someone else in the group.  Identify the person and what he or she said. 

 

 

6. How much of their reading and discussion roles did your group members complete?  

Name: ________________     all         most     some    none

Name: ________________     all         most     some    none

 

Name: ________________     all         most     some    none

 

Name: ________________     all         most     some    none

 

 

7.  What discussion strategies did you group use well? Circle all that you feel apply.

 

Participating

staying on topic

listening carefully

encouraging others

positive body language

eye contact

considerate of different opinions

asking follow-up questions

 

8.  Which of the above strategies did the group struggle with?  How could this be improved for the next discussion? Explain. 

 

           

 

Book Club Final Group Essay: An Introduction to and Evaluation of Your Book

Objective

Create a 1-2 page essay for future 12th grade students to help introduce them to your book, and to help them decide which book to choose for their own reading.

Expectations

The group is responsible for addressing all of the following topics. 
You should utilize the prior work you have completed, as well as the talents of your group members.

All group members are expected to contribute equally, but it is up to your group to decide how to structure your work time to achieve this.  You may choose to write all sections  together.  You may wish to brainstorm together, but assign sections and write separately. 
Then come back together to revise and edit.  In either case, there is one final group grade given. 

The final document should be must also be typed, double spaced, in a 12 point font.  Correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation should be used.  

1)  Introduction Write an introduction paragraph to your book. 

            A)  Select an appropriate, relevant attention-getter. 
A compelling quotation or thematic question would be a good opener. 

            B)  Identify key background information about the book.
This should include the title, the author, any biographic information about
the author that might be relevant, additional works by the same author, information about the genre/ archetype/ structure of the book. 

            C)  Thesis:  Overall statement of recommendation.
 Overall, do you recommend that this book be read by future students? 

2)  Summary     Presents the key details about your book. Approximately 8 sentences.

A)   Setting: Where and when does the story take place? Realistic or fantasy?

B)  Characters:  Who are the main characters, and what are they like?

C)  Conflicts:  Without giving away too many plot surprises, what are the major
conflicts in this book?

3)  Multiple Perspectives/ Thematic Issues:

Use the critical theories that have been most beneficial to your group’s discussions.   In a paragraph, describe some of the important themes and issues that the book introduces.  Use the best discussion questions and responses from your multiple perspective takers. It may be useful to include 2-3 quotations to help illustrate these ideas. 

4)  Best aspects of book/ Best audience

A)  What were your favorite elements of this book? 
Explain, using specific examples from the text. 

B)  Who is the ideal reader for this book?  Explain why, using specific examples.

5)  Difficulties/ Controversial Issues/ Wrong audience

A) What are the most challenging aspects of reading this book? Explain using
specific examples.   (examples: vocab, structure, writing style)

B)  Are there any sensitive topics that a student should be aware of prior to
 reading this book? 

C)  What type of reader would not enjoy this book?  Explain using specific
examples. 

Evaluation of Final Essay

 

This project equals 20 out of 100 points of your book club grade.

4=Excellent      3=Good           2= Basic           1= Incomplete

___/ 4             Introduction

___/ 4              Summary

___/ 4              Multiple Perspectives/ Themes

___/ 4              Evaluation of Best Elements/ Audience

___/ 4              Evaluation of Difficulties/ Controversies/ Wrong audience
___________________________________________________________

___/ 20 TOTAL

 

Post-Book Club Self and Group Assessment

1.   What was your experience with your book club like?  What worked for you? 
What didn’t work for you? 

 

 

2.  How does this compare to other structures for reading books for school that you have
experienced?  Which methods do you prefer? 

 

 

3.  What could have made this experience more successful for you?  For your group?

 

 

4.  Please rate your performance and the performance of your other group members, on a scale of 1-5, with 5 being highest.  Provide a brief explanation for your rating as well.

My performance                      1          2          3          4          5

Explanation: 

 

________ ‘s  performance       1          2          3          4          5

Explanation: 

________ ‘s  performance       1          2          3          4          5

Explanation: 

________ ‘s  performance       1          2          3          4          5

Explanation: 

________ ‘s  performance       1          2          3          4          5

Explanation: 

Book Club Discussions Guide Sheet
Rachel Malchow (Microsoft Word Document)

chapter activities    further reading    web links    home

Click here to return to front page.