Independent Reading Review Activity Choices

Independent Book Reviews
Once a quarter you will be required to do an independent reading review. This is a “new” approach to the dreaded book report. Below are ideas to choose from on how you would like to present that book review. You will not be required to present your information at the front of the class. Remember: Independent book reviews are worth 20% of your total grade each quarter, so do a good job and READ! : )

*Each activity listed below is worth 100 points. You MUST choose one activity for your book review. Book reviews will be due on the following dates this school year:
October 1st
December 1st
March 11th
May 1st

Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down!
If you choose this activity, you will write a review of the book in the form of a movie review. You need to include why you did or did not enjoy the book, if you would recommend it to a friend to read, and whether or not you thought the author did a good job of developing the characters, setting, plot, conflicts, and conflict resolutions. At the end of your review, give it a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down”. *You may turn this activity in as a powerpoint slide show. You need at least 7 slides.

Character Trait Diagram
In this activity, you will create a double-bubble thinking map in which you compare and contrast two of the characters in the book. Your double bubble needs to be somewhat descriptive and include at least 5 similarities and five differences for each character.



Write a Letter to the Author
This activity will include a letter written to the author of the book you read. Your letter needs to be in business letter format (inside address, return address, greeting, body, closing, and salutation). Your letter should reflect what you liked and disliked about the book.

Sell It
In this activity, you will pretend you are the publisher of the book you just read. You will need to create an advertisement that “sells” the book to other readers. Your ad should use persuasive techniques to get others to want to read the book including what is great about the storyline, plot, and characters. You should have a picture of the book and appealing clip art or pictures to draw attention to your ad.

Interview a Character
If you choose this activity, you will be creating at least 10 questions that you would ask one of the characters if they were real. You will then need to come up with answers to those questions based on what you have “learned” about the character from your reading.

Ten Facts List
You will need to list 15 facts from the book you just read. The facts MUST be written in sentence form and MUST be things you did NOT know before you started reading the book.

Script It!
If you choose this activity, you will be creating a script that represents one of the scenes from the book you read. The script must include character names with exactly what those characters would say if they were really “acting” out this scene from the book. The script also needs to include what the “set” will consist of and set movements.

In the News
This activity will be creating a newspaper article that summarizes the events, characters, and setting of the book. Your article should be written in the format of a “news report”. You will want to include a catchy title for your article and grab the readers attention to get them interested in reading about the book.

Create A Comic Book
For this activity, you will create a comic book that represents the main events of the book. Your comic book should include a cover, title page, body (summarizing the book), and a back cover. Comic books should be at least 8 pages long.

Character Sketch
For those of you who enjoy drawing, this may be the choice for you. You will need to create a poster size drawing of one of the characters from the book you read. Your drawing should depict (represent) what you envision the character would look like had she/he been a real-life character. You will need to do a full body sketch including what type of clothing and accessories your character might wear/carry.

Picture Book
This activity is to create a picture book that represents the plot, setting, and characters from the book you read. Your picture book should summarize the events that took place in the book, include the characters from the book, and be written and created for a small child. Your book needs to include a front cover, title page, pictures on each page, and should be at least 8 pages long.

Music Maker
In this activity, you will create a CD that contains songs that represent music that you think would either have been popular during the time of your book or that would have been played by characters in the book. Your CD must have a typed list explaining WHY you chose each song and how each song relates to the book. You must have at least 5 songs and the songs CANNOT contain inappropriate lyrics.