Book Reviews

Text Connection -

- Favourite part of the book

- Share an example of the book that made you think about your favourite part

- Feelings that connect your example and the part of the book that made you think about your favourite part

- Message of the book (What you learned)

Text Connection

- Share a personal story that connects you to the text AND generates an interest in reading your book

- (text to text, text to self, text to world, text to media)

- Remember the Text Connection we did with Leo Lionni and his story ‘Swimmy’. This doesn’t have to be long, but be sure to include:

· A connection

· An example from book

· Feelings (perceived feelings)

· What you learned

Teaching Students to Write Book Reviews

MOTIVATE

Before beginning any lesson, it is important to activate prior knowledge. Engage the student in a discussion by telling the student to define the word “critic”. Ask questions, such as “Do you know any modern day critics? Why are critics important?” Accept reasonable answers, such as critics evaluate work, Siskel and Ebert were movie critics, American Idol judges are music/singer critics, reality show judges are critics, critics open up discussions, critics bring much deserved attention to work, critics point to flaws in work, critics provide proof that discredits or supports work, etc.

Then, ask the student how his or her role as a book reviewer is similar to a critic’s role. Next, have the student make a list of words critics might use: magnificent, two thumbs up, exciting, fast paced, boring, awful, etc. Accept reasonable responses before introducing the day’s (or week’s) objective to the student.

OBJECTIVE

The objective will be: The student will evaluate (insert text) by writing a book review.

INTRODUCTION

Introduce what a book review is to the student. Note that book reviews vary by assignments, preferences, and school requirements; however, there are a few essential things that are found in most book reviews.

List on the board the three things that should be included in a book review:

1. A brief summary of the book

2. The student’s opinion

3. Conclusion

A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE BOOK

A brief summary of the book should contain:

a. Title, author, and publishing information.

b. Setting

c. Main characters

d. Problem/conflict (without giving too much away)

Initially, you should preview the book by scanning the book cover. For example, you may look at the pictures. Ask questions, such as “What is this book about?” Also, the author or publisher’s description of the story on the back of the cover might help guide you to identify the main characters or conflict.

After previewing the book, you should read the first couple of pages, STOP, determine the setting, and then continue reading. It is important every so often to STOP, and think about what is going on in the story, and make notes as appropriate on a graphic organizer or scrap piece of paper. You should make sure to put your thoughts in your own words.

As you read, a passage might stand out or there might be a scene that the student feels is really great or not so great. There might be something a character says that makes you feel happy, intrigued, angry, or sad. If you cannot write in the book, colorful sticky notes can be used to mark these pages as you come across text that may be useful to support your opinion in a book review. If you own the book, it may be acceptable to highlight or underline key passages or make notes in the margins.

YOUR OPINION

Your opinion may be about:

a. Strengths of the book

b. Weaknesses of the book

c. Theme/message

d. Author’s writing style

Although the book review may begin with a brief summary of the book, book reviews do more than summarize a story. Book reviews allow you a way to voice your opinion about the story much like a movie critic would evaluate a movie. The bulk of the book review should be your opinion that discusses the strengths or weaknesses of the story.

Use these guiding questions to give some detail. For example,

1. Does the author communicate a clear message or theme?

2. Would you read another book by this author?

3. How does this book compare with other books that you have read by this author?

It is important for you to understand the argument or conflict (PROBLEM / SOLUTION) within the story in order to discuss whether or not the author successfully painted a picture that justified or resolved the issue at hand. Ask yourself whether or not you felt that the author communicated a clear message.

Then think about what you liked/disliked about the book. A pro/con graphic organizer may help you organize your ideas.

A good writer always backs his or her opinion with facts or examples from the book, so it is important that after you give your opinion, you return to the book to find supporting evidence, so you can refer back to the sticky notes or notes made inside the book. If you use any text directly from the book, proper credit should be given to the author and quotation marks should be used around the text.

It is important to remember about plagiarism. The Internet provides access to many book reviews and comments, and you should never use someone else’s words as your own. It is important that you let the world hear your voice.

CONCLUSION

The conclusion should:

a. Restate your opinion

b. Tie the opinions back into the summary

c. Give the person reading the review something to think about

You should be very clear and direct. Either you liked the book or did not. After you have restated your opinions, you should tie the opinions back into the summary of the book. Conclusions are important, but conclusions should also be brief.

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Before the student begins his or her book review, it might be helpful to organize all the information in a graphic organizer. Encourage the student to fill out the graphic organizer while he or she reads (not after). The student should periodically stop during reading and ask him or herself what is going on in the story and what information can be added to the graphic organizer.

Graphic organizers vary and some educational websites offer free copies, but most book review graphic organizers will have the student write down basic book information, such as title, author, setting, characters, conflict, sequence of events, and resolution. An example of a graphic organizer can be found here: http://flamingnet.com/bookreviews/studymaterials.cfm